Servants of Allah, Sylviane A. Diouf
Servants of Allah, Sylviane A. Diouf
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Servants of Allah
African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas

Author: Sylviane A. Diouf

Narrator: Ja'Air Bush

Unabridged: 12 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/12/2023

Synopsis

Servants of Allah presents a history of African Muslims, following them from West Africa to the Americas. Although many assume that what Muslim faith they brought with them to the Americas was quickly absorbed into the new Christian milieu, as Sylviane A. Diouf demonstrates in this meticulously researched, groundbreaking volume, Islam flourished during slavery on a large scale. She details how, even while enslaved, many Muslims managed to follow most of the precepts of their religion. Literate, urban, and well-traveled, they drew on their organization, solidarity and the strength of their beliefs to play a major part in the most well-known slave uprisings. But for all their accomplishments and contributions to the history and cultures of the African Diaspora, the Muslims have been largely ignored. Servants of Allah—a Choice 1999 Outstanding Academic Title—illuminates the role of Islam in the lives of both individual practitioners and communities and shows that though the religion did not survive in the Americas in its orthodox form, its mark can be found in certain religions, traditions, and artistic creations of people of African descent. This fifteenth anniversary edition has been updated to include new materials and analysis, a review of developments in the field, and prospects for new research.

About Sylviane A. Diouf

Sylviane A. Diouf is an award-winning historian of the African Diaspora. She is the author of Slavery's Exiles: The Story of the American Maroons and Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas-named Choice Outstanding Academic Book in 1999. Her book Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America received the 2007 Wesley-Logan Prize of the American Historical Association, the 2009 Sulzby Award of the Alabama Historical Association and was a finalist for the 2008 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. She is the editor of Fighting the Slave Trade: West African Strategies and the coeditor of In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience. A recipient of the Rosa Parks Award, the Dr. Betty Shabazz Achievement Award, and the Pen and Brush Achievement Award, Diouf is a Curator at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Shelley on March 16, 2017

Asalaamu alaykum. This book is a must-read for anyone from the Americas (US, Caribbean, South America...), whether Muslim or not! This is an important piece of our collective history that is widely overlooked and unknown to most of us. I recently read this book for a Muslim book club that I lead. Be......more

Goodreads review by Pascal on March 02, 2010

The most important book one can read to get an in depth understanding of how African Muslims reacted to the advent of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and how their presence affected the plantation societies of the New World.......more

Goodreads review by Saifullah on July 13, 2020

A totally fresh account of African Muslims history. If you have ever wondered what was the fate of enslaved Muslims in the diaspora this is absolutely recommended. The struggle of a literate society of slaves in a new community hostile to their faith and race is an interesting topic to learn about.......more

Goodreads review by Anam on September 03, 2020

Almost all the information in this book was new for me. There's so much we don't know about African history especially of those Muslims who were enslaved. I didn't even know the amount of Muslims who were enslaved in the Americas. Very detailed accounts. Inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time.......more

Goodreads review by Saadia on June 12, 2015

Really informative book, it's on my recommended reading list for my cultural sensitivity/Islamic trainings. It helps Americans understand how intricately immersed is the Muslim experience within the American experience. For all those who think Muslims are newcomers/immigrants, this is a must-read.......more

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