LITR 4232 American Renaissance

Sample Student Research Project 2013
Journal

Stephanie Ali

 American Muslim Slaves: A Look into their Story

Introduction:

There has always been something mystical about the originators of Africa.  I did not become introduced to slave stories until I was an adult. I do not remember studying any material of the sort in school. The first time I came across slave stories was when I had read a little about Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad while helping my daughter with a school report.  I came across a couple of books for young children about slaves while teaching Kindergarten in a private school in Houston. Before this, I only knew there were slaves in America from Africa and there was a civil war over slavery, and finally, slavery was abolished. This is a poor depth of knowledge based on the history of slaves that is available to the public. I think I had an unconscious desire to learn more about slaves and the narratives because although I have little background on the subject, I was exposed to two slave songs. Somehow, these songs have stayed with me. I remember my daughter in the fourth grade sang a slave song in her choir production called “You Gotta Sing When the Spirit Says Sing”. It roused my spirit so much that I have never forgotten the words to that song and can sing it word for word today, and my daughter is now in college. Another musical moment I experienced is with my mother. She played the guitar and as a child, me and my siblings would sit around her and listen. There was one song though, that touched me dearly. My mother told me I could be laughing and running around, and the next minute crying if she sang that song on her guitar. I remember this song and I remember crying upon hearing the lyrics. My earliest recollection of feeling sad about this song was around age 4. The song is as follows:

 Sleep Baby Sleep

Sleep baby sleep. Close yo eyes an’ go to sleep.

Res’ baby res’.Don’t you cry, now jes’ you res’.

Yo’ Mammy done worked hard all day.

She ain’ even had time to set down an’ pray.

And yo Pappy, he dun gone away.

But neva you min’ chil’, he’ll be back some day.

So sleep baby sleep.

The real awakening of slave history and narratives comes recently while exposed to slave literature in college.

My First Slave Narrative Encounter:

 The first slave narrative I read was selections from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave from uhcl website, http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4232/sylsched/4232f2010/4232sylresjrnl.html  It was inspiring, exciting, and tragic all at the same time. One of the themes that stood out to me was his burning desire to become educated. He practically taught himself to read. His mistress initially attempted to teach him, but her husband became enraged and informed her that “Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world…it would forever unfit him to be a slave…it would make him discontented and unhappy” (Craig White web page).  This only made Douglass’s desire for education grow and he found creative ways to continue his lessons in reading and writing. The white man could take his mother and even the clothes on his back, but they could not take the knowledge he attained inside of him. It was a small victory to independence and freedom. This unique story sparked my interest to do more research about slaves and their narratives in the Americas. While researching books in the database, I came across a book that was dedicated to slaves of Muslim descent. Being Muslim, I truly felt a connection and wanted to know more about this particular subject.

Background information of Muslim Slaves and Muslim Slave holders in West Africa:

There is not a lot of information on Muslim slaves brought to America but enough to satisfy my curiosity. The book that helped immensely in learning about slaves in Africa before coming to the Americas and as well as the treatment of them both in Africa and in America is Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas by Sylvia Diouf. The author explains the background of how the transatlantic slave trade came to be prosperous and how Muslims ended up on those boats. Muslims were flourishing in Africa and had strong clans. Although slavery was already practiced in Africa, the Muslims had their own terms of practicing slavery defined by religion. Slaves were attained by Muslims mostly through prisoners of war. Two conditions led to slavery in the Islamic world. The case was if the slave was born of slave parents or if a non-Muslim had been a prisoner of war (Diouf 10). Slaves owned by Muslims in Africa were not treated in a horrible way. In fact, the Quran encourages emancipation of slaves as a way to be pious and expiation of sins. The Holy Quran in the English translation Chapter 2:177 states: Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer…

European travelers who were familiar with the American system of slavery such as Francis Moore noted that ““some of the Negroes [Gambia] have many house slaves…those slaves live so well, eating with their masters…and being well clothed…that it is impossible to distinguish them from free men””(Diouf 10). African slaveholders did not treat slaves as the American slaveholders did with such cruelty. A British traveling to Senegal remarked, ““I never saw any whip or instrument of torture used…nor do I believe, from the inquires I made, that Slaves are treated with severity””(Diouf 10). This ideal situation eventually ended through many political, social and religious wars in that region between kingdoms. Thus, the Muslims eventually lost their power, namely in Senegal, and slaves along with their owners were captured and put on a boat bound for slavery. An astonishing 11 million traveled through the slave trade!

Slaves and race:                                                                                                                     Although black slaves of African descent is what is known for the Americas, it is not the only race that endured slavery. For centuries, Europeans have enslaved Irish, Greeks, Slavs, Russians and others. But by the 16^th century, Europeans held slavery for the Africans exclusively and whites disappeared from the slave scene. This is the first time slavery and color was linked. However, “Islam never linked slavery to a particular group except unbelievers” (Diouf 13). If an enslaved prisoner of war announced Islam as his or her new faith, steps were taken for that individual to be freed. In fact, tables could turn, and a master and slave who were both enslaved by prisoner of wars could change places. If the slave converted to Islam, it would lead to freedom, whereas the once before master would remain a slave if he stayed an unbeliever. Islam does not hold race in a level for superiority. A freed slaved named Bilal was a dear friend of Prophet Muhammad, among others.

Rate of Literacy Among Muslim Slaves:

Another interesting discovery is the rate of literacy among the Muslim slaves. Large populations of Muslims could read and write in the Arabic Language, as this is the original text of the Quran. Schools were built in West Africa and higher learning was encouraged. European visitors were quite surprised by the abundance of schools. Baron Roger, governor of Senegal, stated in 1828 that ““there are villages in which we find more Negroes who can read and write the Arabic, which for them is a dead and scholarly language., than we would find peasants in our French countryside who can read and write French!”” (Diouf 8). The Quran encourages the believers to study as stated in The Holy Quran in English translation: “Those to whom We have gien the Book study it as it should be studied (2:121). This preexisting ability to read and write claimed the uniqueness of the Muslim slaves in America. The fact that they were literate set them apart from the non-Muslim slaves.  In one newspaper note from the Charleston Courier on February 7, 1805, a fugitive was described as ““Thirty-year-old Sambo…a man of grave countenance who writes the Arabic language”” (Diouf 107). Obviously, the ability to read and write is what set these slaves apart. It was well worth mentioning among the public as an identifying marker of the Muslim slaves.  In an Autobiography of Omar ibn Said, Slave in North Carolina, 1831 Source: The American Historical Review; one such story of a Muslim slave gives an example of how literature influenced society in America. Omar ibn Said, a learned man born in Africa of high status, was a slave from Fayetteville, North Carolina who was captured while he was praying after he had ran away from the rice plantation. Omar could not communicate orally with anyone, so he found some coal from the ashes in his jail room and started writing on the walls of the jail in Arabic. He had no idea that no one understood Arabic. Soon, he became a spectacle. People would come to see the elaborate Arabic writing on the wall. He was soon put for sale and was bought by General James Owen who had come to see his curious writings.  The General was so impressed with his writing and literacy ability that Omar was put as a mere house slave and gardener and his life became much more tolerable (787-91).  He had earned some sympathy and acknowledgement because he was literate. Omar’s later years were even more gentle as “where he occupied his own home in the yard, and had his meals prepared by the Owens' cook and brought in by a little negro, and where he was buried” (791).  This is a copy of one of Omar’s writings  as the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic.

Another story from Some Memoirs of the Life of Job, the Son of Solomon, the High Priest of Boonda in Africa . . .compiled by Thomas Bluett, 1734, EXCERPTS with an even more astonishing outcome is the story of Job ben Solomon, high priest of Boonda in Africa. He was a leader in his village back in Senegal. His father was wealthy and powerful. In February, 1731,

Job was sent by his father to purchase goods from the ship Arabella that was brought in by Captain Pike. It was a week’s journey to reach the ship. Unfortunately, Ben was kidnapped and after he was shaven and his beautiful clothes removed from him, even Captain Pike did not recognize him when he was brought on the ship to be sold to America as a slave. After Job explained who he was, the captain allowed him to send a messenger who had traveled with him back to his village in order for his father to buy him back, but the ship could no longer wait and sailed off with Job on it. When he reached America, he was sentenced to be a slave on a Tobacco plantation in Maryland. The work was considerably easy compared to other jobs slaves had, but he was not able to do it, and he finally ran away. He ended up in Delaware and was captured and brought to court. He did not yet speak English, so a former African who was enslaved was sent to the court to interpret for Job. Job was so happy that someone else knew his traditional language of Joulloff, that he told his whole story of how he came to be a slave and his former position and life in Africa. When the white men were told of his status, he was sent back to his master and was given much more comfortable accommodations and even a private place to do his prayers. He was given special privileges, but this was not enough for him. One day when the master was out, he wrote a letter to his father asking to be brought back to Africa. Job had the nerve to give this letter to his master and asked that it be given to Captain Pike on his way back to Africa.  Astonishingly, his master agreed, but the letter did not reach Captain Pike in time before the ship left back for Africa.  As luck would have it, the letter was shown to James Oglethorpe, deputy governor of the Royal African Company. James had the letter send to Oxford for translation. Oglethorpe was so astonished to learn the richness of literary style Job owned as well as his character that it led to his liberation. Job only lived as a slave for 2 years and was set free. His high level of literature and intellect persuaded the white man to pay for his freedom. Literacy was a powerful tool that Job used in order to better his conditions and eventually earned back his freedom.   

NAME CHANGES ERASED ISLAM FROM AMERICAS:

There are records showing about 150 names of Arabic origin from 1200 African names.  Names link a person to one’s community, identity, ethnic origin, culture and even faith. When the Africans came here, new names were given for the ease of pronunciation for the slave holder and also to destroy the slave’s sense of identity. The slaves tried hard to keep their names and would be called by two names. It was insisted that when their master called on them by their new name, he or she should answer. But among their community, they kept their original birth name. In a Georgian notice for a runaway Muslim, his multiple names are mentioned as a ““new Negro Fellow, called Jeffray, sometimes, BRAM, or IBRAHIM,””(Diouf 111).  There are many variations of Muslim names that have been recorded.

Kelley Brown: Remembering her Muslim Grandparents:

            In another region known as the Georgia Islands, there were a total of 100 Muslim names in a small area (islands off of Georgia) that were in the records. This is a better representation of comparing that a large number of slaves that came to the Americas were indeed of the Muslim faith. In an article named Sapelo Island’s Slave Decendants by Amy Lyn Hedrick, it is mentioned that the “ remaining inhabitants of Sapelo Island can trace their lineage back to one man, Bilali Muhammad” who was the overseer of Thomas Spalding’s land. Bilali was very skilled in cotton production which proved to be an asset for Thomas Spalding as well as America’s economy.

Bilali was known to keep a diary and after a decade of research trying to decipher the Arabic text, the conclusion was that it was text for laws of Islamic living In a review from the Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History edited by Edward E. Curtis is a memorable interview

from Katy Brown, great granddaughter of Bilali, also known as Ben Ali. Brown reported that Speaking of the daily religious practices of Bilal and his wife Phoebe, Brown remarked, ““bout duh time dey pray an dey bery regluh bout duh hour. Wen duh sun come up, wen it straight obuh head and wen it set, das duh time dey pray. Dey bow tuh duh sun and hab lil mat tuh kneel on. Duh beeds is on a string. Bilali he pull de bead an he say, Belambi, Hakabara, Mahamadu. Phoebe say, ‘Ameen, Ameen’.”” (21). These terms are distorted and the suggested meaning is, ““Belambi” may have meant Allah (God), “Hakabara”, Akbar (“Great”, completing the phrase Allahu Akbar, “God is Great”) and “Mahamadu”, the latter part of the Islamic call to prayer, Muhammad s.a.w. is the Prophet of God.””(21). Many of the slaves on the Island wore turbans and veils. Brown recalls her greatgrandmother’s dress, “She ain tie uh head up lak I does…she weah a loose wite clawt obuh uh head lak veil an it hang loose on uh shoulduh.” Bilal’s daughter Magret, she speak funny wuds we didn know. She also made, “funny flat cake she call ‘saraka’…made same day ebry yeah an it big day.” (21) The rice cakes she speaks of were for Muslim holiday celebrations such as Eid. Katy also talked about seeing her grandparents facing to the east and prostrating in prayer. These religious practices faded and were forgotten through the generations.

Website Worth Mentioning: 

http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/items/browse/tag/slave+narratives

This site is great and is tailored specifically for information on the history of Muslims. There is  information on Muslim slave narratives complete with time frames, regions and secondary sources to consider. Browsing through the resources will bring the web surfer to choose the Time, Theme, Item Type, and Region. The time period starts from pre-Islamic up to contemporary times. The “themes” feature will introduce Literary reflections, art, connected histories and more. There are types of items such as images maps, essays, etc. The regions which give geographical information are comprehensive as well. The website gives suggestions on books and films to read and view pertaining to what one is searching for.

Decline of Islamic Practices Among the Slaves:

            There are many factors that led to the decline of Islam holding up in America. Slaves were not allowed to own writing materials for the most part, and the slave owners pressured the slaves to convert to Christianity. In most cases, they tried their best to hold on to their faith which included dress code, prayers, fasting, and abstinence of pork and alcohol. Muslim slaves intermarried with non-Muslims and thus names of the next generation would sometimes depict a Muslim name of Arabic origin, but through the generations, these names would diminish. Families would be sold and split regularly. The rigid practices of Islamic faith would have been difficult to uphold as a slave, much less passing it on to one’s children. It would have been a great challenge to teach their children the Quran in Arabic with no proper schools or materials. Passing by oral tradition is not the best way for the Muslim faith because it is a religion of literacy. Christianity was an oral tradition filled with statues, wood carvings, stained glass, and wall paintings that were used as a support and explanation of the beliefs (Diouf (182). The visual aid helped to teach Christianity, especially since literacy was not the popular mode of learning for the majority. These forms were the “iliterates’ books” (Diouf 182). Consequently “iconography does not exist in Islam” (Diouf 182). Creations of pictures, statues, wood carvings, etc. are forbidden in Islam as it can be a danger of some people turning these objects into idols to be worshipped as is the case in historical Biblical times. Without these visuals, Islamic traditions faded.

Conclusion: The Muslims played a major role in development of America. About 15 to 30 % are known to be Muslim. Its culture, tradition and ideas were intertwined with other African cultures and thrived. Literacy was the greatest impact the Muslim slaves brought. Also, I believe that the Muslim slaves who held strong to their beliefs and Islamic practices earned some minute degree of respect for upholding a noble character. The practicing Muslims were known not to drink alcohol which became a problem of a second kind of enslavement for many slaves who became addicted to alcohol. Also, pork would be rejected, and some slave owners allowed these slaves to cultivate their own crops or hunt/fish at night to supplement their diet with acceptable foods to their religious beliefs. Many Muslim slaves fronted a Christian conversion while secretly practicing and believing in the Islamic faith. Other slave owners would take the time to have the Bible read aloud to the slaves, especially since learning was a part of their interests which was instilled in them before enslavement. Omar Ibn Said of North Carolina was given a Quran in English as well as a Bible from his master. These were the kind of rare kind gestures that took place in the name of literacy. Many scholars have ignored the number of Muslim slaves and their contribution to the society as a whole. Muslim slaves were trusted and because of their high literacy skills, were given posts of a more elite status. Some of them were overseers. Others managed the crops, bringing knowledge that came from Africa. Bilali, of the Georgia Islands, was given management over the crops and during the Civil War, his master supplied weapons to the slaves under Bilali’s charge to protect themselves from invaders of the North. Even though Bilali did not like enslavement, he was smart enough to realize that the freedom the North would provide would not be as advantageous a situation he held with his current master. Another Muslim slave kept records for his illiterate master’s estate of crop and animal production in the Arabic text.

A more in depth and rigorous research would open new discoveries of the Muslim slave’s accounts and contributions to America. One book I would like to get a hold of to continue this research is African Muslims in Antebellum America: transatlantic stories and spiritual struggles

By Allan D. Austin. Also, I recently discovered that a relative on my father’s side has collected extensive information on my family tree. I would like to know if there were slave owners in my father’s family. More interestingly, my mother is a native of Louisiana from both mother and father side. Her parents spoke French among the older family members, but it was never passed down to her. The language was used when discussing matters that did not want to be exposed in front of the children. There is a possibility of interracial marriages and lineages on my mother’s side since there is a history of her family settling in Louisiana many generations before her. Could there be a possibility that one of my ancestors was a mullato? Perhaps there may be a linkage to my lineage through the slave trade and the mixing of races. That information would be invaluable to me and my children. This has been a literature journey that has inspired me to dig deeper into my family history to discover unknowns.

"Great Star" flag of pre-Civil War USA