Review the film Prince Among Slaves. This can count as one of your required reviews. What does the story of the Prince Abdul Rahman tell you. The film is produced by Michael Wolf a convert to Islam and the narrator, Mosdef, a well known actor-rapper, is also a Muslim. Clearly this is an example of how American Muslims are beginning to tell their story in America. What characteristics of this discourse can you detect.
I found the story of Abdul Rahman a sad and somber truth of America in our past and though not seen as easily or as seriously one that can still be seen today. I was surprised truly at the number of African American Muslims today as well as how greatly Islam plays a part in their history. Many Americans of all different ethnic backgrounds had their names changed and lost history while coming to America that they will never be able to get back. A history of family is a small piece of oneself, it can be a crucial part of seeing your road ahead and it’s a shame so many have lost it.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Abdul Rahman and African Americans Islam was forcibly torn from their past. Rahman being a prince his story was a little different from most all other African American slaves. Rahman had the ability to be seen after so many years having come across by sheer luck a man that he had taken care of when he was lost in Africa. Unfortunately for Rahman he had worked so hard and been so good at his labor as well as running all the labor that went on at the farm that he had worked himself to the point of being in exposable on the farm. Islam played a crucial role in the life of Rahman and though he was unable to practice for most of his life his wife and children with Islam as an undertone kept him going and in the end got him home to Africa. His story was party that of an amazing poetic justice and tragedy, a African prince ripped from his family, country and pride to slave on a plantation but then as a old man with a family set free only to have to leave his family and everything he knew once again.
I wonder though what feelings he had when he first saw those shores of Africa over the ships’ bow and touched foot to ground on his home continent. Did he still think of it as home truly, or did he reach Africa only to once again feel his home was an ocean away.
I agree with Nick. "Prince Among Slaves" served as another reminder to one of the darkest chapters of American history. I was also surprised at the realization that enslaved Africans was not the only item held in the cargo holds of the slave trader's ships; Islam was there too. It was a fact that I never knew before watching this film.
ReplyDeleteThroughout this movie, I was taken back by the theme of a person's title, and the realistic worth of that person’s title outside of their society. In this film, we met Rahman as he was a Prince of an African nation larger than the nation of Great Britain. At the age of 26, he was given the control of over 2,000 men and given the responsibility of protecting his nation’s access to water. Here, he held the titles of royalty, general, role model, leader, and Muslim. These prestigious titles were suddenly ripped from him. When he was captured by the slave traders, his titles of royalty and general immediately evaporated, and were suddenly replaced with the titles of slave and property. I was taken aback by the sudden transformation. I have never thought before of a person’s title having the ability to be taken away in an instant. Rahman, in my opinion, had the same view. Once he landed in Natchez and was sold to Foster, he immediately attempted to convince his new owner that he was a member of royalty, and his father would buy him back for an amount far above 980 pesos. Watching his sudden transformation from Abdul to Prince on the docks of the Mississippi, I realized human titles were noting more than a name; while holding them can bring one great power and influence, they can be taken away in a moment’s notice.
I agree with Nick and Matt in that the story of Abdul Rahman in “Prince Among Slaves" is a compelling story set in a shameful time of American history. Movies like this are important because visualizing history is much more powerful than reading about it. The film captured my attention and I felt like I was in the movie, which made me relate to the characters emotionally. This was a great film to watch, especially since it was Black History Month. Unlike other similar subject-matter films like Amistad, Amadeus, Roots etc., “Prince Among Slaves" had a very strong and interesting element of Islam. In public school history classes, the role of Islam during the slave trade is barely discussed. This film showed how many slaves, especially those from western sub-Saharan Africa, were Muslim and forced to give up their religion and adopt the religion of their masters – Christianity. Rahman had to marry his new love in a Christian nuptials ceremony in order to be with her and start a new family. I was happy to see him still holding on to his Islamic beliefs in the end, but I am curious about his children. Rahman probably raised his children Christian, but I wonder if he and others forced to convert taught their progeny anything about Islam.
ReplyDeleteThere are many black people in the US who “reverted” back to Islam and many more who continue to “revert”, but can you imagine how America would be like now if all the Muslim slaves and their descendents never adopted Christianity? I believe that the general American opinion of Islam would be much less ignorant and that people would be as familiar with Islam as we are with Christianity. Perhaps even our interactions with Islamic nations would be much friendlier. Maybe terrorism would not be such a threat. One can only imagine…
I found "Prince Among Slaves" to be a very powerful film. it was realistic, especially the recreated slave ship, and really illustrated the extreme conditions suffered by slaves. I agree with Jennifer that films can be much more powerful in portraying history than books, and I think that this is a good example of that.
ReplyDeleteThe religiosity and faith of African slaves is a topic that is rarely discussed in American history, and I found this to be extremely interesting. When the slaves were brought to America, their identities were lost. They no longer held the titles or positions that they once had where they came from. They became a product of whatever the slaveowner wanted them to be, no one was concerned by what they had been in the past. In the case of Abdul Rahman, who was prince of an entire empire before he was captured, this had no effect on who he was as a slave, a position he served for forty years. I found that the most amazing aspect of this was that while his identity was lost, his religion remained intact. He turned to Islam, seeing his situation as fate, and never gave up on his belief that he would become free. Even though it was forbidden to practice Islam in the Christian society, he maintained his prayer and belief, something that was extremely rare because if slaves were caught doing this they were punished or killed. When he did gain his freedom, he became an important political force against slavery, and even met with President John Adams. His story is truly amazing because he emerged intact from a life of slavery and never renounced his religion.
I thought that the most interesting aspect of “Prince Among Slaves” was the perspective from which the story was told. As Dr. Khan said, the movie was the history of a Muslim, written by Muslims, and narrated by a Muslim; and this can be felt throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, the movie actually documented the culture from which Abdul Rahman came. Most of the documentaries and movies I have seen dealing with slavery in America and the slave trade in general begin on the ship coming over, with perhaps a cursory mention of the effects on the African societies left behind; very seldom do we hear anything about African society pre-slave trade. Not only was a segment of the movie devoted to Abdul Rahman’s past, but it stressed the fact that his former life was much more civilized than his life in America. The members of his society could read and write Arabic, had extensive knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and other sciences, and had far more comfortable living arrangements (Abdul Rahman actually calls his owner’s home a “hut”). To hear of a slave considering his owner to be the ignorant and barbaric is a far cry from the simple, humble, Uncle Tom version of the slave that we normally encounter.
Also interesting was the sense of honor and dignity that Abdul Rahman displayed, even in barbaric and hostile America, and how it is juxtaposed with the attitude of the white characters in the film. His owner, Thomas Foster, had no respect for Abdul Rahman’s culture, illustrated most clearly by the forceful removal of the slave’s hair. Foster laughed in Abdul Rahman’s face when he explained that he was actually a wealthy prince from Africa, and continued mocking him throughout his life. Even after Abdul Rahman made Foster a wealthy and successful man he refused to free him, showing that he had no respect for Abdul Rahman’s humanity; he was property, and his loyalty and effort only made Foster less willing to give him or his family up.
Contrast this with Abdul Rahman’s noble behavior and you see a gloomy comparison. Though initially rebellious, Abdul Rahman came to accept his fate with graceful resignation. His faith in God and his sense of honor even convinced him to return to slavery in spite of having successfully escaped from Foster’s farm. Hearing the psychology behind this decision was extremely interesting, and highlighted important aspects of Abdul Rahman’s character.
I do wonder, though, if the Muslim perspective led to somewhat of a bias in the story telling, just as a non-Muslim perspective could have led to a bias in the other direction. The white people in the movie were portrayed as so uncompromisingly stupid and inconsiderate that I had trouble accepting every word at face value. Foster’s schizophrenic treatment of Abdul Rahman was extremely confusing to me – one day he was a benevolent friend, such as when he organized Abdul Rahman’s wedding, and the next he was an immutable dictator, refusing to sell his slave to the Irish doctor even when begged. And even the doctor (whose name escapes me) was not shown in the most sympathetic of lights. He seemed simple and naïve, almost childlike, while Abdul Rahman was portrayed as impassive and aloof. Perhaps this opinion is a sign of my own naïveté and a lack of understanding as to the depth and strength of the racism that pervaded the south at the time, but personally I believe it may have been a reflection of the biases of the filmmakers.
That being said though, I thought that the film was extremely informative, and I enjoyed the different perspective that it afforded. Bias or no, it’s nice to hear from someone who isn’t a fat white male historian.
In 1788 a slave-ship set sail from West Africa, its cargo full with a profitable but fragile cargo: hundreds of men, women and children bound in chains and headed for American shores. Months later the survivors were sold on the shores of the Mississippi. Among them was the 26-year-old Abdul Rahman, heir to the throne of one of the largest kingdoms in Africa, Futa Jalloo.
ReplyDeleteRahman was sold to farmer Thomas Foster who was an aspiring plantation owner within Mississippi. Although Rahman claimed he was a prince and offered gold to Foster, he denied his request. Rahman promptly escaped Foster’s farm, but after several weeks alone in the Mississippi swamps he voluntary returned. Sustained by his Muslim faith and drawing from his well-honed intellect, Rahman applied his leadership abilities and knowledge about crops such as cotton to help Foster become one of the wealthiest men in Mississippi.
Abdul-Rahman's adjustment to the change of circumstances, from a life of power and privilege to one of exploitation and utter subjugation is an amazing feat. Throughout the film Rahman rarely complained and made the best of his circumstance. Rahman even married an American-born enslaved woman, and together they had nine children. Considering the film was produced by Muslims, the characterization of Rahman as a strong, understanding and intelligent individual is a direct commentary on the Islamic faith as a whole. Foster was obviously scared of this fact considering he banned anyone from practicing Islam. Instead, Foster molded his slaves on what he believed to be American values of Christianity. This was exemplified in the scene where Rahman married his wife, in a cordial Christian ceremony.
Some characters in the film were able to look past Rahmans’ skin color and see him for his skills and faith. In a chance meeting, a surgeon whose life was saved by Rahman within Africa met the Prince on the street while he was selling fruits and vegetables. The surgeon used all of his political and financial pull to free his friend, yet Foster would not budge. This illustrates how Foster was not interested in money, but needed Rahman to run his farm. Years later Rahman would meet a printer who found out they both spoke Arabic. Using the language of Islam, Rahman was able to send letters to President John Quincy Adams and the Sultan of Morocco negotiating his freedom, which he eventually won with a free passage back to Africa. Reluctantly, Foster agreed, and manumitted him under one condition: that Abdul Rahman was not to enjoy the rights of a free man in the United States. Although Rahman was free, his family was still enslaved. Campaigning around the country he attempted to raise funds to free his family. It was interesting to see how the American public reacted to this.
After a visit to the White House, Rahman was given traditional Moroccan clothes for his journey. The movie specifically made the point of explaining how these clothes were a complete generalization, so much that Rahman felt confused wearing them. In fact when Rahman explained to the President he was not Moroccan, President Adams almost immediately declined to pay any money to free his family. This action shows Adams was not interested in helping Rahman as a Muslim, but just as a Moroccan. Sickness and the growing threat that he might be returned to Foster forced Abdul Rahman to leave the U.S. without his children. In Africa he continued to press for their freedom, but died only four months after his return, unable to see his quest realized.
The story of Abdul-Rahman is one of many in the American Experience. Although slave owners forced their slaves to act and pray in certain ways, today African Americans around the country are reconnecting with their roots and re-establishing their Muslim heritage.
“Prince Among Slaves” was an enlightening and depressing film. I never knew about Abdul Rahman and his legacy. It was interesting to learn about the Islamic side of the African slaves that is hardly discussed.
ReplyDeletePrince Abdul Rahman was a trilingual, successful military general and an heir to a West African nation the size of Great Britain. After losing a battle to a warring nation, he was captured and sold to slave traders in 1788. He was sent to the American South. He endured the horrific Middle Passage and ended up the "property" of a poor and nearly illiterate planter from Natchez, Mississippi, named Thomas Foster. By using his knowledge of growing cotton, Rahman rose to a position of authority on the plantation and became the de facto foreman. This granted him the opportunity to grow his own vegetable garden and sell at the local market. He married a fellow slave, Isabella, and they had nine children. During this time, he met an old acquaintance, Dr. John Cox. Dr. Cox was an Irish surgeon who served on an English ship. He was the first white man to reach Timbo after being stranded by his ship and falling ill. Cox stayed there for six months and was taken in by Rahman’s family. Cox appealed to Foster to sell him "Prince" so he could return to Africa. However, Foster would not budge, since Rahman was very valuable to Foster’s farm. Cox continued, until his death to seek Rahman’s freedom, however, he was not successful.
Rahman wrote a letter to his relatives in Africa. A local newspaperman, Andrew Marschalk, sent a copy to Senator Thomas Reed in Washington, who forwarded it to the U.S. Consulate in Morocco. Since Abdul Rahman wrote in Arabic, Marschalk and the U.S. government assumed that he was a Moor. Thomas Foster agreed to release Rahman, without payment, with the stipulation that Rahman would return to Africa and could not be a freedman in the United States. Before he returned to Africa, Rahman traveled widely throughout the northern states, where he addressed huge audiences of fascinated whites, early Abolitionists including, and sympathetic Free Blacks in an attempt to raise enough money to buy his children out of slavery. After almost a year, he only raised half the funds and left to Africa with his wife. He died four months later in Liberia, never seeing his children or Timbo again.
Rahman made the most of his situation. He did his best on the plantation and moved up. I guess one has to move on in life and can not live in the past. Even though he was not able to practice Islam, it was still in his heart. He stood out from most slaves not just for his willingness to adapt but also his intelligence. He used his intelligence to lobby for his children’s freedom.
What is interesting about this film is how involved Muslims were in making it. I do not know of any American film associated with so many Muslims. It is good we are not seeing a different side of slavery in America. Even though it was not a happy story in the end, it was good to know about the Islamic side of the slave trade. It seems not many Americans know many of the African slaves were Muslim. I know in the Caribbean, specifically Guyana, have a nickname for Muslims, “Fula.” Fula comes from the word Fulani, which was a West African Muslim tribe. I knew about the term Fula but did not know its origins until doing a little research. This is an example of how little attention the Islamic side of the slave trade receives. It would be great to see more films such as “Prince Among Slaves” come out in the foreseeable future.
Even after taking History of Africa at UD, and spending a lot of time learning about the slave trade, I still never made the connection between who was being captured and what their religion would be. Given the expansion of Islam deep into West Africa, it’s to be expected that millions of Muslims were transported to America. Because they were chattel, all of their rights and freedoms were stripped. What one cannot destroy is faith, no matter what one says. Their professions of Christianity couldn’t have all been sincere. Islam is all they could retain from their homeland.
ReplyDeleteFor once, Muslims are telling their own story. No more drab, lackluster narration by a neutral History Channel veteran. This role was taken by Mos Def, who obviously related to the story and gave it an organic, believable feel, like hearing a story from a relative around the dinner table instead of a lecture hall. This narrative felt truly authentic.
The turning point of the documentary was Abdul Rahman’s failed escape. Rather than letting Foster’s efforts to break him succeed, he eventually won his freedom by being true to himself. He demonstrated his knowledge of agriculture and leadership, took advantage of his contact from Africa (Mr. Cox) and used his literacy and faith to win support from the printer, President Adams, and the Sultan of Morocco. By being true to himself, not losing faith in Allah, and not losing faith in people, he survived attempts to strip his identity. He didn’t have to change or compromise his values to earn his freedom.
What interests me about this time period is the conscience of the people involved in the slave trade. We’ve all seen the inhumane conditions of the ships, the brutality of masters, the callousness of slave traders, and so on, but the actions of people like Cox and the printer raise more questions than they answer. They were willing to make exceptions for people of royalty like Rahman, probably out of sympathy and compassion, but where were those feelings for the millions of others? I would think that one is either for or against slavery, and not selective. Perhaps they were simply being pragmatic and knew that exception would only be made at the executive level for wealthy, powerful men like Rahman. This is a sad bit of reality. Those who had the power to end what they knew was wrong didn’t broaden their efforts to rescue many millions of slaves.
Although Rahman did travel to raise funds to release the rest of his family, he didn’t raise nearly enough. His story shows the extent to which the public was trapped in this master-slave mentality. It was deplorable that a king was enslaved, but not his relatives. It’s equally disgusting that the American Colonization Society, which was responsible for raising funds to send Africans back to Africa, was partly so successful because Americans feared the consequences of a future generation of freed blacks who would compete for jobs and threaten traditional ways of life. It’s amazing to consider how much we’ve changed as a nation, where now slavery is regarded as an outright crime.
This narrative really fits into what we’ve been discussing in class. The presence of Muslims in America is not new, and groups like the nation of Islam have their roots in Muslims who realized that they are descendents of Muslims, hence their “reversion” instead of their conversion. The civil rights movement with leaders like Malcolm X was really a continuation of Abdul Rahman’s struggle, who saw freedom and Islam as compatible, and who used the language of the Islam to earn his freedom. Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X weren’t random leaders, they were carrying on a tradition that was planted here hundreds of years ago. It’s fitting that they were part of the solution to the problem of slavery.
Prince Among Slaves is an alternative and compelling approach to exploring the history of the African American slave trade. It tells the story of Abdul Rahman, a prince in West Africa in the late eighteenth century, who was captured by American slave traders and taken to Mississippi, along with other captured Africans. He was forced to work on Thomas Foster’s plantation, and nobody believes him when he tries to explain that he is actually a prince and a skilled army general in Africa. Foster even refuses to let Rahman’s family pay in gold for his return to his African kingdom.
ReplyDeleteAfter years of working on the plantation, he married another African slave named Isabella. Together they had nine children, all of whom inevitably grew up as slaves alongside their parents. One day Rahman comes into contact with Dr. John Cox, who immediately recognized him and recalled when Rahman’s family saved his life by taking him in after Cox fell ill. From that moment until his death, Cox continuously made offers to Foster to buy Rahman’s freedom, but Foster always turned him down since Rahman was a good worker. After his death, Cox’s son, William, got the help of a newspaper editor to spread the word about Rahman’s situation. This grabbed the attention of President John Quincy Adams.
Rahman tried to use his influence to have a letter sent to his relatives in Africa. Since the letter was written in Arabic, US government officials inferred that he is Moroccan. President Adams originally said that he would allow Rahman and Isabella to temporarily travel to Africa, but when he found out that Rahman was not from Morocco he rescinded the offer. Rahman continued to travel the country to gain support for the release of him and his family from slavery. After Foster freed him and his wife, the two did their best to raise enough money to free their children. Several months after their official release, they went to Africa to stay because Foster had only freed them under the condition that they would not enjoy freedom in the United States. Soon after returning to Africa, Rahman became very sick and died within a few months. He never actually returned to his home kingdom or saw his children after his departure.
This documentary shows a side to America’s history of slavery that is often neglected in academia. It is often spoken or written that these enslaved individuals were abused and not even seen as humans, but the details concerning everything that they were stripped of—right down to their own names and religion—tends to go undiscussed. This lack of discussion does not help to eradicate racism or islamophobia in our country, two issues that still permeate society, because not telling the whole truth about the history of oppressed individuals leads us to fail at recognizing them as legitimate members of American society and culture. A conversation of this kind is badly needed if there is hope to alleviate these social ills in the future.
A primary reason that a documentary like this would be very useful in American history classes is that it calls attention to Islam’s deep roots in America, which I feel are usually completely ignored. Until studying Islam and its history in college, I just assumed that before Africans were brought to America, they had their own indigenous religious beliefs that I had never heard of. I did not know what a great portion of them were actually Muslim, belonging to this great global religion. After September 11th, islamophobia in the US skyrocketed and many viewed Islam as a new “threat.” The idea that it should not be seen as a threat is a whole other topic, but we need to start recognizing that it is nothing new to America or the rest of the world.
Furthermore, Prince Among Slaves shines a positive light on Islam as a religion which fuels good doing, hope, and self-discipline in its followers. It was because of Rahman’s skills and Muslim-influenced discipline that Foster’s plantation became so lucrative. Rahman felt that he owed his perseverance in working towards gaining freedom to his Islamic faith. This is worth noting because many other religious individuals will attribute their good will to their religious adherence, and if more non-Muslim people in America saw that Muslims feel the same way, it could help to close the perceived huge differences between Muslims and non-Muslim people of faith. Overall, this movie could generate much discussion within religious and academic circles in the United States and would bring more understanding towards the Islamic faith and its followers.
“Prince Among Slaves” is a documentary chronicling the life of African Prince Abdul Rahman. In the late 1700’s Rahman is living peacefully as a Prince in Africa. He is accomplished in his leadership of troops defending his people, and also religious in his practice of the Islamic faith. His world changes when white men from the new world come and capture Rahman and his people. Rahman lands in Mississippi and is enslaved on Thomas Foster’s cotton and tobacco farm.
ReplyDeleteRahman has a hard time adjusting to his new life and its awful conditions. He rebels at first, and is successful in escaping from the plantation. Yet he ultimately returns, and assumes the life of a slave. Rahman’s determination and self-identity are truly tested during this time. He is faced with the decision to flee or to accept his life as a slave. He chooses to remain at the plantation and do the best job he can do. Once Rahman recognizes the fact that he is no longer a prince, he master’s the role of slave. His hard work leads to his master being more lenient and compassionate towards him. Rahman’s faith plays a major role in his self discipline. Throughout his life he determined his value rather than having a slave owner tell him his self worth. By remaining dignified and self-assured Rahman gives other slaves on the plantation hope. He helped teach those to determine their own fate rather than have someone above them dictate their fate for them.
The documentary was very informative and shed great light on a story I had never heard before. This film illustrated some of the earliest signs of Islam in America, and hopefully more stories like this will be told to show how prevalent Islam is in the history of the nation. However, the film had many paradoxes that I must call into question. While Rahman was determined to keep his true self, I can’t help but wonder how he this quest was more successful as a slave, rather than as his potential fugitive life. I also question whether Rahman truly believed in the American system that he ultimately used to gain his freedom. He was brought to America against his will, but assimilated to the role that was chosen for him and then worked within the unjust system to gain his freedom. Yet, the message of self-identity is throughout the story. The life of a slave in America is illustrated very well especially in the way Rahman fights for his family. Family is an element in Rahman’s self-identity and in order to gain his full independence he works to gain his family member’s freedom as well. The movie’s ending is bittersweet, but the message of the film is still clear. I would recommend this movie to anyone interested in this time in history. It was great to see a film that was both inspiring and educational.
Ted Prettyman
ReplyDeletePrince Among Slaves film review
The film Prince Among Slaves is a documentary about the life of Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori, an African prince and Muslim who was captured, brought to America, and sold into slavery. This sudden change in status and life is a shock to Abdulrahman. He finds himself the slave of a plantation owner who mocks him for claiming to be a prince. Abdulrahman eventually meets a man who recognizes him from Africa and can verify his claim. Abdulrahman is then able to lobby the US government through this man in order to try to attain his freedom. He does this by writing a letter to his family in Africa in Arabic which is sent to Morocco, which had good relations with the US at the time. Abdulrahman and his wife are eventually freed on the condition they return to Africa. Their children, however, remained in bondage. Before leaving for Africa Abdulrahman tries to raise enough funds to purchase his children, but is unable. He eventually dies within a year of returning to Africa.
This purpose of this documentary, in addition to telling the story of Adbulrahman’s life, is to change a number of perceptions. First, the documentary is trying to change the historical perception of slavery. While some may see slaves as having benefited from being brought to the US and being “civilized,” the video illustrates that some slaves were educated, literate, and not as destitute and barbaric as some portray them.
The video also tries to shift how American’s view the history of Islam in America. While many see the origins of Islam in this country as beginning with the Nation of Islam many are not aware that there were slaves who were Muslim and continued practicing Islam in America as slaves. Many lost their religion after a few generations, however, taking on the only religion of their masters, Christianity.
Furthermore, the documentary tries to remove the notion that after 9/11 Muslims in America are the “other,” are outsiders and new to the country. By showing how Muslims played an influential role in the early history of the US this seems to give Muslims a sense of being part of the historical narrative of the US and not a new “other.”
I enjoyed the film because I actually had not heard this story before. I also enjoyed Mos Def narrating it and I thought it was fitting since he is an indigenous American Muslim. I do have a criticism of the film however. I wish the film cited and showed more of the historical evidence surrounding Abdulrahman, the other people in the film, and especially the kingdom in Africa which Abdulrahman came out of. Being somewhat of a skeptic, I am reluctant to believe the entire story of the film because I felt Abdulrahman was portrayed as too much of a mythical hero. I would have liked to see more opposing evidence for what the film was presenting in order to strengthen the point it was trying to make.
Overall, I think Prince Among Slaves is a wonderful film that serves an important role in revising how Americans view their history in order to include Muslims as part of that narrative.
Film Review: Prince Among Slaves
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Zwaan
This movie was a true story about an African man, who was brought to the US as a slave in the 1700s. Abdul Rahman was a well-educated, military warrior-prince in Africa, who was abducted and sold into the brutal slave trade. The slave trade was the largest forced migration in world history and caused many people to lose their true identities. Men, women, and children were all sold to landowners in America just like any other good. Abdul Rahman, or “Prince”, was forcibly removed from his home and torn away from his wife and children when he was returning from a military expedition. He was removed from a very sophisticated and complex African community that excelled in arithmetic, multiple languages including Arabic, and other knowledgeable subjects. After a long, dangerous journey across the Atlantic, Abdul was sold to a man name Foster in Mississippi, where most slave buyers were illiterate.
The slave holders in America stripped the slaves of their customs and identities in many ways. Not only did the slave traders forcibly remove them from their homes, the slaves were treated as animals. Slaves like Abdul, who held leadership positions in their homelands, were treated as animals. Abdul had long hair while in Africa as a sign of his nobility. When he was bought by Foster, his hair was roughly cut off. When he refused to clear Foster’s fields, he was whipped. When he tried to tell Foster about his noble title Foster laughed at him and continuously mocked Abdul by calling him Prince.
Abdul’s religious identity was also extremely restricted by his slave owner. Abdul Rahman was a Muslim and knew how to read Arabic from when he was a young boy. Many African American slaves were Muslim and very well educated, yet they were forced to worship as Christians by their slave owners. I found this fact very interesting because as a young American learning about slavery, I assumed that most slaves were Christian because of the content of their slave songs. Most slaves had to keep their Islamic faith a secret. This is why most African Americans refer to “reverting” not “converting” to Islam when they join. They mean that they are reverting back to the faith of their ancestors. Abdul Rahman was married as a Christian to another slave Isabella.
When Abdul Rahman was first bought by Foster, he escaped into the wilderness trying to return to Africa. While trying to survive in the unknown world of America, he realized that here he was no longer a prince, no longer a warrior, and that he had to master the life that he was thrown into. He returned to Foster and helped Foster become extremely rich in the cotton business. Even later in life, when he was able to become a free man and traveled around the country with his wife to try and buy his children out of slavery, some white Americans treated him unequally. He was given Moorish clothes because the white American assumed that since he knew Arabic he was a Moor. Abdul eventually returned to Africa at the age of 67, but shortly became ill and died before he could reach his kingdom.
This movie was produced by Michael Wolf, a convert to Islam, and narrated by Mos-def, a well-known Muslim rapper/actor. I think it was important to them to be able to tell the story of Muslims in America that is rarely discussed. The truth behind this story makes it appealing because there can now be a face to the Muslim slave topic. This movie is extremely relevant even though it is about events that occurred almost 300 years ago because most Americans today fear Islam and know very little about it. It helps to establish Islam as a religion in America, just like Christianity and Judaism, and makes it less of a threat to know that it has been a part of American culture since the beginning of our country.
Movie Review for Prince Among Slaves
ReplyDeleteThe movie “Prince Among Slaves” was a grave yet enlightening film about one young man, Abdul Rahman, and how he was torn away from his life and home in Africa to become part of slave trade, eventually ending up on a farm in North Carolina. Yet the life and home of Rahman cannot just be generalized as “Africa,” but must be explained further. Rahman was a prince, and ruled over thousands of men and had many responsibilities. He did not come from a barbaric society, as slave owners of the time assumed, but instead was learned in Arabic, math, and astronomy. He was also a Muslim.
I agree with the previous comments made by Drew in that while the slave trade was something I have learned about in numerous classes, the focus was always about what events took place, for example, the capture, the boat ride, and life as a slave in general. Rarely have I been exposed to points of view that accurately and effectively express the real depth of what kind of life was being left behind in Africa, let alone what religion might be practiced. It is also interesting because typically Islam is associated with the Middle East. However, I have learned in this class that Islam is not a regional religion, but can be found all over the world, most recently in Europe and the United States. Islam has strong historical roots in Africa, and many American-Muslims today have “reverted” back to Islam because of these roots. This is such a large and significant part of the American-Muslim community that it should be discussed more than it is in American history.
When Rahman came to America his identity and specifically his religion were crushed out of him as much as possible. Though he tried once to escape, when he returned he was resigned to his fate to be a slave instead of a prince, and follow Christian traditions instead of Islamic traditions. Yet at heart Rahman would always be a prince and a Muslim. Rahman suppressed himself for years, and labored as a hardworking slave. Finally, his literacy and acquaintance with a local printer helped him make contact with people back in Africa. After a letter to President Adams, “Prince” was able to get his freedom, under the condition that would not be free in the United States; he was just free to go back to Africa.
I think it is very interesting and significant that this story was written, directed, and told by African Muslims precisely because it is a story that has been rarely told, if at all. It is a point of view that has been ignored in the past, and the proof can be seen in the reactions of people just in our class, who express surprise about learning that African slaves were Muslims.
Ultimately, Rahman’s story is one of both triumph and tragedy. He was taken away from Africa, which meant not only losing his royal status, but leaving his family behind. He married again in the Christian fashion and started a new family, but while he eventually gained his freedom, he was unable to gain freedom for his children and grandchildren, and had to leave that family behind too. He returned to Africa for only a short time until he got sick and passed away. What amazes me is that this true story is just one thread in the combined history of Islam and America, and that there are probably hundreds of thousands of similar stories.
Film Review- Prince Among Slaves
ReplyDeleteThe film “Prince Among Slaves” is a wonderful film that test the conventional view point of slaves being forced to shed their primitive culture and adopt civilization. While nearly ever person can agree that the salve trade was harmful, we do not often view West African culture of that time period to be anything more than primal. The protagonist of “Prince Among Slaves,” Abdul Rahman, was an actual prince of the African Kingdom, Futa Jalloo. The movie begins with images of this highly advanced African society, which read Arabic and practiced Islam. The city looked as splendid as any past empire noted in history books. Abdul Rahman appears very regal, respected and powerful.
Not long into the film, the tables turn for Abdul Rahman as he is captured, forced onto a slave ship and delivered to a plantation owner in Mississippi, Thomas Foster. Upon reaching America, Rahman describes the Americans to be very uncivilized and barbaric. Their housing quarter appear much like the tiny huts of his village, rather than the “palace” to which he was accustomed. This apparent role reversal of African culture versus American culture makes one think about the meanings of “civilization” and the adjective, “primitive.” As depicted in the film, bartering for humans as though they were cattle seems quite primitive.
This film, narrated by Muslims, directed by Muslims and starring Muslims depicts the Islamic culture of West Africa as highly advanced while showing the barbaric nature of American pioneers at the time of slavery. From my personal education, never had I learned of African kingdoms and African Islam, only huts in villages and voodoo and polytheistic religions. “Prince Among Slaves” does a great service to African American Muslims to restore a sense of dignity and pride for the culture of which they were robbed. While not all slaves were actual princes prior to boarding a slave ship, the use of a Prince as the protagonist was a strategic choice. The distinguished prince epitomizes everything “advanced” and impressive about the societies from which West African slaves came.
The film also has an even greater, universal message evidenced through the demeanor of Abdul Rahman: Perseverance. Despite the horrible circumstances to which he was subjected, the protagonist always strived to make the best of his circumstances, took pride in the things he was doing, and always held his head up with pride. He wrote letters to the President and the Sultan of Morocco, never giving up his desire to return home to Africa. He was also able to re-marry and create a new family. He even befriended his “master.” The life of this man is an inspiration of how each of us should live with dignity and integrity.
Michael Wolf's Prince Among Slaves is a great step for American Muslims because it is a way of getting their story out to the public. I think that one of the things that makes the movie as greast as it is is that it is based on a true story, the story of Abdul Rahman.
ReplyDeletePrince Among Slaves is about an African prince named, Abdul Rahman. Abdul was captured by men and forced to go to America to become a slave. After the traveling for nearly a year, the slave ship landed in Southern America and those that were still alive were auctioned off like livestock.
Rahman was sold and worked as a slave for decades. One day while at a market, a white man who Rahman had met in Africa spotted him and later tried to purchase his freedom. When the man died, his son continued the fight.
Rahman eventually gained the support of many in America, including John Q. Adams! Rahman was eventually allowed to travel with his wife, Isabella but were forced to leave their nine children. Rahman eventually returned to Africa in his sixties but passed away as soon as those in his kingdom found out that he was back.
At one point, Rahman was even considered the most famous African in America. This was because him and Isabella traveled all around the northern US and spoke to many freed slaves. As Rahman's story was spread around, it was surely an inspiration for many.
Rahman's story can be an inspiration for people today as well. This was a man who stayed strong in his faith and finally got what he had been praying for.
This story is also one of many great stories for Muslims in America. It shows that one should be proud of their heritage and to not back down from what you believe in.
Overall, I thought that this was a wonderful movie and would suggest it to anyone, especially people who are interested in history and how Islam came to America through slaves.
We learned in class that there were five waves/stages of Muslims coming to America.
ReplyDeleteThe video we saw, 'The Prince and the Slaves' focused on the second wave or post Pre- Columbian period. And it was a jarring historical examination of slaves and their original religious identities prior to being brutally captured, beaten, sold and sent to America as slave property. In this compelling
case, the film is centered on a royal African prince who was ambushed by other Africans, taken to the sea and sold to an English slave ship enterprise.
The prince was subjected to miserable, inhumane treatment aboard 'The Africa', as were his former subjects, who were now slaves as was he. Over 400 years nearly 12 million Africans endured the same dehumanizing voyage from freedom to degradation.
Abdul Rahman, the prince, tries to reason with his slave master, Thomas Foster, after Foster purchased him at auction in Natchez, Mississippi. He tells Foster that his father, a King, will pay a ransom for his release ...the offer is mocked, rejected, and used to
denigrate Rahman.
Rahman initially refused to work-was beaten, practiced Islam-was beaten, and finally escaped for a period. Ironically, as a royal, he had once owned slaves himself and soon realized while on the lam that he had to accept the will of Allah and return to his owner.
Foster sensed Rahman was special and imposed no punishment...Rahman began to work earnestly. Indeed, his knowledge of cotton led Foster to vigorously embrace cotton farming on his plantation. Soon, Rahman was putin charge of the plantation's slaves.
He was lonely, and sensing that he would never return to Africa, he fell in love with a slave girl, Isabela, and gently trained his heart to not mourn his African wife and children.
Although slave marriage was forbidden, Foster encouraged it to create workforce/workplace stability. It was a mixed marriage as Isabela was Christian, but their love produced 5 sons/4 daughters. Foster allowed Rahman to have a side-business, making money for his family.
Irony intervened when the slave ship's doctor (John Cox),who had been with the royal family in Africa, ran into Rahman at the Sunday market. He tried to buy the prince's freedom, but Foster rejected the overture as Rahman had become indispensable to the plantation.
News of his royal status leaked out, and Andrew Marschalk, a local newsman, began to promote his quest for freedom and a return to Africa.
The President of the United States, John Adams, heard of his plight and soon Foster relented, probably because Rahman was in his 60's and physically weak. Rahman began campaign for Isabela's freedom too...sadly they had to tearfully leave their children and grandchildren behind.
He spoke to abolitionists and freed slaves in the Northeast, raising some money for the voyage home.
He and Isabela returned in March 1929 to Africa-Liberia- where stayed 4 months, waiting for approval and the means to travel to his royal hometown. Unfortunately, he contracted 'fever' and died before ever setting foot back home.
He never stopped practicing Islam. His faith in Allah, along with his royal education, sustained him through the most degrading and brutal lifetime of slavery. Many African-Americans of today are 'reverting' to Islam as like the Prince, they have not forgotten the religion of their ancestors.
Leanne McCarthy
ReplyDeletePrince Among Slaves is the story of Abdul Rahman, a Muslim African Prince who is sold into slavery and brutally taken to America where he is bought by Thomas Foster, a religious minded, business man from South Carolina. Foster dismissed Rahman’s attempts to tell him that he was a Prince in Africa. Foster looked at him as property, not as a human being who had previously commanded over 2000 people in a sophisticated society.
Although Foster had strict rules against Rahman’s practice of his religion, Rahman continued to practice his faith privately. Even throughout the hardships he faced as a slave, Rahman stayed true to Islam and it may have been his religious ideals that gave him hope that he would one day return home to Africa. Rahman’s intellect and hard work made him indispensible to Foster, which worked negatively when Dr. John Cox, a man who happened to know Rahman from Africa, offered to buy his freedom. Eventually Rahman managed to gain national attention and was referred to as a “dignified captive”. By 1827, Rahman was freed but defied Foster by touring the United States before returning to Africa where he past away after only four months.
The story of Abdul Rahman is incredible, and while the majority of African Muslims who were sold into slavery in America never got to go back to Africa, some of these people continued to practice the Islamic faith. Rahman was committed to the Quran throughout his life, and his story is inspiring to all Muslims, and in particular Black “reverts” to Islam.
Throughout my education I have learned multiple times about the slave trade and about the Africans that arrived in both North and South America, and it was not until I saw this movie that I realized that many of those sold into slavery were of the Islamic faith. The fact that I have never been taught this is disheartening and as the Muslim community continues to produce and share their past histories hopefully others will become better educated on the history of Muslims in America.
This is the story of the Prince Abdul Rahman, an African prince of a large West African territory who was abducted and sold into slavery in America in 1788. The film is produced by Michael Wolf a convert to Islam and the narrator, Mosdef, a well known actor-rapper, is also a Muslim.
ReplyDeleteI can firmly say that I am a tenth generation American and that I can trace back my history over twenty generations. Genealogically, I can say that my heritage is 50% English, 25% Italian, 24% Irish, and 1% Native American. However, African Americans whose ancestors were slaves are completely severed from their past. They can’t say for sure where they come from. The process in Africa of war victors selling their captives into the European (followed by American) slave trade ripped the Africans from their homeland. After enduring an unimaginably excruciating trans-Atlantic journey by boat, they were severed from any family members that survived the rigorous journey, sold, and renamed by their master. The movie shows how most slaves had no rights: they could not own anything or purchase anything. They didn’t even have rights to their own children. Once on the plantation, if they had a family of their own, there was no guarantee that the family would stay together; the slave owner could legally sell off his slaves’ children. We have all read this in our history books growing up, but this movie depicts it, showing how heartbreaking and devastating the whole process was. The thing is – it’s one thing to read about it; it’s another to see it.
Aside from losing their identity and links to history, they also lost their religion. Many were likely Muslim, but, upon their arrival to the United States, Christianity was all that was available to them. That is why many of the African American Muslims consider themselves to be “reverts” to Islam rather than converts, seeing as some of their forefathers were likely Muslim.
The movie portrays the somber and devastating story of Abdul Rahman, an African prince, who, along with Islam, was forcibly torn from his past. He was purchased by Thomas Foster in Mississippi. He told him that his father was a king and would pay any amount to have him back, but Foster quickly dismissed what he deemed to be his slave’s wildly creative imagination and set him hack to work. Abdul Rahman ran away to the forest for a couple of days to try to grapple with his unbearable situation. In the woods, he prayed and reflected on his life before. Ironically, as a prince, he had owned slaves, too. Remembering his vow to submit to God and his will, he returned to the plantation to follow the path that God set out for him. Years later, Abdul Rahman finally acquired his freedom and that of his second wife (the fellow slave on the plantation with whom he fell in love), but, after campaigning for almost a year, failed to buy all of their nine children out of slavery. They were forced to choose. He died four months after landing in Liberia. The last day that he ever saw his father or his first wife or their son was the day before he was abducted and sold into slavery.
ReplyDeleteI think that this was a highly valuable movie and definitely in line with what we studied this semester. The movie’s aim is to correct American’s perception of Islam in our own history. Many think that it started in America through the Nation of Islam movement, but, in fact, the religious was here way before that. Over 12 million slaves were brought to America from the Caribbean and from Africa, many of whom were Muslim. Even founding father Thomas Jefferson had a Qu’ran. It’s a great source of history, and it explains the current appearance of African American Muslim “reverts” in this country.
All in all, a good movie. I would definitely watch it again, as well as reccommend to colleagues and friends.
Prince Rahman, a noble man in Africa battling and warring with other tribes lost the battle and was sold into slavery by the very tribes he lost the battle to. This man coming from a noble and strong background to a meek and low inhuman position as a slave a prince among slaves. He landed on the shores of Virginia and onto the small farm of Foster. Foster did not have a huge plantation, he was a working farmer so this slave was a good investment which would in turn make it profitable for Foster later as he would own a huge plantation.
ReplyDeleteI thought when the prince first came, he was successful at leaving the farm escaping he was a prince scared and wanted to get back to his family, but his family in Africa. I thought to myself c’mon you can do it you made it this far. Isn’t this as if a Hollywood movie just takes over a ship and goes back?
Nevertheless, he knew nothing of where he was or how far from whence he came. He knew nothing of the language and if he were to ask for help, he would be condemned. Then I realized this was not a Hollywood movie and that he would not be free and not escape. He had nowhere to go as he lived in the elements without food and accommodations. His vulnerability was transparent and I felt sorry for him and his dignity. This was humiliation of a great man of noble position from his own country in his own right, reduced to depending on his slave master to live life.
His disposition was good and so to was Fosters as his spine was soft but then again he was the owner not the slave. Foster formed a relationship with Prince and viewed him as an asset and Prince was a slave for 40 years having nine children. President John Quincy Adams was listening to the pleas of Doctor John Cox with whom his life had been saved when Prince and his father had nursed him back to health back in Africa. The public had to plead for this slave’s case, as this had become a famous slave in the area. He and his wife seemed to live a dignified life, as payment was able to free the man and wife. Only half of the funds were raised for the children. Therefore, as the Prince and his wife were leaving the shore in the boat it was a poignant scene that provoked emotion and anger but that place was all they knew they were born on the plantation. Whereas the prince knew where he came from and it was not America it was Africa and he was Muslim not Christian. He made it to Africa but died soon after his journey to Africa had taken place but never made it to his home.
The inhuman way of treating minorities, an atrocious human rights issue that would never occur today on American Soil as our country has come a long way. However, what about the slaves that still exist in India or other countries today? The prince wanted to go home after 40 years and did so to die. This film was a measure of going along for the ride and dealing with the hand that was dealt to you. However, imagine on top of all else that taking a prince out his element, his country, and making him a slave but then making him a Christian and making his religion seem barbaric. He got out but he got by, he was one of the lucky slaves, even if it took forty years to go back to the continent of Africa his birthplace. Many did not have his same opportunity so even his princely status helped him as with the Doctor. I wondered what happened to the average slaves, hmm I do not think their average status helped them much, not quite the same.
REVIEW OF "PRINCE AMONG SLAVES" (PART 1/2)
ReplyDeleteSara Rosenbaum
“Prince Among Slaves” is the story of a young prince from Africa, Abdul-Rahman, who was brought to America in 1788 as a slave after he was captured in battle. This movie reflects one of the most horrible and disgraceful events in American history. In the history of Muslims in America, this is the first chapter. This movie helps to explain the trend of African-American “reverts” to Islam that is so common today.
Abdul-Rahman is a well-educated, Muslim prince from Timbuktu. A religious Muslim man, he thought of his capture into slavery as part of God’s plan. His devout faith kept him going throughout his journey to America, and it is what made him become the man he would be in the future.
Abdul-Rahman’s story is indeed an incredible one. Before seeing this documentary, I had never heard his story. I liked the way it was set up, and I liked that Mos Def was the narrator. It is telling that the film was created by Muslims to tell the story of some of the first Muslims in America.
When Abdul-Rahman got to America, he was bought by a plantation owner in Mississippi named Thomas Foster. When Rahman tried to explain his situation to Foster, that there was a mistake and he was really a prince, Foster laughs and does not believe him. Rahman realizes soon enough that Foster has no care of what his status was back in Africa, and he resigned to his fate and had faith in God that everything would work itself out. We see his Muslim identity in a few scenes; besides his devout faith in God, he is also seen reading Arabic from the Quran. Most slaves were illiterate, and the fact that Rahman could read from the Holy Book of Islam meant that he must have been highly educated back at his home.
Recognizing that he would not be returning home in the near future, Rahman makes a new life for himself. During his tenure with Foster, Rahman helped expand his business with his knowledge of cotton. Rahman soon became Fosters most prized slave, and he was rewarded by being able to make some money for himself by selling stuff from the farm in the town.
Rahman gave up his old life except for his religion and faith. He had a wife and child back in Africa, but after a few years with Foster he decided it would not be fair if he didn’t try and move on and create a new life in America. Seven years after his journey to Mississippi, Rahman married a Christian woman on the plantation named Isabella. We do not know if she was Christian from birth or if she was Muslim back where she had come from before being sold into slavery. With Isabella, Rahman fathered nine children- five sons and four daughters. Unfortunately, because he and Isabella were property of Thomas Foster, all of his children were born into slavery and were owned by Foster as well.
(PART 2/2)
ReplyDeleteRahman was the leader on Foster’s plantation, and because of how great of an asset he was, it would be a long journey to his freedom. While out one day in the town, Rahman runs into a white doctor, Dr. John Coates Cox, who instantly recognizes him as the young prince who showed him such hospitality on his visit to Timbuktu while in Africa. They start talking, and Rahman explains his situation and what had happened to him. Cox meets with Foster and tries to buy Rahman’s freedom, but Foster won’t hear of losing his most valuable slave. Cox’s son takes up his cause after his father’s death, and eventually Rahman is freed with a letter to the U.S government. Rahman’s story was a sensation in America, and he became the most well known black man in America. He even met with President John Quincy Adams in 1828. Before securing passage back to Africa, Rahman tried desperately to buy the freedom of his children and wife. At the end of his long battle, he only succeeded in securing the freedom of his wife Isabella and two of their children. The rest were still owned by the uncaring Foster.
Those in America believed that Prince Abdul-Rahman was a Christian. Back then, they did not know or care about any other religion, especially the native religion of slaves. All slaves were supposed to convert to Christianity and take on Christian names. This explains why those that revert to Islam change their given Christian names to more Muslim sounding names, in honor of their ancestors who were most likely forced to change their identity when they were slaves. When he finally secured passage back to Africa at the age of sixty-seven with his wife, he was expected by Americans to spread Christianity to Africa. Instead, he spent the entire journey writing passages from the Quran. Abdul-Rahman’s Islamic faith kept him going throughout his life, and even though he died shortly after reaching his homeland, he still made it back to Africa in the end, never giving up his Islamic beliefs.
In this sad story of how an African prince is captured and sold into slavery in the New World, Prince Among Slaves brings the issue of the slave trade into the forefronts of our minds through the experiences of one man. Abdul Rahman’s story of inhumane suffering and loss of liberty are, unfortunately, not unique. What is unique about his story is how his royal background and perseverance were able to finally grant him is freedom decades after first being enslaved.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Abdul Rahman, and the story of thousands of African Muslims who received similar fates, is critical to understanding African American reversion in this country. This scar on our history, in which Africans were taken from their homelands in shackles and forced to work our lands at the hands of the whip, stole away identities, freedoms, and religion. When an African American reverts, he is winning back that freedom of religion.
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ReplyDeleteThe most interesting aspect of “Prince Among Slaves” was the perspective from which the story was told. The movie was the history of a Muslim, written by Muslims, and narrated by a Muslim, and this can be felt throughout the film. It felt like Mos Def had his own history and it was a pleasant surprise to find out that he was narrating.
ReplyDeleteThe movie actually was able to illustrate the culture from which Abdul Rahman came. It showed great structure by placing segments of the documentary devoted entirely Rahman’s past. The members of his society were highly literate. They could read and write Arabic, had extensive knowledge of earthly sciences and had vast kingdom in Western Africa.
When slaves were brought to the Americas, their identities were given to them. They no longer were individuals but property. They no longer held the titles or positions that they once had where they came from and in the case of Abdul Rahman, who was prince, this had no effect on which he was as a slave. Throughout the film Abdul Rahman made the best of his circumstance. Though initially rebellious, Abdul Rahman came to accept his fate with graceful resignation. His faith in God and his sense of honor even convinced him to return to slavery in spite of having successfully escaped from Foster’s farm. He served Foster for over forty years. It was because Abdul Rahman’s strong faith that he was able to realize his situation as fate, and never gave up hope for redemption.
Rahmans stubbornness was to his benefit because as a prince he felt that Foster was into earthly possessions. Rahman should have realized that slavery holds no boundaries because his people as well were accountable for his fate. He was sustained by Islam and applying his intellect that he attained as a prince he received much better attention from his master. His knowledge about crops he was able to help Foster become one of the wealthiest men in the South. This is something I found very interesting Abdul Rahman's adjustment to his circumstances, from a life of power and privilege to one of poverty and shame. This should be criminal, but it was Islam that connected himself to his kingdom.
He was understanding and intelligent and Foster was obviously scared of this fact. Instead, Foster molded his slaves on what he believed to be American values of Christianity.
In the scene where Abdul Rahman married his wife, in a cordial Christian ceremony was perplexing to see, because of the simple fact he did not try to convert his wife, or his kids. The notion of revert came to mind in today’s indigenous communities, because of the affiliation with Christianity. This is not the case because as Muslims know everyone is born Muslim, all living things are Muslim. So when you we are pulled away from Islam and go back, I would call it revert. So I am a revert not a convert. I was born Muslim raised as a Catholic.
Interesting was the sense of honor and dignity that Abdul Rahman displayed, even in barbaric and hostile America, and how it is juxtaposed with the attitude of the white characters in the film. His owner, Thomas Foster, had no respect for Abdul Rahman’s culture, illustrated clearly by the forceful removal of his hair. Foster laughed when Abdul Rahman explained that he was actually a wealthy prince from Africa, and continued mocking him throughout his life never gaining his trust.
It just shows how ignorance can lead to utter brutality. In Fosters case and also in the African tribes that contributed to the slave trade. Even after he was granted his freedom to go back to Africa (morocco), Foster still had animosity for issuing him his freedom. In today’s society we still see this blatant issue for disrespect among minority groups, but as we look through history it is evident that treating people without human decency is part of the human condition.
Prince among Slaves Movie Review
ReplyDeletePrince among Slaves is the true story of a young man, Abdul Rahman, from Timbuktu taken to America during the slave trade. What his captors don’t realize is that he is actually a Muslim prince from West Africa. The movie follows Abdul from his journey into slavery, to his life of servitude in Mississippi to his eventually release by President John Quincy Adams.
When Abdul Rahman arrives on the Mississippi plantation, he tries explaining that he is a Muslim prince from Africa, but his words are met with laughter from the masters who dub him with the nickname “prince” as a joke. Rahman spends 40 years of his life enslaved on Thomas Foster’s plantation, where he becomes somewhat of a local celebrity, not only on the farm but eventually throughout the nation with the help of a publisher Andrew Marschalk who publishes Abdul’s story. He is unlike the other slaves on the plantation in the sense that he is well-educated, due his high social status in Africa. While on the Foster’s plantation, Abdul Rahman marries Isabella, another of Foster’s slaves, and they have 9 children. While selling his master’s goods at the market, Abdul Rahman has an unlikely encounter with someone from his previous life in Africa, Dr. John Cox. Dr. Cox became friends with Rahman while in Africa and is devastated when he sees what has happened to this once wealthy, prominent prince. Cox shows Rahman great kindness and offers to buy him from Foster with the intention of freeing him from his life of servitude. However, Foster will not allow Cox to purchase Abdul Rahman and regardless of how much Cox pleads, he must walk away unsuccessful.
The protagonist eventually gains his freedom with the help of the Andrew Marschalk, who helps write him write a letter to President John Quincy Adams petitioning him for his freedom. Abdul Rahman’s freedom is eventually granted, but he wants to free his wife and children before returning to Africa. Rahman is successful in raising enough money for his wife, but when he finally raises the money for his children, Thomas Foster refuses to let them go. Finally, after 40 years as a slave in America, Abdul Rahman returns to West Africa with his wife Isabella, where they both spend the remainder of their lives. After Abdul Rahman’s death, Isabella is joined by two of her children.
The story of Abdul Rahman is tragic yet touching. It is the harsh reality that these were the circumstances faced by many slaves in the late eighteenth century. Abdul Rahman was one of the handfuls of lucky men who possessed the resources to escape slavery in the Deep South. The end to his arduous journey is touching because he finally has realized the dream that he worked so hard for despite all the adversity. Dr. Cox also put his reputation on the line when he tried to free Abdul Rahman because that was an action virtually unheard of at that time in the American South.
I felt that the movie dealt with more issues regarding slavery than with Muslims. It is meant to illustrate how many of the slaves brought over from Africa were Muslims and that Islam is not a religion in America, but I feel that Abdul Rahman’s plight was due to the fact that he was Africa, not because he was Muslim. However the movie does touch on many topics such as history, race issues, and religious issues and is well-rounded in that sense. This movie will hopefully open people’s eyes to the reality of many slaves’ experiences and the reality of Islam in America.
The film Prince Among Slaves tells the true story of Prince Abdul Rahman, an African prince who was taken from his native African homeland and forced into slavery in the Americas. Unlike most other documentaries, this was written, produced, and entirely by Muslims, and because of this, displays a unique perspective. Throughout my early education years (elementary school through high school), there was always a chapter in our history textbooks about the slave trade and the hardships these slaves went through. Loss of family and rank in society was always examined, but the text books always seemed to turn a blind eye to the religious effects of slavery. This movie is one of the first that examines the slave trade from a religious perspective and provides some new insight.
ReplyDeletePrince Abdul Rahman was the wealthy heir to the throne in West Africa who was forced into slavery in the Americas and the film discusses his struggles to maintain his religion in a foreign land. The first thing the film makes clear is the difficulty Rahman had to go through to simply practice Islam. His master did not approve of Islam and forced Christianity on all of his slaves. Rahman was forced to practice Islam in secrecy, but his expertise in the Muslim religion, which was practiced by 40% of all slaves before their exportation, made him an esteemed member in the slave community.
Prince Abdul Rahman was eventually freed and sent back to Africa with the help of the American social and political elites, but it was done along the lines of political favor as opposed to out of moral goodness. Abdul Rahman used his high social standing in Africa to become a popular culture phenomenon in the Americas. At this time, America’s closest ally was Morocco, and a deal was struck to free Rahman of his chains and reunite him with his “homeland”. However, Abdul Rahman was never returned to his actual homeland in West Africa, he was simply returned to Morocco. He was also forbidden to bring his wife and children along with him. It is clear that this “reunion” was simply symbolic and meant to improve relations between Morocco and the United States.
Prince Among Slaves: Film Review
ReplyDeleteJessica Theopold
Born a prince, Ibrahima Abdul Rahman was captured by African tribal rivals and sold into slavery at age 26. It was 1788, and the United States’ expanding plantation system had made the market exceedingly lucrative. Even as Abdul Rahman had been raised to lead men—he was commanding some 2,000 of them at the time he was ambushed—he found himself shackled and loaded onto a ship, the Africa, en route from Timbuktu to a “new world.”
Beginning with this harrowing experience, Prince Among Slaves establishes its focus—on the contrast between slavery, and one individual’s integrity and strength of will. Directed by Bill Duke and billed as a documentary, the film includes reenactment, mostly narrated by Muslim rapper Mos Def, as well as added notes from several experts.
Rahman labored hard for Colonel Thomas Foster over 40 years. The film states that during this time approximately one third of the worlds population was subject to slavery, although the experience could never be called commonplace. Rather, as underscored by etchings of men in restraints and torturous machinery, the “system” was utterly cruel and chaotic, especially in the US, where slaves were treated exponentially worse than they would have been under African owners. It’s not a little ironic that Rahman, fluent in multiple languages, including Arabic, is purchased with another “Brute Negro” by Foster, an illiterate, first-time cotton farmer, for 930 pesos. The process is both physically and psychologically odious, as stated is the film: “What you are doing is removing the identity of an individual, the person is now chattel, someone who is owned.” Rahman’s new status is documented, he’s renamed “Prince,” and his long hair, which in his home country is his sign of his nobility, is cut off.
On the plantation in Natchez, Mississippi, Rahman laments the loss of his wife and young son, and eventually comes to realize that he will never return home. Though he runs away early in his time with Foster, he returns, unable to find a way to survive on his own. With experience raising cotton back in Africa, Rahman helps the farm make money in its first year, and “rewarded” by being made an overseer for other slaves Foster is now able to buy, with his profits.
Among these, Rahman meets Isabella (Dawn Ursula), whom Foster allows him to marry (this in a ceremony the film uses to point out that she was a Christian and he remained a committed Muslim throughout his life). “In Isabella,” says Bebe Moore Campbell, “I see a woman, though, bereft of most things, retain the ability to chose who she loved and who she wanted to be with. I can’t minimize the force of her personal will and dynamism in their attraction to one another.” This may be so, but the film leaves Isabella’s dynamism—her desires and her struggles—off screen, using her instead as a means to indicate her husband’s virility (they have nine children) and admirable devotion to his family.
The film, focuses tightly on Rahman’s experiences, abbreviating his relationship with Isabella and omitting contexts, like the shifting cotton industry, the rising resistance to slavery, especially outside the South. Rahman is remarkably and briefly reunited with Dr. John Coates Cox (Wilson White), a man whose life Rahman’s father saved in Timbuktu, and impresses a local printer, Andrew Marschalk (Jon C. Bailey), with his multi-lingual literacy, both incidents leading to some publicity. This in turn leads to an intervention by the Secretary of State Henry Clay, who writes a letter I the name of President John Quincy Adams recommending that the “Moorish slave now in the possession of Mr. Thomas Foster” be restored to “his family and country, for the purpose of making favorable impressions on behalf of the United States.” That this recommendation is premised on a mistake (assuming Rahman is Moroccan because he writes in Arabic) only underlines the ignorance that typifies the slave-owners and the “democratic” system that supports their business and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, his story has the kind of ending we've come to expect from slave narratives. Rahman traveled America to raise money in hopes of buying his nine children from his former owner, becoming a symbol for the abolitionist movement and angering slavery advocates. After pro-slavery president Andrew Jackson was elected, Rahman was forced to leave the country with just half the funds needed to purchase his family, dying months later in Africa.
Prince Among Slaves never loses sight of this nightmare of illogic and economics, though it doesn’t exactly illuminate it either. While the point is made that slave-owners didn’t like to free their property ("It undermined the whole system, it undermined the whole economy, it undermined their moral justification of slavery"), the movie doesn’t detail how it worked or how it was challenged (in what the narration calls “the deepening split in the country"), even in 1828, when Rahman left Foster’s fields for good.
Repeatedly, the movie does show that Rahman manipulated those who made assumptions concerning his background and aspirations, letting one supporter believe he was Christian and even willing to “export Christianity” to Africa by translating the Bible into Arabic. Shakir notes, “This was a man who has a lot of faith and is committed to his principles, but he knows how to get what he wants from this system.” With such revelations, the film achieves its most compelling ends, suggesting at least some of the many ways that slaves—princes and not—found to intervene in that system.
The movie “Prince Among Slaves” narrates a story about a Muslim prince, Abdul-Rahman that was forced to come to America from West Africa and became a slave to a plantation owner and was later freed by President John Quincy Adams after forty years of slavery. In particular, the end of the film illustrates the struggle Abdul-Rahman has to deal with to try to bring his family with him and his wife back home to West Africa. This documentary portrayed the harsh conditions that many Africans had to deal with by being forced to come to America as slaves, especially having their family separated and sold unwillingly to other white plantation owners and this film reflects the tragic yet true history of the American past.
ReplyDeleteAbdul-Rahman was born in Timbuktu, West Africa in 1762 and raised as a prince and served as a general of an army in which he was captured in battle with another African village and subsequently was sold into slavery in 1788 where he was bought by a plantation owner to become slave to Thomas Foster. While working in Foster’s plantation, Abdul-Rahman met another slave, Isabella, and they married each other in 1794 and all together had nine children who were also raised as slaves.
One day while executing his duties as a slave to Foster, Abdul-Rahman ran into an old acquaintance, Dr. John Cox, who was an Irish surgeon and he recognized who Abdul-Rahman was because his family had saved his life while he was gravely ill in Africa. Additionally, Cox was extremely grateful to Abdul-Rahman and attempted on numerous occasions to free him from slavery by offering to buy him from Foster but was always turned down, particularly because Abdul-Rahman was indispensable to Foster. In fact, Cox spent the rest of his life trying to free Abdul-Rahman from slavery and send him back home to Africa but unfortunately, this never occurred in Cox’s lifetime.
On the other hand, Abdul-Rahman was freed when he wrote a letter to his relatives, which was also sent to the U.S. consulate in Morocco, where after reading the letter, the Sultan of Morocco asked the American President, John Quincy Adams, to release him which was what Foster eventually did. However, Rahman had to return to his home country and could not stay in the United States, so Rahman and Isabella tried fervently to try and bring their kids back with them. They even protested in Washington, D.C. to no avail since they were not able to obtain the necessary funds to free their children from slavery. As a result, after months of protesting, Rahman and Isabella went back to Africa where he died of a sickness a few years later.
“The Prince Among Slaves” is a very disheartening documentary in that it shows the desperation of one slave in particular to try and bring his family together but was not able to succeed. This film is also atypical in its method of narrating American history, because American history is displayed through the eyes of one individual which makes the documentary more poignant. Also, this movie is successful in showing the details of a dark time in American history and illustrates just how harsh and dire the conditions were for many African American slaves during that time period.
This was my favorite film of the semester, for I was in complete ignorance to the nature of African religion. I should have recalled from history courses, that the Islamic caliphate once included a good deal of North Africa. Nevertheless, I was glad to be informed that many slaves were indeed Muslim, and thus the first Muslims in America. Over two hundred years’ legacy of Islamic influence right under the American nose! It is unfortunate that the old traditions, religion, and customs were the only thing that incoming slaves could retain. Moreover, it is worse still that they could preserve that legacy only privately for fear of retribution if exhibited outwardly.
ReplyDeleteIt should be no surprise then that the current African American Muslim community has such intense convictions and loyalties within their particular experience. Their Muslim identity is not merely a religious identity. It has become for them a way to reclaim a stolen past, a response to a dreadful time in western history, and a feature of solidarity for African Americans today. Also, it shows that the African American identity has been in flux much longer since the time of emancipation and the struggle for civil rights.
As informative as it was, I would like to say that I found this film a little offensive. I did not like at all how the South was portrayed in the film. Southern culture was demonized as obsessed with the evils of the slave trade. This simply isn’t the entirety of truth. Also, I perceived the depiction of the South as backwards, vulgar and coarse people and way of life. As a Southerner myself I found this insulting. I guarantee you (from most of my life spent living in the South) that films about slavery shown in Southern schools are not written with the same bias as the one in this film.
Prince Among Slaves was indeed one of the finest films I have ever seen on slavery. The director did a phenomenal job at depicting how slaves prior to their enslavement came from culturally rich and civilized areas before they came to the United States.
ReplyDeleteRahman, a prince at the age of 26 is the main character. He comes from a predominately Muslim nation, where he and his family run the nation politically. As the story begins, it shows Rahman traveling through his village with a few of his troops. Suddenly he is captured by a local tribe and begins his agonizing trip to North America. As the story develops Rahman once a man of royal stature is forced to do peasant work with his fellow slaves on a plantation in North America. There he is forced to convert to Christianity, but Rahman secretly practiced Islam in hiding. One day a man who once became ill near Rahman's village saw Rahman at the food market and attempted to buy him from his slave owner but his owner refused. Eventually, Rahman gained his freedom and began a campaign to raise funds to buy his children from his former slave master. Rahman unfortunately never did manage to find enough funds to purchase his family so he and his wife ended up migrating back to Africa.
Though a very sad story, this further shows how our American school system fails to present the fact that Islam was here in the United States before the 1970's. It seems rather strange that in elementary school and high school we learn the slaves who came to the United States followed only tribal and pagan religons. Makes you wonder from time to time if this system or style of teaching was put in place for a reason.
In conclusion, Prince Among Slaves was an excellent film and i highly recommend BAMS department to show this film in a few of their courses to give people a more realistic idea of the religious diversity among slaves back in the 1700's.
Prince Among Slaves
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this film I was surprised at how little I knew of origins of Islam in other countries other than the Middle East, especially Africa. I understand the histories that tie Islam to countries such as Sudan and that in Egypt but it never occurred to me that Islam had lasting influences in other countries, that geographically are further away from the Middle East region with deserts and rivers to isolate them in that time period. This film also made me think of how powerful religion is. The protagonist stayed proud, with strong character and maintained his dignity after being captured and forced into menial labor for years. Still he was sustained by his deep faith and was able to draw from his knowledge in agriculture he applied his leadership abilities and knowledge about crops such as cotton to help Foster eventually become one of the wealthiest men in Mississippi.
The film was also informative about the countries of Africa. With Africa and its countries’ present (economic and political) struggles to establish a secure place in the Western free-market societies there results a primitive sort of lens in which the international community sees them. Which is why it surprised me while watching the film, how educated and knowledgeable Abdul Rahman was.
The film is a story about the human spirit, about early America, about slavery and the societies of Africa. But it is also a story about Islam. Because of 9/11 and present day Middle Eastern politics, we tend to view Islam from the lens of the extreme and radical. This film offers another history of Islam that is part of the history of America as well.
-Michelle Rana