White Americans ranked literate Muslims above other Black slaves while still heathenizing them

Evidence

Their Muslim names and attire distinguished them to the extent that some Whites called them “Mohammadens” or “Moors,” whom Whites considered superior to Blacks but nonetheless still heathen. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 572

Categorization

• XREF: This internal grading of enslaved populations by origin mirrors similar status hierarchizing found in the ‘On Sacrifice’ notes on how stratified societies rank subordinate groups.