I cannot write my life : Islam, Arabic, and slavery in Omar ibn Said's America / Mbaye Lo and Carl W. Ernst.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

A land lost -- A life unread -- Sermons unheard -- A Muslim in church -- The treachery of the experts -- Appendix. Omar's ʻAjamī English: American Words and Names in Arabic Script.

"This work centers on the life and writing of Omar Ibn Said, born in 1770 in a border region between Senegal and Mauritania that played a significant role in Islamic nations. Omar studied for 25 years at an Islamic seminary and was poised to become a leader in the faith, but after being captured by an invading army, he fell into the hands of transatlantic slave traders. He was sold to a plantation owner near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1808. What we know of Omar's life comes largely from a series of brief autobiographical writings and transcriptions, comprising the only known narrative written in Arabic by an enslaved person in North America. In this book, Mbaye Lo and Carl Ernst weave fresh and accurate translations of Omar's writing together with context and interpretation to provide the fullest possible account of this West African Islamic scholar's life and significance"-- Provided by publisher.