A. J. Muste

The Reverend A. J. Muste
A. J. Muste, 1931
Born	Abraham Johannes Muste January 8, 1885 Zierikzee, Netherlands
Died	February 11, 1967 (aged 82) New York City, NY
Spouse(s)	Anna Huizenga
Children	3 children
Theological work
Main interests	Pacifism, labor, social justice organizing

Abraham Johannes "A.J." Muste (/ˈmʌstiː/ MUSS-tee; 1885–1967) was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. Muste is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, pacifist movement, anti-war movement, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Abraham Johannes Muste was born January 8, 1885, in the small port city of Zierikzee, located in the Southwestern province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. Muste's father, Martin Muste, was a coachman who drove for a family that was part of Zeeland's hereditary nobility. With his economic prospects limited in the Netherlands, Martin Muste decided to follow four of his wife Adriana's brothers to emigration in America, making the cross-Atlantic trip as Third Class passengers in January 1891.

Muste's mother became ill aboard ship and remained hospitalized for a month at Ellis Island following the family's arrival. Upon her recovery, the family headed west for Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Adriana's four brothers worked at in a variety of small business pursuits.

The family attended services at the Grand Rapids Dutch Reformed Church, a Calvinist congregation in which religious services were conducted in the Dutch language and its very existence was testimony to the number of Dutch immigrants who made their way to the area. Dancing was prohibited by the church as a form of sinfulness, as was the singing of secular music and the viewing of performances in the dramatic theatre.