15 Comments

Thank you for bringing this gem to light. It’s sad that while knowledge bridges gaps, the effort today in many states is to hide history.

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If you write the book just make sure you option the screen rights.

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Thanks for sharing this!

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Thank you for sharing this remarkable true story! I am saddened to not know anything about this brave man. If you write the book, I will buy it. I know there are more examples for this kind of courage in the face of extreme ignorance. This is a great inspiration to us and a reminder about how great the people of our country can be no matter their beliefs!

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Thanks for reading and sharing, Huley.

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I got chill bumps reading this incredibly inspiring story! Thank you for taking the time to do the research and for sharing this with us. Stories like these are not in our history books, sad but true. And there are many outhers out there that we won't know about due to the movement by some to whitewash history! I did a little checking on my family history and found a story that my great grand, a slave at the time, it is amazing how much information is archived! He served with the Union Army, the 32nd Infantry (colored battallion). I'm inspired to do more research on this and share with my family. Again thank you for this article!

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We absolutely need more stories like that of your great grand. ❤️✊🏽

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This is a fabulous story and has "major motion picture" written all over it! I posted it on my Facebook page with that message. I hope some producers get a chance to read it! Please keep these "hidden history" stories coming.

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This really would make an amazing movie

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It's fitting that a proper janazah prayer should be done for him even if it's well over a few centuries ago after his demise.

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That's a good point. I wonder if anyone has offered one? He apparently had 2 sons so I imagine they would have when he died?

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Qasim, thank you so much for telling this story of a truly heroic man. I’ll be sharing this on Civil War Memory, another SubStack written and curated by Kevin Levin. Please, do write that book - it would be an important contribution to our country’s history.

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Very cool. Thank you for doing so. And yeah, this iconic person absolutely needs a book.

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It is truly inspiring to hear of muslim americans in historical context. When we think of Islam in America, non muslims point to Al saddiq in Chicago and say ‘see! built in the last 100 years- islam is new here’. That is how many mark islam in this country. Its heartening to hear real stories of muslim Americans contributions to our history.

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Absolutely! Wait til you hear next week's podcast with Dr. Fatimah Fanusie where she discusses the role of Islam in America well before the 20th century.

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