Muslim Slaves in the Americas
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Many of the slaves brought from West Africa to America were Muslim. Although they were often forced to convert to Christianity, many of them were sure of their faith and intended to keep it. They knew their religion, and at the very least had read the Quran. Even when they were forcibly converted to Christianity, they did not embrace the new religion (Diouf, 74). Non-Muslims, on the other hand, could incorporate whatever seemed useful in Christianity into their original beliefs (Diouf, 75). ‘‘Pseudo-converts’’ adopted outward signs of Christianity, all while retaining their faith (Diouf, 78). Their original faith could be seen through their practices, such as praying, fasting, or giving alms to each other. Although prayer is not mandatory if it puts the believer in danger, many slaves prayed by choice (Diouf, 86). Zakat and Sadaqah (alms and charity) were also important as they instilled a sense of collective identity and responsibility, by making it a duty to participate in the welfare of the community. Alms giving between slaves was recorded in many different places such as Brazil, the West Indies, and the United States of America (Diouf, 92). Shahada (profession of faith) did not put them in danger as much as visible practices, as they could testify their faith in front of God without being attacked by their slaveowners. In fact, shahada was an inward practice, unlike prayer, alms giving, and fasting. Finally, instead of calling these slaves ‘‘pseudo-converts’’, I think we can call them forced-converts, which emphasizes the fact that conversions were achieved through harsh punishments (Diouf, 76).
Slavery was used as an excuse to Christianise African people. The children of slaves would become Christian and have more European attributes due to their contact with White people (GhaneaBassiri, 48). Even opponents of slavery had deeply racist and paternalistic perspectives. They claimed that Islam was semi-civilized. Thus, they claimed that Africans were not uncivilized, but that Islam is what brought them to be (GhaneaBassiri, 49). However, some White people used Muslim slaves as examples of intelligence and good character (GhaneaBassiri, 50). They claimed that Arabic speaking Africans were superior in culture and civilization in contrast to surrounding peoples (GhaneaBassiri, 52). This illustrates the Orientalist biases that White people applied in their representations of Africans, as they considered that people with an Abrahamic religion, similar to Christianity, were superior to pagan Africans.
An example of a Muslim slave was Omar Ibn Said, who was very explicit about his faith. In his autobiography, the earliest pages of the manuscript contain quotations from the Quran which he remembered (Said, 87). Although these quotations are not autobiographical, they illustrate how devoted he was to his faith, even years after being stolen from his land. In his autobiography, he states that he studied and sought religious knowledge under the instruction of a Sheikh. He claims that he studied for twenty-five years (Said, 89). Interestingly, this contradicts the narrative that Africans were uncivilized and uneducated, as Said was educated, literate, and knowledgeable in religious matters. -
Absolutely correct re GhaneaBassiri's analysis, thank you @pierre-augustin_habrih … and in dialogue with @rufus_seward and @nickolas_mazza's posts.
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''They claimed that Islam was semi-civilized. Thus, they claimed that Africans were not uncivilized, but that Islam is what brought them to be (GhaneaBassiri, 49)''. I just realized I wrote the opposite of what I meant to write. Muslim Africans were seen as superior to pagan Africans since Islam brought them to be semi-civilized. I apologize for that mistake.