“As Africans and as Muslims, the people who lived their faith in the dreadful oppression of American slavery contributed to the social, religious and cultural fabric of this country. The Muslims’ legacy, acknowledged or not, lives on. Their story is an African story, a Muslim story, and an American story.”
![Omar ibn Said, born in Senegal in 1770, held onto Islamic practices while enslaved for decades in the US [Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University]](https://ihsan.center/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/screen-shot-2020-11-15-at-1.26.53-pm-1.jpg)
Omar ibn Said, born in Senegal in 1770, held onto Islamic practices while enslaved for decades in the US [Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University]
For more than 300 years Muslims have influenced the story of the US – from the ‘founding fathers’ to blues music today.
Source: Muslims in America: A forgotten history
In the summer of 1863, newspapers in North Carolina announced the death of “a venerable African”, referred to, in a paternalistic manner, as “Uncle Moreau”.
Omar ibn Said, a Muslim, was born in 1770 in Senegal and by the time of his death, he had been enslaved for 56 years. In 2021, Omar, an opera about his life, will premiere at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.
Ihsan Center - Islam From The Heart 