Omar ibn Said or Umar B. Sayyid was born in 1770 in Futa Toro, present-day Senegal. Accused of an unclear crime, Said was sold by the Fula people to an American slave trader. He then traveled to Fayetteville, North Carolina to escape a harsh master. Said’s literary works are now on display at the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina and the Andover Theological Seminary. The Omar ibn Sayyid Mosque in Fayetteville, NC is named in honor of the scholar.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 20, 2018 12:45 UTC