No Common Slave: Islam, Blackness and Literacy in Atlantic Slavery
Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Producer
Director
Performer
Choreographer
Costume Designer
Music
Videographer
Lighting Designer
Set Designer
Crew Member
Funder
Rehearsal Director
Concert Coordinator
Advisor
Moderator
Panelist
Alternative Title
Department
Haverford College. Department of History
Type
Thesis
Original Format
Running Time
File Format
Place of Publication
Date Span
Copyright Date
Award
Language
eng
Note
Table of Contents
Terms of Use
Rights Holder
Access Restrictions
Open Access
Terms of Use
Tripod URL
Identifier
Abstract
This thesis is comprised of five microhistories that track the life stories of Muslim, literate enslaved men from West Africa. Bilali Muhammad, Omar ibn Said, Nicholas Said, Ayuba Sulemayn Diallo and Abdul Rahman Ibrahima were legible to their masters, and other white superiors, as Islamic and literate, whether in Arabic, English, or another language. Their education, and more importantly, their religious identities, often elevated them in the eyes of the white elites that they encountered. This paper argues that their special treatment, while still exploitative and racialized, was indicative of an emerging racial and religious hierarchy that connected to the larger image of Islam on the global scene.