Undercover Muslims
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Diouf’s assessment of Ayuba Suleyman Diallo not only allows us to better understand the racialisation of Muslim slaves in the Americas, but also to truly grasp the resilience of Islam for enslaved Africans who were oftentimes forcibly made to convert to Christianity or risk severe punishment. It is clear from this week’s readings that African Muslim slaves were not willing to let go of their faith for it to be replaced by another, alien one without some reluctance. The fact that African Muslims’ knowledge of Christianity had only come from what they had “learned in the Qur’an or the New Testament, not through any contact with Europeans” was a strong indicator as to why “they were not aware of the antipathy that their religion inspired on the other side of the ocean” (Diouf, 73). Furthermore, Diouf affirms, through the use of various cases, such as that of Ayuba Suleyman Diallo, that due to the high level of religious education that the West African slaves had previously received from “numerous Qur’anic schools dotted around Senegambia”, they were not only “strong believers” in the Islamic faith, but it also very aware of other religions and were thus firm in their religion in congruence with their high level of understanding of other faiths (73). This meant that “when confronted with an unknown, potentially dangerous situation”, as was the case for Ayuba, rather than surrender himself to the desire of his slave owner to convert to Catholicism and turn away from his faith, the strength of his belief in Islam and its resilience among African Muslims more generally, meant that in such a precarious situation “he simply affirmed his Islamic faith” (Diouf, 73). I find that Diouf explains this very well later on in this chapter of her book Servants of Allah when she asserts that “African Muslims remained attached to their faith, and their enslavement was itself a good reason to be even more devout. Faith meant hope, moral comfort, and mental escape. It was also linked to the past, to a time when they were free, respected, and for some, engaged in intellectual pursuits, not menial labor” (86).
It is interesting to draw parallels between GhaneaBassiri’s theory regarding the racialisation of Muslim slaves and the cases of Ayuba and Yarrow, as both cases seem to be consistent with the presented theory. It is said that Ayuba was caught praying in the woods in secret and was subsequently arrested, but upon gaining notoriety when it was found out that he was able to “write Arabic and was thought to be of high lineage”, “this new game may have contributed to his owner’s good disposition, for he gave him a place to pray and lightened his workload”. In other words, by simply finding out Ayuba’s educated status and noble ancestry, he was then automatically more worthy of respect and better treatment. This aligns with the theory of “de-negroficaton” or “de-Islamicization” proposed by GhaneaBassiri whereby he describes it as a process of the “disassociation” of African Muslims from “Negroid stereotypes”, such that in this particular situation, Ayuba has been “de-negrofied” by his owner, and as a result he is viewed as a person worthy of better treatment because, in his eyes, he is “less black” or not like the other slaves (22).
Similarly, the freed slave Yarrow Mamout also underwent the process of “de-Negrofication” or “de-Islamicization”, as, through his notoriety among the people around him in the community, where “his Islamic dress and his economic success made him a celebrity”, “he had been able to retain his Muslim African name and to have others respect his faith and his right to express it publicly” (GhaneaBassiri, 87). Once again, this is a clear example that the stereotypes associated with economic success, amiability, and humanity do not align with what are believed to be the stereotypes of African Muslim slaves, and as a result, Yarrow benefited from this specific racialisation as he was able to practise his religion and live (more) freely in peace. It is also worth mentioning, although these were thought to be rare cases, many African Muslims used the process of de-Negrofication” or “de-Islamicization” to their advantage, as they “were painfully aware of the oppressive linkage slavery reinforced between one’s color and humanity” (GhaneaBassiri, 21). In other words, they “sought to disassociate themselves from Negroid stereotypes and complied with whites’ de-negrofication of them” for their benefit, much like how African American men used Orientalism to their advantage in order to pass as “East Asian” or “Hindu” to protect them from danger when “the stakes of movement across the South’s dividing lines were high” (GhaneaBassiri, 22)(Bald, 52).
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An example of an excellent 5/5 post by @safiya_sillah, showing understanding, close-reading and spread, and insight.