Omar Ibn Said

Scholar and religious leader who documented his experiences as an enslaved person in the US

Omar Ibn Said (1770–1864) was a Fula scholar from Futa Toro (modern Senegal) whose life embodied the paradox of African intellectualism under American slavery. Captured in 1807 and sold to Charleston, SC, he became one of the few enslaved individuals to write autobiographies in Arabic and English. His 1831 manuscript ‘The Life of Omar ibn Said, Written by Himself’ is the only known Arabic slave narrative, challenging stereotypes of enslaved Africans as illiterate.

Despite enduring brutal conditions—including being forced to convert to Christianity—Said preserved his Islamic faith through clandestine study. He gained notoriety after escaping to Florida in 1820, writing an Arabic poem on the back of a Quranic manuscript that’s now at the University of North Carolina. His fluency in Arabic, Fula, and English made him a paradoxical figure: venerated by white elites for his literacy, yet denied freedom despite writing letters to Moroccan rulers seeking asylum.

Scholars like Dr. Sylviane A. Diouf argue Said’s writings reveal a complex identity—both a pious Muslim and a pragmatic survivor. His legacy endures in initiatives like the Penn Humanities Forum on Africa, which re-examines transatlantic intellectual exchanges. Said’s story remains a powerful lens for understanding the African Enlightenment’s intersection with slavery.