An enslaved Muslim feigned Christian conversion to serve his own repatriation interests

Evidence

In a similar fashion, enslaved African American Muslim Abdul Rahman Ibrahima was willing to entertain the idea of working for US business interests once his sponsors sent him and his family back to West Africa. But Ibrahima was willing to go further. He pretended to convert to Christianity and joined his northern abolitionist sponsors in criticizing slavery. His interaction with the state and its competing interests is a tale whose implications are important for understanding antebellum US history and especially the early relationships between the US state and the Muslims under its authority. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 362

In a similar fashion, enslaved African American Muslim Abdul Rahman Ibrahima was willing to entertain the idea of working for US business interests once his sponsors sent him and his family back to West Africa. But Ibrahima was willing to go further. He pretended to convert to Christianity and joined his northern abolitionist sponsors in criticizing slavery. — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 362

Categorization

• XREF: Ibrahima’s strategic feigned conversion — performing sincerity for patrons — is a powerful mirror of the book’s theme of the frightened subject and also recalls The Reluctant Fundamentalist’s protagonist performing Americanness while keeping his own counsel.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 362