Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives by Jeffrey Einboden

Author:Jeffrey Einboden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2020-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

This is the close to Patterson’s October 24 letter, which Jefferson received on the 26th. Leading with disappointment, Patterson had first summarized his failed attempts in Philadelphia, listing the failures of O’Brien, Van Lennep, and Wylie. Patterson concludes his letter, however, with the above—a bold conclusion, both for the beliefs Patterson espouses, as well as the body parts he intimates. It is no wonder, considering the content of O’Brien’s “suggestion,” that Patterson left it to the very last. And yet, if these final lines gave Patterson pause, he nevertheless elects to divulge this delicate idea, not wishing to hold anything back. And so, Robert Patterson found himself in October 1807 suggesting that the president of the United States have the genitals of two African captives examined, searching for “the sign of circumcision.”

It is O’Brien’s intimate experiences in North Africa that underlies this impertinent suggestion. O’Brien’s idea seems audacious, considering the organs implied; but its purpose is perhaps even more intriguing. From Patterson, Jefferson again receives advice on reading “signs”—but these signs are no longer spelled on handwritten pages, but on the human anatomy. Although physical, this “sign,” however, denotes spirituality, with “circumcision” in the flesh reflecting religious commitments. Writing to Patterson in October, Jefferson had hoped to free these fugitives “if proper,” without mentioning either race or religion. Replying to Jefferson, Patterson passes along a rather improper suggestion, with aims of ascertaining whether these two men are “Mahometans.” For Jefferson, however, the Muslim identity of these men was likely never in doubt. Over twenty years, the president had directly engaged with many Arabic-speakers from Africa, each professing Islam. As Jefferson himself was first to note, the two African captives in Kentucky sought to communicate in Arabic—the sacred language of the Qur’an, which had migrated to West Africa along with the Muslim faith. There was little reason to question Islamic affiliation; however, what was not clear to Jefferson in 1807 was that the Qur’an itself formed the very content of their Arabic writings. Even while seeking freedoms in America, these men were inscribing lines from Islam’s scripture.

At the close of his letter, Patterson freely mentions not only personal body parts, but also the personal freedom that should be accorded to all bodies. Challenging the “justice” of African captivity, Patterson’s anti-slavery position is loftier than O’Brien’s rather physical “suggestion,” but perhaps touched even more tender sensitivities for Jefferson himself. Clearly unsurprised by the prospect of Muslims held in US bondage, Patterson observes that these men’s “Mahometan” identities would not, however, be sufficient to secure their liberty. Although “the sign of circumcision” could connote religious confession, “this would not determin the question of their being freemen,” Patterson admits.12 Speaking to Jefferson—himself a slave owner, yet a believer in slavery’s abolition—Patterson takes the opportunity offered by these Arabic texts to argue for African freedoms. No neutral mediator himself, Patterson emerges instead as an even more partisan advocate, appealing to commonplace ideals that “plead” for these particular slaves. Transitioning from human flesh to “humanity” itself,

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