Roger DeBlanck's Blog - Posts Tagged "antebellum"
Enslaved African Muslims, the Civil War, the Beauty of Islam, and My Next Novel
It’s been nearly a year since my last blog post. In that time, a lot of progress has been made on the journey of what will become my next novel. As I mentioned in my last post from April 7, 2017, this new project will focus on the antebellum and Civil War era and most specifically on enslaved African Muslims. Historians estimate about 15-20 percent of those enslaved in America devoutly practiced Islam, even against all the direct and indirect forces that tried to make them abandon their faith. West Africa and its great civilizations and kingdoms—where many of the African Muslims were originally captured during the slave trade—were greatly influenced by the Qur'an and Islamic teachings. Learning and education were valued greatly in these African kingdoms, so enslaved Muslims were often highly literate and extremely intelligent.
Over the course of the last year, I owe tremendous gratitude to dozens of writers and books for shaping my understanding and vision for this next novel. With most of the grassroots research completed, my task over the past two months has been typing up, organizing, studying, and reviewing the hundreds of pages of notes and ideas I’ve accumulated. Not only has my research immersed me in the Civil War era, plantation life, the slave trade, and the unspeakable crimes of the institution of American slavery, my focus has also been overwhelmingly drawn to the beauty and intellect of Islam. During this last year, I reread the Qur'an for the first time since 9/11. As I experienced it then, I again found the Qur'an full of its inspiring message of love, compassion, and generosity. The entire purpose of Islam is a profound commitment to God—the only One from whom we came and to whom we shall return. Submission to God’s love through prayer, kindness, mercy, and unwavering charity make up the foundation of what it means to be a Muslim.
Anyone who claims Islam endorses violence is wrong. Nowhere in the Qur'an or in the Prophet Muhammad’s life is violence condoned against innocent people. In self-defense, one may protect one’s self, but that is only if you’re denied by another the right to worship God in your own way and follow the path of righteousness as set out so beautifully by the Prophet. Otherwise, peace is the answer and all should be forgiven. The word of God should be offered, but it can never be forced upon anyone because Islam prohibits any compulsion of religion. Muslims revere each of the Old and New Testament prophets as divine vessels of God’s love. It was Muhammad who God entrusted to deliver His final message to humankind through the words set forth in the beauty of the Qur'an. And so the Qur'an says to pray for peace and grace, give to the underprivileged and less fortunate, and show mercy to everyone, including one’s adversaries and especially to anyone who may believe differently from you. That is the life the Prophet lived and the message he shared.
Moreover, no religion throughout its history has valued women more than Islam. (For more information read Reza Aslan’s No god but God or Carla Power’s If the Oceans Were Ink.) Muhammad’s original Muslim community, the Ummah, made women instrumental in leadership and learning. The same happened in the West African kingdoms where Islam made its influence beginning in the 11th century. Women were scholars who played a central part in teaching and learning. My next novel will celebrate the beauty and wisdom of Islam through enslaved Muslims, but their story will be much more. It will confront slavery’s crimes, it will encompass the Civil War, and it will have a Muslim as the protagonist showing humanity the path to a better life. At this point, all I know is that each day this project lives in my heart. Every day I make a little more progress, and that is the commitment to the journey. I’m hopeful to begin drafting soon.
Roger 8-)
Over the course of the last year, I owe tremendous gratitude to dozens of writers and books for shaping my understanding and vision for this next novel. With most of the grassroots research completed, my task over the past two months has been typing up, organizing, studying, and reviewing the hundreds of pages of notes and ideas I’ve accumulated. Not only has my research immersed me in the Civil War era, plantation life, the slave trade, and the unspeakable crimes of the institution of American slavery, my focus has also been overwhelmingly drawn to the beauty and intellect of Islam. During this last year, I reread the Qur'an for the first time since 9/11. As I experienced it then, I again found the Qur'an full of its inspiring message of love, compassion, and generosity. The entire purpose of Islam is a profound commitment to God—the only One from whom we came and to whom we shall return. Submission to God’s love through prayer, kindness, mercy, and unwavering charity make up the foundation of what it means to be a Muslim.
Anyone who claims Islam endorses violence is wrong. Nowhere in the Qur'an or in the Prophet Muhammad’s life is violence condoned against innocent people. In self-defense, one may protect one’s self, but that is only if you’re denied by another the right to worship God in your own way and follow the path of righteousness as set out so beautifully by the Prophet. Otherwise, peace is the answer and all should be forgiven. The word of God should be offered, but it can never be forced upon anyone because Islam prohibits any compulsion of religion. Muslims revere each of the Old and New Testament prophets as divine vessels of God’s love. It was Muhammad who God entrusted to deliver His final message to humankind through the words set forth in the beauty of the Qur'an. And so the Qur'an says to pray for peace and grace, give to the underprivileged and less fortunate, and show mercy to everyone, including one’s adversaries and especially to anyone who may believe differently from you. That is the life the Prophet lived and the message he shared.
Moreover, no religion throughout its history has valued women more than Islam. (For more information read Reza Aslan’s No god but God or Carla Power’s If the Oceans Were Ink.) Muhammad’s original Muslim community, the Ummah, made women instrumental in leadership and learning. The same happened in the West African kingdoms where Islam made its influence beginning in the 11th century. Women were scholars who played a central part in teaching and learning. My next novel will celebrate the beauty and wisdom of Islam through enslaved Muslims, but their story will be much more. It will confront slavery’s crimes, it will encompass the Civil War, and it will have a Muslim as the protagonist showing humanity the path to a better life. At this point, all I know is that each day this project lives in my heart. Every day I make a little more progress, and that is the commitment to the journey. I’m hopeful to begin drafting soon.
Roger 8-)
