African Islam and Religious Regulation in Edgefield, South Carolina

This paper examines how slave systems governed religious expression and mobility through the life of an African-born Muslim woman enslaved in Edgefield, South Carolina. Drawing on military records, estate documents, church archives, and regional historical newspapers, it argues that slave systems regulated not only bodies and labor but also sacred expression. By situating one woman’s lifespan within these overlapping structures, the paper demonstrates how slavery shaped religious experience and transmission across generations.