In 2015, a startling discovery took place in the British Library, represented in a letter from Ayoub Suleiman Diallo - born in the Senegal River Valley - to his father, and this message, unknown until that time, formed a new thing in three aspects: First, from its geography: Why was this letter found in London? Then from its wording: Why was it written in three languages, namely English, Arabic and French? Finally, from its purpose: What do the 32 Senegambian characters that Ayoub identified in his letter mean?
With this introduction, the French newspaper Liberation prepared an article by Jean-Pierre Pat, in which he tried to shed light on the life of the author of this letter, noting that in order to understand its causes and consequences, it is necessary to reconsider the biography of its author, as Ayoub Suleiman Diallo was born in 1701 in Bondo, It is a kingdom that was established in the 17th century and had great influence in this region.
The Senegalese region is a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa, located between the Senegal River in the north and the Gambia River in the south, and is currently located between the countries of Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, in addition to parts of Mauritania, Mali and Guinea.
Journey of a Muslim aristocrat from Bondo
The writer says that Ayoub Suleiman Diallo is the grandson of Ibrahim Diallo Fulani (from the Fulani people in West Africa) who established a political entity in Bondo with the permission of the King of Futa Toro, and continued to face the transatlantic slave trade with the “State of the Imams” (known as “Mamiyat” in A number of Negro languages).
The followers of Ibrahim Diallo based their position on slavery on an understanding of Islamic law, and declared that "everyone who takes refuge here (in Bondo) will be protected from slavery, although this privilege was reserved for those who utter the testimony that there is no god but God," that is, Muslims.
Thus, Ayoub belongs to a dynasty of Muslim scholars, who was raised in a believing milieu, and received his Quranic education at the hands of Samba Guilladio Diego, who later became king of "Futa Toro", and he is an imam from the Fulani nobility, with all social, economic and cultural characteristics.
Although Bondo protects Muslims from slavery, this kingdom practices slavery on infidels. In 1731, while traveling with his translator Lumin Yewas on the banks of the Gambia River to sell two slaves in exchange for some livestock, Ayoub was arrested by people from the Mandy people of West Africa, and they sold him with his translator Abdin to Captain Pike of the Royal African Company.
Ayoub Baek negotiated to send a letter to his father in Bondo to pay the ransom of Abdin in exchange for his release, but the answer did not come until it was too late, but the idea of writing letters to his father was of great importance in the rest of Job's adventure.
From slavery to freedom
Ayoub, a 29-year-old son in the English colony of Maryland in Annapolis, was sold to a slave to work on a tobacco plantation to a person called Tulsi, but after a few weeks he escaped from it, and then he was arrested and sent to prison.
In these circumstances, Ayoub met the lawyer Thomas Plott - an Anglican priest and judge in Annapolis - to find him a religious scholar and intellectual. The piety of the Imam harmonized with the religious fervor of the priest, who was astonished by Ayoub’s knowledge and Arab-Islamic culture. When a slave speaking Wolofi translated Ayoub’s words into English, Tulsi and Baloot discovered that he was an educated Fulani aristocrat.
And then, Tulsi allowed Ayoub to write a letter in Arabic to his father, which was the famous letter that was found in the British Library in 2015, in which Job requests 32 figures able to prove his identity as the son of the King of Bondo, which finally allowed him to regain his freedom in 1733.
This documented letter fell into the hands of James Oglethorpe, director of the Center for Regional Activities and founder of the colony of Georgia in America in 1732, and the story of a slave noble caught his attention, so he decided to send him to the company office in London with Thomas Ploet, where he began to learn English on the trip.
And here - as the writer says - Job's adventure takes a completely new turn, as he soon obtained an official book stamped with his freedom after he arrived in London in April 1733, then this aristocrat and the son of the king gradually became famous within the new London community, and he was presented to the court And the English King George II (died 1760) and members of the royal family such as the Duke of Montaego.
Job became known in London as "Job Bin Salomon". This great Muslim scholar aroused the admiration of the English community with his knowledge and piety, and they failed to convert him to Christianity after they presented him with an Arabic version of the New Testament, especially since he was experienced in theological interpretation and discussion. And he sees a contradiction between the concept of the "Holy Trinity" and monotheism, yet he spoke respectfully of the Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, as a messenger from heaven.
Ayoub met many academic figures interested in thought, such as Doctor Hans Sloan, President of the Royal Society, and during this period he was involved in translating and classifying Arabic manuscripts in the British Museum, and his picture by the famous painter William Hoare with a copy of the Qur’an tied around his neck in a leather cover, but this image remained It was unknown to the general public until 2010, when it was first shown in the National Portrait Gallery.
Return to Bondo
In July 1734, Job's return to Africa via the Gambia was organized, after Thomas Ploet and James Oglethorpe saw that freedom was not enough without returning to African lands. The English traveler and geographer Francis Moore sought help from him, and relied on him to help him in geography and explore remote areas On the African continent.
The leaders of the Regional Activities Company, which was behind Ayoub's troubles, sought to return him to achieve a specific goal, which was his taking as an African mediator in their business in the region, hoping that the gum arabic trade would flourish with them, especially with the emerging textile industrial revolution in England in the 18th century.
Ayoub knew when he returned to Bondo that his father had died, and soon he regained his place in the aristocratic royal family. However, his biography later in 1734 was not known enough, because Thomas Ploet and Francis Moore were the authors of his autobiography, which was published in 1734 with the title: “Some The notes relating to the life of Ayoub bin Sulaiman, the great Bunda scholar in Africa who was a slave for two years in Maryland, after which he was transferred to England and was released and sent to his native land in 1734. '
This work represents the last chapter in Job's re-liberation in England, as well as being a link in the struggle of Lawyer Plott to abolish slavery, and he was able to write this book with the help of another slave working as a translator between him and Job.
If Plot knew Job for 3 years - from his captivity to his liberation - he waited for Francis Moore to talk about the amazing story of Ibn Bondo in London, especially since he did not know him personally until on his return trip from London to Senegambia in 1734, and on this occasion he wrote his testimony that he tells in His book "Travels in the Interior Parts of Africa", published in London in 1738.
After 1734, little was known about Ayoub, especially that he found Bondo devastated by the conflict, but he remained in a relationship with the company that brought him back, and he maintained the alliance with the English to the point that this aroused the enmity of their French opponents, and he sent letters to the company's headquarters in London wants to return to England, but his letters do not appear to have received a response.
Ironically, the story of Ayoub’s slavery, his liberation, and his return to Africa, which took 3 years between 1731 and 1734, is the most famous element of his biography, as he moved within 3 years, from Nabil Fulani to a slave beyond the Atlantic, to return from London to Bondo Mukrama.