although many african americans ancestors were muslims prior to being kidnapped to america the period of brutal enslavement had done much to rob the cultural and religious identity of many, the story of abdulrahman ibrahim ibn sori, a muslim prince from west africa who was made a slave in the united states and freed 40 years later, is a testament to the survival of muslim belief and practice among enslaved africans in america. el-hajj malik el-shabazz, also known as malcolm x, is credited with being the catalyst for bringing the black community to islam in general and as being the pioneer in leading black muslims to ahlus sunnah specifically. in the weeks after he left the nation of islam, several sunni muslims encouraged malcolm x to learn about their faith. he soon converted to the sunni faith and was followed by thousands from the nation of islam. warith deen mohammed rose to leadership of the nation of islam in 1975 following the death of his father elijah muhammad and began the groundbreaking, though sometimes controversial, process of leading black muslims out of the noi and into sunni islam. as a result of his personal thinking and studies of the quran, he became part of ahlus sunnah during a term in federal prison from 1961-1963 for refusing induction into the united states military.