Omar ibn Said was born to a wealthy family in what would in a few years become the Imamate of Futa Toro, an Islamic theocratic state located along the Middle Senegal River in West Africa. He was an Islamic scholar and a Fula who spent 25 years of his life studying with prominent Muslim scholars, learning a range of subjects including mathematics, astronomy, business, and theology. In 1807, he was captured during a military conflict, enslaved and taken across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States. He escaped from a cruel master in Charleston, South Carolina, and journeyed to Fayetteville, North Carolina. There he was recaptured, sent to jail, and later sold to James Owen, whom Omar ibn Said described as being gracious towards him. The Owen family was impressed by ibn Said's education, and they provided him with an English translation of the Quran. He also received an Arabic translation of the Bible with the help of Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Ibn Said was offered multiple opportunities to return to Africa, but he chose to remain in the United States, citing his uncertainty that his family and his people were still intact. He lived into his mid-nineties and was still enslaved at the time of his death in 1864. He was buried in Bladen County, North Carolina. Omar ibn Sa'id was also known as Uncle Moreau and Prince Omeroh.
