Acknowledgements
Every scholarly endeavor that culminates in a book accrues debts of gratitude. Such is the case with this book. I want to begin by thanking Abdurraouf Oueslati, Acquisitions Editor, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, under whose editorship this project came to fruition. In the Fall of 2018, when Abdurraouf contacted me and asked if I would be interested in contributing an entry on Ahmad b. al-QÄdÄ« b. YusÅ«f al-TimbuktÄwÄ« to the Encyclopedia of Islam Three, having written and published widely on al-TimbuktÄwÄ«, I immediately welcomed the opportunity. Thereafter, I proposed, and Abdurraouf saw the potential of a first complete English translation and a critical edition of the text of al-Hatk al-Sitr suitable for publication in the Brill series on Modern Intellectual Trends. While that exchange resulted in the publication of this book, my interest in this project goes back to my earlier years in graduate school at York University. I am deeply indebted to Paul Lovejoy and the late John Hunwick for introducing me to Hatk al-Sitr and encouraging me to look beyond al-TimbuktÄwÄ«âs approach exemplified in this treatise. Studying this text as an intellectual pursuit brought nothing but joy and immeasurable fulfillment over the years. It is my hope that this complete English translation of the text will help broaden our understanding of the depth and implications of the displacement of SÅ«dÄnic West Africans outside their homelands and hence the birth of their diasporic experiences during the era of the slave trade.
Ultimately, the publication of this book would not have been possible without the support of many individuals and institutions who have given their time and support throughout the various stages of this project. I am grateful to the History Department, the College of Arts and Liberal Arts of Science and the United Faculty Alliance (UFA) at Northern Illinois University for the travel grants and financial support for the numerous research trips and conference travels associated with this project. I thank the staff of the Archives du Government Tunisienne and Bibliotheque Nationale de Tunisie. Special thanks are due to Rachida Smine, Head of the Manuscripts Department at the Bibliothéque Nationale de Tunis. I am admirably thankful to Chouki El Hamel for providing me with a copy of the treatise found in the Kingâs Library in Rabat, Morocco. Alex Khaleeli offered helpful feedback in matters of style and transliteration of Arabic textual studies, and while Aisha Mousa did a fantastic job in reviewing the Arabic Text and polishing my translation, Kate Kingsford provided meticulously copyediting and editorial support. I wish to thank Glen Pawelski for producing some of the maps in this book. I am indebted to the two anonymous readers of the book manuscript for their constructive comments and feedback.
Portions of this book previously appeared in my previous works. Chapter 2 draws and expands on earlier argument expressed in âEnslavable Infidels: Sudan-Tunis as a classificatory categorization for a new wave of Enslaved Africans in the Regency of Tunis,â in The Maghreb Review, 29, no. 1â4 (2004), while some of the ideas in chapter 4 can be found in âThe Developments of Bori Diyar (Compounds) in the City of Tunis, 1738â1880sâ in Saharan Crossroads: Exploring Historical, Cultural, and Artistic Linkages between North and West Africa, edited by Tara F. Deubel et al., (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014). I am grateful to the publishers for the permission to reproduce some of this material here.
I have benefitted from several opportunities to present portions of this book in numerous conferences and colloquia. I am very grateful to the Center for Maghrib Studies (University of Arizona), Centre dâEtudes Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT), The Ifriqiyya Colloquium (Columbia University), The Harriet Tubman Institute (York University), the Trans-African Slaveries Network (Columbia University), African Abolitionism: The Rise and Transformations of Anti-Slavery in Africa (AFRAB), ERC Advanced Grant, Horizon 2020, (University College London) and Trajectories of Slavery in Islamicate Societies, (TrasSIS), University of Bern. The feedback I received at these venues has shaped and continued to inform the ideas articulated in this project.
Over the years, conversations with colleagues, friends, graduate students, and the descendants of SÅ«dÄn TÅ«nis have also deepened my interest in this project. To this end, I wish to thank the following individuals: Paul Lovejoy, the late Sydney Kanya-Forstner, Martin Klein, Mohammed Bashir Salau, Ehud Toledano, Ghislaine Lydon, Bruce Hall, Manuel Barcia, Damian Pargas, Mohamed Diaketé, Paul Naylor, Sahbi Kaddachi, Houda Mzioudet, Yacine Daddi-Addoun, Mariana Candido, Ibrahim Hamza, Sophie Ferchiou, Richard Jankowsky, Kalifa Chater, Chouki El Hamel, Nora Lafi, Marta Scaglioni, Abdelhamid Larguèche, Murray Last, Abdeljelil Temimi, Sean Farrell, Aaron Fogleman, Brian Sandberg, Valerie Garver, Beatrix Hoffman, Henry Lovejoy, Boubacar Mahamane, Ali Diaketé, Mamadou Diallo, Mâhamed Oualdi, Chouki El Hamel, Catey Boyles, Vaffi F. Sharif, Mauro Nobili, Wendy Wilson Fall, Abu Bah, Benedetta Rossi, Bruno Veras, Abiodun Ademidun Ademiluwa, Justin Riner, Anna Henderson, Justin Iverson, Sheila Bombaare, Adiza Mohammed, Matilda Ansah, El-Cheikh Hammadi el-BidalÄ«, Abdelmejid Bournaouis, and Zohra TrabelsÄ«.
My deepest and greatest debt are, of course, personal and are reserved for my loving and beautiful family. First and foremost, I am eternally grateful to Dzifa A. Hosi-Montana, my wife and partner, for much more than I could ever express in writing. Jilma (my daughter) and Bilsi (my son) have endured my frequent research and conference travels yet always comfort me with the warmest giggles and hugs when I need them the most. Dzifa, Jilma, and Bilsi, I am forever grateful for your unwavering support and unconditional love. You are my source of inspiration. Finally, my brother, Olu, to whom this book is dedicated, did not live to see it come to fruition. Olu, I will forever remember you as the kindest, loving, creative, and the most supportive brother I could have ever wished for.
I.M. Montana
Cortland, Illinois
October, 2023