Omar Ibn Said
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Omar ibn Said (ca. 1773-1864) was born in present-day Senegal in Futa Turo, a region between the Senegal River and Gambia River in West Africa, to a wealthy slave holding family. Omar ibn Said was a Muslim scholar who spent 25 years of his life studying with prominent Muslim scholars in Africa. In 1807, he was captured during a military conflict, enslaved and taken across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. He first escaped from a cruel master in Charleston, and journeyed to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he was recaptured while praying in a church, and later sold to James Owen. Said lived into his mid-nineties and was still a slave at the time of his death in 1864. Omar ibn Said was also known as Uncle Moreau and Prince Omeroh. Omar ibn Said was also referred to Uncle Moreau and Prince Omeroh.
According to an "American Legacy" article by Marc Ferris (1998), Omar is widely known for fourteen manuscripts that he wrote in Arabic. Out of all of his Arabic manuscripts, he is best known for his autobiographical essay written in Arabic in 1831, is the most famous of several manuscripts ibn Said is known to have authored. It describes some of the events of his life, reflecting, among other things, his steadfast adherence to Islam throughout his long years, along with openness towards other 'God fearing' people. On the surface the document may appear to be tolerant towards slavery. But in fact, ibn Said begins it with Surat Al-Mulk, a chapter from the Qur'an, which states that only God has sovereignty over human beings. His essay tells about major events in his life, his firm devotion to Islam throughout his life, and his feelings towards slavery. Overall, these manuscripts are like a journal or diary for him.
Further coverage of Omar's writings within the context of Slave Narratives and Muslim Slave Narratives can be found in Five Classic Muslim Slave Narratives by Muhammed Al-Ahari. The presentation of Africa, Islam and slavery in the American slave Narratives of Muslim slaves in the Americas is a topic that is often overlooked in discussing the genre of slave narratives and the birth of African American Literature. In fact the first biography was that of a former Maryland slave, Job Ben Solomon, published in 1730 in Britain. By reexamining these often overlooked narratives we can get insight into African Islam, the turmoil of integration into a foreign culture, life in Africa, and life as a slave in the Americas. The primary sources include: the narrative of Job ben Solomon, the two autobiographical pieces of Muhammad Said of Bornu, the Arabic autobiography of 'Umar ibn Said, the Jamaican narrative of Abu Bakr Said, a discussion of coverage on Bilali Muhammad's excerpts from the Risalah of Abi Zaid, Theodore Dwight's articles on the teaching methods of the Serachule teacher slave Lamen Kebe, and a letter describing Salih Bilali.
Most of his other work consisted of Islamic manuscripts in Arabic, including a handwritten copy of some short chapters (surat) from the Qur'an that are now part of the North Carolina Collection in the Wilson Library at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribing from memory, ibn Said made some mistakes in his work, notably at the start of Surat An-Nasr.
