Talk:Omar ibn Said

Religion issues

I see at the top of one of the references that the Omar became a Christian in 1820; therefore I take issue with his depiction as an "Islamic scholar", as all the material in question was written after his conversion. Mangoe (talk) 22:56, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Someone can be an Islamic scholar without being Muslim.--Chrono1084 (talk) 07:46, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Actually, we have to be a tad deeper in examining his life. It is very possible that even after his purported conversion, he kept a clandestine adherence to Islamic beliefs. This is supported not just by his dedications to Muhammad in his copy of the Bible, but also by the fact that he wrote his autobiography in 1831, which is filled with references to Quranic verses and introduced by a traditionally Muslim preface (http://omaribnsaid.com/http://omaribnsaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/omarpage14-medium.jpg). Near the end of his life, in fact, when asked to write out the Lord's Prayer in Arabic, he instead wrote out the Surah al-Nasr of the Quran. He never mentions a rescinding of Islamic beliefs. What would be more important and interesting to discover is what pressured him to publicly declare adherence to Christianity (safety?). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.213.87.14 (talk) 23:13, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Omar ibn Said is an Islamic scholar because he was trained as an Islamic scholar belonging to a family of Islamic scholars and employed as an Islamic educator in his homeland in Senegal before he was enslaved and brought to America. He copied verses from the Quran in public and personal writings both before and after his alleged conversion to Christianity.Azito (talk) 05:19, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

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Was Said offered the chance to return to Africa?

The article states that "Ibn Said was offered multiple opportunities to return to Africa, but he chose to remain in the United States, citing his uncertainty that his family and his people were still intact."

The linked reference, however, says "Members of the American Colonization Society, for example, told of Said’s conversion to Christianity and spoke of him as a supporter of their cause to send enslaved Africans back to Africa. However, it is not clear to what degree Said really did support their organization. For himself, Said decided a return to West Africa was not suitable, citing his uncertainty that his family and his people were still intact."

That Said made these comments as part of a broader dialogue about resettlement of formerly enslaved people in Africa, doesn't imply that he was actually given the opportunity to go back. At the very least, it strikes me as unusual that his enslavers would have offered him the chance to go back to Africa, but not his freedom in America. Allispaul (talk) 17:51, 17 February 2023 (UTC)