When did Muslims first come to America?

[syncrolecyne]

When did Muslims first arrive in the United States? On one hand, until a few years ago, Islam recieved little attention in America. Right now, Islam is often portrayed as very hostile and alien - or at best - complete newcomers to the fabric of American society. But haven't Muslims lived in America for decades?

Now the "Nation of Islam" dates from the 1930's- which as far as I know is indigenous to the African American community - and was for many years widely considered to be outside of the global Islamic faith or perhaps even a complete misinterpretation of Islam. In the 1960's and 1970's many of these "N.O.I." Muslims broke from the Farrakhan faction and moved to mainstream Sunnite Islam. I am asking about Sunnite, Shi'ite, or other sects of Old World origin, not about the controversial Afrocentric groups which are considered "Islamic" by Muslims, including 5% Nation, Gods and Earths, and so on...

I do know Lebanese and Syrians immigrated to America many years ago, but they were all or mostly Christian. I do not believe Muslims were ever speifically excluded from immigrating to America, and there are Muslim peoples in Europe and the Ottoman Empire that would have been able to immigrate at nearly any point in history. But what year does Islam in America date from?