Pseudoconversion of Muslim Slaves
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A common theme that Diouf brings up in her piece is the overlapping of faith and fortitude when it came to the practice of Islam in a hostile world. To be muslim was not just to practice Islam, but was also to be brave- to be able to hold onto one’s faith when everything pushed them to turn away from it.
This, then, is where she brings up the phenomenon of pseudo-conversion amongst muslim slaves. One could argue that even just pretending to convert to christianity was an act of cowardice, but I believe that on the contrary, this was an act of defiance. An outright rejection of christianity would hurt the oppressor’s pride less than a betrayal of their trust.
Abu Bakr’s request for a copy of the Quran (Diouf, 82), Omar Ibn Said’s ode to Mohammed in his autobiography (Diouf, 83), Angelo Solimann’s careful selection of his name (Diouf, 84) and Ibrahima abd al Rahman’s reconversion to Islam (Diouf, 84) all point to one thing– no matter the path they took, Islam remained the destination for these muslims. For someone who had lost everything, their faith remained the only grounding force in their life and the only thing to call their own.