The first Muslim settler of America. One of the most powerful figures in 17th century New York, Anthony Janszoon van Salee, was a wealthy Dutch Moroccan landowner. In 1624 van Salee was in Salè, Morocco with his father, and by the 1630s he had immigrated to New Netherland, purchasing a farm on the island of Manhattan in 1638. He was one of the original settlers of Brooklyn, New York. His father's financial support enabled van Salee to become one of the largest landholders on the island, as well as a prosperous farmer. Son of an admiral in the Moroccan navy, Anthony Janszoon van Salee was born in Cartagena, Spain. Islam then was almost completely absent in the United States until the 20th Century. The oldest Muslim community to establish in the country was the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in 1921. The Muslim population of the US increased greatly in the twentieth century, with much of the growth driven by rising immigration and widespread conversion. The first survey of America's strong Muslim community was conducted, in 2007, by Washington based, the Pew Research centre and it found that Muslim Americans were just as likely as the rest of the population to agree with quintessential American attitude about hard work and opportunity. 65 per cent of the American Muslims, according to the survey, were born abroad of which 24% were from Arab region; 8% from Pakistan; 10% other South Asia; 8% Iran; 5% Europe; 4% Other Africa; and 6% other. 35 per cent of remaining American Muslims who were born in America 20% was African-American and 15% other, according to the survey.