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Omar Ibn Said2024 Jun 5
Omar ibn Said was born around 1770 in the Fula tribes of West Africa, where he lived and became a Muslim scholar. In 1807 he was enslaved and brought in captivity to Charleston, South Carolina. He escaped, although ended up in prison in North Carolina, where he wrote in Arabic on the walls of his cell. This brought him to the attention of Jim Owen and his brother John Owen, the governor, with whom he remained until his death in 1864. They claim he converted to Christianity, but this appears to something he only said to appease his owners.
His is the only known North American slave autobiography written in Arabic. Quoting the Library of Congress:
The importance of this lies in the fact that such a biography was not edited by Omar ibn Said's owner, as those of other slaves written in English were, and is therefore surmised to be more authentic. Second, it is an important document that attests to the high level of education, and the long tradition of a written culture that existed in Africa at the time. It also reveals that many Africans who were brought to the United States as slaves were followers of Islam, an Abrahamic and monotheistic faith. Such documentation counteracts prior assumptions of African life and culture.
Omar ibn Said was born around 1770 in the Fula tribes of West Africa, where he lived and became a Muslim scholar. In 1807 he was enslaved and brought in captivity to Charleston, South Carolina. He escaped, although ended up in prison in North Carolina, where he wrote in Arabic on the walls of his cell. This brought him to the attention of Jim Owen and his brother John Owen, the governor, with whom he remained until his death in 1864. They claim he converted to Christianity, but this appears to something he only said to appease his owners.
His is the only known North American slave autobiography written in Arabic. Quoting the Library of Congress: