Asalaamu alaikum
Alhamdulillah and here is an interesting historical piece.
Savannah Morning News :
African Muslims in the antebellum South
Author tells of the spiritual struggles of Muslim slaves.
By Audrey D. McCombs
Savannah Morning News
Job Ben Solomon Jallo was kidnapped from his home in Africa and ended up in America in 1730. He was sold into slavery and became
increasingly angry with such a station in life.
For instance, in a biography written about him, Job said his
unhappiness led to much praying, and that once, when he prostrated himself in prayer in public, as was his religious custom, a white boy threw mud in his face.
Not only was he unhappy with his treatment, he was also dismayed that he had no place to pray five times a day, as was also the custom of his Muslim faith that he brought with him from Africa. So, he ran away from Maryland to Pennsylvania.
There, he was imprisoned for lack of documents showing he was either free or indentured and was eventually returned to his master.
Upon his return, his master was told that Job Ben Solomon wanted to be
treated better and wanted a place to pray. He got both.
But he was not content to remain a slave. He wrote his father in Africa a letter in Arabic asking for help. James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia, became aware of the letter and helped secure a bond for Job's release from his master.
Job was later sent to England (the Royal African Co. his new owners), and was introduced to a number of wealthy Englishmen who eventually paid for him and set him free. These same friends paid for his return to Gambia.
Job Ben Solomon's story and dozens of others like his are told in "African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and Spiritual Struggles," by Springfield College (Springfield, Mass.) professor Allan D. Austin.
It's a condensation and updating of his "African Muslims in Antebellum
America: A Sourcebook," and unfolds the lives of more than 80 African Muslims who were slaves in America between 1730 and 1860.
They came from Nigeria, Gambia, Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Mali and other surrounding countries, where many of them had been political, religious, commercial or military leaders.
They were valuable as slaves because of their intelligence and skills.
Some were able to return to Africa, while others, like Bilali Mohammed on Sapelo Island, became leaders on plantations.
Austin, a noted scholar of antebellum black writing and history, visited Savannah recently and gave a lecture on his book at the Beach Institute.
As a professor of Afro-American Studies, Austin said he knew there were a number of slaves who were Muslims because of his research of the antebellum writings of blacks. So, he planned an essay on the subject.
But his essay grew into a 700-plus page book as he discovered much more information about slaves who were Muslim.
Wealth of information
The data Austin gathered provides a realistic portrayal of Africans, contrary to the portrayal they were given by white writers of the day.
It is not yet possible to tell how many Muslims were taken out of Africa during the era of international slave trade, Austin contends. But by looking at available records, he estimates that between 5 and 10 percent of all slaves taken from Senegal and the Bight of Benin were Muslims.
Half of all Africans sent to North America came from this region, Austin said.
"If the total number of arrivals were 11 million, as scholars have concluded, then there may have been about 40,000 African Muslims in he
colonial and pre-Civil War territory making up the United States before 1860," he wrote.
Job Ben Solomon was typical of the Muslims who found themselves in the
South. Their spirituality, manners, sense of dignity and intelligence impressed slave owners and others. Some erroneously thought these slaves had received these gifts from their masters. Not so, Austin said.
A memoir of Job Ben Solomon's life was later published in 1734 by lawyer Thomas Bluett.
Allahumma salli wasallim alaa Nabiyyina Muhammad. Wasalaam.
Modou Mbye
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