Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives | Jeffrey Einboden

Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives: The Lost Story of Enslaved Africans, Their Arabic Letters, and an American President | Jeffrey Einboden

How did Arabic letters written by enslaved Africans intersect with the early American presidency? Jeffrey Einboden investigates in Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives.

About the Book:

On October 3, 1807, Thomas Jefferson was contacted by an unknown traveler urgently pleading for a private interview with the President, promising to disclose a matter of momentous importance.

By the next day, Jefferson held in his hands two astonishing manuscripts whose history has been lost for over two centuries.

Authored by Muslims fleeing captivity in rural Kentucky, these documents delivered to the President in 1807 were penned by literate African slaves, and written entirely in Arabic.

Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives reveals the untold story of two escaped West Africans in the American heartland whose Arabic writings reached a sitting U.S. President, prompting him to intervene on their behalf.

Recounting a quest for emancipation that crosses borders of race, region and religion, Jeffrey Einboden unearths Arabic manuscripts that circulated among Jefferson and his prominent peers, including a document from 1780s Georgia which Einboden identifies as the earliest surviving example of Muslim slave authorship in the newly formed United States.

Revealing Jefferson's lifelong entanglements with slavery and Islam, Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives tracks the ascent of Arabic slave writings to the highest halls of U.S. power, while questioning why such vital legacies from the American past have been entirely forgotten.

About the Author:

Jeffrey Einboden: Author

Jeffrey Einboden is Professor of English at Northern Illinois University and a 2017 Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies. Einboden's most recent books include The Islamic Lineage of American Literary Culture (Oxford, 2016) and Islam and Romanticism (2014). He is the recipient of two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, including a 2011 award supporting Einboden's recovery, translation and teaching of Arabic slave writings.

Bibliographic Data:

• Full Title: Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives: The Lost Story of Enslaved Africans, Their Arabic Letters, and an American President
• Author(s): Jeffrey Einboden
• Publisher & Imprint: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: January 14, 2020 (Hardcover edition launch)
• Book Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Pre-Owned / Very Good
• Edition: Hardcover
• Print Length: 352 Pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-13: 9780190844479
• ISBN-10: 0190844477
• Library of Congress (LCCN): 2019022631
• Primary Genre (BISAC): HISTORY / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1783)
• Sub-Genres (BISAC): SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / American / African American Studies; HISTORY / African American & Black; RELIGION / Islam / History
• Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Weight: 22.4 oz (approx. 1.40 lbs)

Frequently Asked Questions About Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives:

• Q: Is this book a collection of essays or a narrative historical investigation?
  A: It functions as a historical narrative and archival detective story. The author tracks down long-lost documents, reconstructing the journeys of specific individuals to reveal how their written Arabic letters crossed the early American frontier to land directly on the desk of a sitting United States president.
• Q: What is the central event that sparks the history in this book?
  A: The story centers on October 1807, when two literate, enslaved West African men escaped captivity in rural Kentucky. Upon their capture, they composed detailed manuscripts written entirely in Arabic. An eccentric traveler carried these letters across the wilderness to Washington, D.C., directly prompting Thomas Jefferson to intervene in their case.
• Q: Does the text focus entirely on Thomas Jefferson's presidency?
  A: No. While Jefferson's personal reaction and political intervention form a major core of the book, the narrative expands outward. It unearths a network of Arabic documents moving among early American elites, including a 1780s manuscript from Georgia that stands as the earliest surviving example of Muslim slave authorship in the United States.
• Q: What are the primary historical themes and source documents analyzed inside?
  A: The book relies heavily on primary source archival analysis, translating and contextualizing surviving Arabic letters, political correspondence, and court records. It deeply explores the intersection of West African literacy, Islamic faith in the early American heartland, and the complex legal battles surrounding fugitive slaves.
• Q: Does this work require a background in early American law or Islamic studies?
  A: Not at all. Author Jeffrey Einboden writes with a clear, accessible prose style that makes complex archival discovery feel like a historical mystery. It is written for everyday history enthusiasts, educators, and readers interested in a completely hidden dimension of American social and religious history.

Explore the lost history of enslaved African letters and early American politics. Tap to discover Jeffrey Einboden's book Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives!