In the early nineteenth century, Omar Ibn Said, an enslaved Muslim scholar in North Carolina, produced several Arabic manuscripts, including his 1831 autobiography. While his enslavers permitted and even promoted his writing as a novelty that demonstrated his 'exceptional' intellect and presumed conversion to Christianity, modern historians argue that Said's use of Arabic script to write Quranic verses—such as Surah Al-Mulk, which proclaims God's absolute sovereignty—served a deeper purpose.
Which of the following statements best analyzes Said's preservation of Arabic writing as a form of resistance?
- AIt served as a key administrative tool to organize grand maroonage networks and establish independent runaway communities in the Great Dismal Swamp.
- It allowed him to maintain his cultural identity and covertly sustain his Islamic faith, challenging the intellectual and spiritual domination of his enslavers.Answer
- CIt represented a syncretic attempt to combine traditional West African animistic cosmologies with the polytheistic traditions of his captors.
- DIt was a passive adaptation to plantation life that demonstrated complete assimilation into Southern Christian culture without challenging the slave system.
Answer
The correct answer is that Said's preservation of Arabic writing allowed him to maintain his cultural identity and covertly sustain his Islamic faith, challenging the intellectual and spiritual domination of his enslavers.
The preservation of Arabic writing and the copying of Quranic verses allowed Said to maintain his pre-enslavement identity and Islamic faith. Because his enslavers could not read Arabic, he was able to subvert their control by asserting the supreme authority of God, directly challenging the spiritual and intellectual domination inherent to the chattel system.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Enslaved individuals used literacy, language, and religious practices to covertly preserve their humanity, culture, and faith, subverting the total control of enslavers.