Names of Enslaved Muslims, 1781

Linked to Islam and Muslims in Georgia

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Among the names of enslaved laborers on this Savannah-area planation in 1781 were four with names associated with Islam: Mahomet and Fatima. Mahomet is a Latin version of the name Muhammad, while Fatima was Muhammad’s daughter. Through Islamic names in lists like these and advertisements seeking fugitives from slavery, it is possible to discern the presence of enslaved Muslims in the early South.

From the Royal Georgia Gazette, March 8, 1781.

Names of enslaved Muslims appear in a 1781 ledger

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