Servants of Allah

352 Pages·2013·4.05 MB·English

by  Diouf, Sylviane A.

Servants of Allah
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Servants of Allah
African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas
15th Anniversary Edition
Sylviane A. Diouf
a
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
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NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
© 1998, 2013 by Sylviane Diouf
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Diouf, Sylviane A. (Sylviane Anna)
Servants of Allah : African Muslims enslaved in the Americas /
Sylviane A. Diouf. — 15th anniversary edition
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4798-4711-2 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Slaves — Religious life — United States — History. 2. Slaves — Religious
life — A merica — History. 3. Muslims, Black — United States — History.
4. Muslims, Black — American — History. 5. African Americans —
History — To 1863. I. Title.
E443.D56 2013
973'.0496073 — dc23 2013005255
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To Sény and to the memory of Adani
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction to the 15th Anniversary Edition 1
1 African Muslims, Christian Europeans, and the
Transatlantic Slave Trade 20
2 Upholding the Five Pillars of Islam in a Hostile World 71
3 Th e Muslim Community 99
4 Literacy: A Distinction and a Danger 159
5 Resistance, Revolts, and Returns to Africa 210
6 Th e Muslim Legacy 251
Notes 285
Select Bibliography 315
Index 327
About the Author 341
Illustrations appear as a group following page 142.
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Acknowledgments
Researching and writing Servants of Allah was a singularly solitary
endeavor. But once I emerged from the libraries, I immediately received
the enthusiastic support of Niko Pfund, then director of NYU Press, and
Jennifer Hammer, my attentive and brilliant editor. I am deeply thank-
ful to both of them for the fi rst edition and to NYU Press director Steve
Maikowski and to Jennifer again, for making this second one possible.
Over the years, through this book, I was lucky to meet and befriend
a number of people. Among them are Abdel Kader Haidara, founder
of the Mamma Haidara Memorial Library in Timbuktu, owner and
guardian of his family’s fi ve thousand manuscripts and documents dat-
ing from the 1500s. His expertise, convivial personality, and vision are
true treasures. In 1996, I had gone to the auction where Omar ibn Said’s
autobiography and Sana See’s manuscript were to be off ered to the high-
est bidder. I was well aware I could not be even the lowest one, but I was
eager to know who would get these documents. To my relief, they were
auctioned off to collector Joshua Beard, who has been a diligent and
generous custodian, making the manuscripts widely available to schol-
ars and exhibitions.
My scholarly and friendly appreciation goes to Paul E. Lovejoy at
York University and Elisée Soumonni at the University of Cotonou for
great discussions and camaraderie. João José Reis at the Federal Univer-
sity of Bahia has been a gracious colleague always ready to share docu-
ments and insights about Muslims in Brazil. I have enjoyed fascinating
conversations, long walks, and great collaboration with Omar H. Ali at
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I am indebted to Grace
Turner, at William and Mary, who took Abul Keli of the Bahamas out
of obscurity and brought the man and his letters to my attention many
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