I Cannot Write My Life
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A01=Carl W. Ernst
A01=Mbaye Lo
Age Group_Uncategorized
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Arabic literature in Africa
Arabic literature in United States
Author_Carl W. Ernst
Author_Mbaye Lo
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Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HRH
Category=JBSL
Category=JBSR
Category=JFSL
Category=JFSR2
Category=QRP
Christian missions in Africa
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
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eq_isMigrated=2
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eq_society-politics
Islamic educational institutions in Africa
Islamic sermons
Islamic theology
Language_English
Liberia and the American Colonization Society
mystical practices of prayer in Sufism
oral literature in Africa
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Price_€20 to €50
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racism and white supremacy in early America
slavery in Africa
slavery in North Carolina
slavery in South Carolina
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Sufism as a spiritual aspect of Islam
the history of Islam in Africa
the history of Islam in America
the study of Arabic in United States
the study of Islam in the United States
Writings of enslaved African Muslims
Product details
- ISBN 9781469674674
- Weight: 272g
- Dimensions: 155 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 29 Aug 2023
- Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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Omar ibn Said (1770–1863) was a Muslim scholar from West Africa who spent more than fifty years enslaved in the North Carolina household of James Owen, brother of Governor John Owen. In 1831 Omar composed a brief autobiography, the only known narrative written in Arabic by an enslaved person in North America, and he became famous for his Arabic writings. His enslavers also provided him with an Arabic Bible and claimed Omar as a convert to Christianity, prompting wonder and speculation among amateur scholars of Islam, white slave owners, and missionaries. But these self-proclaimed experts were unable or unwilling to understand Omar's writings, and his voice was suppressed for two centuries.
Mbaye Lo and Carl W. Ernst here weave fresh and accurate translations of Omar's eighteen surviving writings, for the first time identifying his quotations from Islamic theological texts, correcting many distortions, and providing the fullest possible account of his life and significance. Placing Omar at the center of a broader network of the era's literary and religious thought, Lo and Ernst restore Omar's voice, his sophisticated engagement with Islamic and Christian theologies, his Arabic skills, and his extraordinary efforts to express himself and exert agency despite his enslavement.
Mbaye Lo and Carl W. Ernst here weave fresh and accurate translations of Omar's eighteen surviving writings, for the first time identifying his quotations from Islamic theological texts, correcting many distortions, and providing the fullest possible account of his life and significance. Placing Omar at the center of a broader network of the era's literary and religious thought, Lo and Ernst restore Omar's voice, his sophisticated engagement with Islamic and Christian theologies, his Arabic skills, and his extraordinary efforts to express himself and exert agency despite his enslavement.
Mbaye Lo is associate professor of the practice of Asian and Middle Eastern studies and international comparative studies at Duke University.
Carl W. Ernst is William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Carl W. Ernst is William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
