Walking the cobbled stone path of historic cities is always surreal. It is specifically more poignant when you know you are walking the path of millions of enslaved Africans who were held and sold into slavery for the sugar plantations by the Portuguese. This is the path in which we walked in Salvador, Bahia – the first capital of Brazil and the first slave port in the New World.
While walking these streets I wondered about the Islamic influence during the slave trade. Prior to arriving I read through briefly Slave Rebellion in Brazil: The Muslim Uprising of 1835 in Bahia by Joao Jose Reis. The book details the Islamic influence on life in Bahia since many of the West African enslaved people, were in fact, Muslim. Many enslaved West African Muslims had been captured as prisoners of war or taken as prisoners through various raids (Joao, 1993).
Just the concept of Islam was viewed as a threat by the Portuguese order, as Joao writes:
“The chasm between Islam and Bahian society was especially wide because Islam was an exclusively African religion that brought together slaves and freedman. Besides, like Catholicism, Islam was a universal religion. And since it was not an ethnic religion, Islam could possibly unite diverse ethnic groups, nullifying the slaveholders’ political advantage derived from Africans’ diverse ethnicities. Islam was not just a class ideology, not just a slave ideology; it was rather, the ideology of many peoples of non-European civilizations. It confronted the Brazilian master with a full-length portrait of an undivided Other. In Bahia, the very existence of Islam and of other African religions at least symbolically subverted the dominant order.” (Joao, 1993, p. 113).
Ordem Terceira do Carmo church
In fact, in 1835 there was a slave revolt led by the Muslims of Bahia (Joao, 1993). The outcome of the rebellion was not in favor of the enslaved, but what is evident from Joao’s writing is that Islam “offered a refuge for the poor -spiritual and moral strength as well as organization to free men subjugated to powerful groups supported by traditional religion” (Joao, 1993, p. 95).
So where was the Islamic influence? Why couldn’t I see the history written in stone? I asked the question of our well-informed tour guide, and he mentioned the Muslims eventually assimilated and there is no trace of Islam in Bahia today. Islam under slavery was forced to transform, African Muslims were unable to pray openly, enslaved people were punished for speaking or learning Arabic, they were given Christian names. Similar practices as seen in North America with enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples.
The tragic beauty of Salvador de Bahia is multifold. The weight of colonialism carried a significance that defies the passage of time. You can see it by looking at the architecture, the beautifully preserved buildings that were built by the slave labor of West Africans.The economy is centered on tourism – we come to learn and see what the Portuguese conquered and pillaged centuries ago.
Vibrant colors adorn the streets of the Old City, Salvador, in contrast to the dark history the buildings hold.
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that seamlessly melds acrobatics, dance, music, and self-defense. It originated during the colonial era when African slaves, seeking liberation, disguised combat techniques within a fluid dance. This art form, often referred to as the “dance of freedom,” has evolved into a vibrant cultural expression.
For more on Capoeira and Salvador, Brazil along with other Afro-Latin stories, check out PBS Black in Latin America. Dr. Gates examines race and region in a way only he can.
This website is not an official US Department of State website. The views and information presented are the participant’s own and do not represent the United States Youth Ambassadors Program, the US Department of State, or World Learning.**
Ahlam Yassin, M.A.Ed. 