A slave in the Americas, Omar ibn Said was unusual in many ways relative to his enslaved brothers. He was seen writing on the walls in Arabic while locked up as a “vagrant” before being sold into slavery. This behavior was astounding as most slaves knew neither literacy nor writing and attracted a family member of the NC governor to see and purchase him. Through his writing and autobiography, one notices a strange sense of Stockholm syndrome, as he comes to appreciate his owner and respect him for being a god-fearing Christian who made sure he never went hungry or was beaten.
He seems to understand his situation as an unfortunate reality and has no animosity toward “Jim Owen”. He writes that he was taken to the land of the Christians by force and held by a godless man who he was fearful of, yet Jim Owen was kind to him and did not work him, did not beat him, and even housed him in a private house. Omar’s Muslim identity begins to die off as he moves toward Christianity and the gospel, his being provided with bibles and eventually converting to Christianity fully. This is a very interesting development as so many slaves have no identity attached to them upon leaving their homes, and Omar’s appears to change as well. He seems to mix Islam and Christian influences together, often writing about how his “Mohammedan” ideals haven’t necessarily changed but evolved to match his new faith and worship.
