When I was a child, I was told that my grandfather, who died many years before my birth, came to Bermuda from Sierre Leone, Africa.

I was so very proud to know the origin of my family.

As a young adult I was very disappointed to learn that in 1787, the British set up Sierre Leone as a colony for freed slaves.

I was back to 'square one' in regards to my ancestry. At least I knew I was of African heritage, but of which tribe I did not know.

I can only speculate that my ancestors were either Mandingoes (Mandinka), Fulahs, (Fulanis), Hausas, Akans or Yorubas. According to historical documents, the colonialist raped West Africa, the land of the forgoing tribes.

Historians revealed that prior to Slavery there were numerous sophisticated African empires. As early as A.D. 800 wealthy leaders converted to Islam in some African societies and adopted Islamic governance.

In northern Nigeria, for instance some people used a form of Arabic script for their writing and developed schools to teach Islam.

The Yaruba, the people of Nigeria and Benin found strength in the family structure, communities, and religious beliefs. Several lineages formed a clan, which traced its root ancestors.

Additionally, after the break up of the empire of Ghana in the eleventh century, the Mandingoes developed the empire of Mali.

Mali was ruled by Mansa Musa from 1307 until 1337.

During Musa's reign, the religion of Islam spread in West Africa by merchants from North Africa and the Middle East.

Musa, many of his officials and other Mandingoes converted to Islam.

The emperor based his justice system on the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book. The ruler invited Muslim scholars to Mali. From Spain came the architect As Sahili who built many mosques or Muslim houses of worship.

In Timbuktu remnants of the edifices remain today. Successors to Musa were Sunni Ali then Askia Muhammad who transformed Timbuktu into a centre of learning.

In the east coast of Africa a similar influence of Islam took place.

As a result of the contact among Arab and African people Swahili (i.e. a blend of Arab words with local African language) evolved.

Unfortunately, the Portuguese attacked and occupied the East African city-states in early 1500's.

During 'Slavery', the destination of the majority of slaves was Spanish America and British Caribbean.

I, therefore postulate that most slaves who were brought to Bermuda from the Caribbean or on board Spanish ships were originally Muslims or at least monotheist.

Muslims ruled even Spain at one time. In Cyril Outerbridge Packwood's book entitled `Chained on the Rock', he describes how a black man of Spanish descent, named Venturilla, was known to have set foot on Bermuda in 1603.

In Spain, slaves were trained for jobs in government and the military.

When a slave converted to Islam, he gained his freedom. Venturilla, a crew member of the Spanish ship was probably a Muslim servant who earned his freedom for his sailing and navigational skills.

Since the Ottoman Empire lasted for over 500 years from the early 1300s until the 1800s, they looked on the people they conquered as slaves.

Since ancient times and before 'Slavery', slaves of African descent were treated as servants rather than property. In time slaves or their children often became full members of the society.

In comparison, my grandfather was the son of a freed slave who probably returned to Sierre Leone, Africa when it was colonised. Grandfather, a crewman of a British ship came to Bermuda from Sierre Leone, married and remained on the island until his early demise.

According to a relative of mine, grandfather retained his native language and culture. Unfortunately, in the early 1900's Bermudians of African descent, especially offspring, were discouraged from speaking their native language for fear of being ridiculed by their peers.

Therefore, after grandfather's death, the language was forgotten. In retrospect, I remember one particular artifact in our home during my childhood that puzzled me at the time.

I now know that that item revealed a somewhat mystical side of my grandfather.

Since grandfather's death was untimely, he either never passed on that spiritual information to his young children or over time the knowledge waned.

I can not confirm whether the artifact was Islamic, but I do believe it may have had a great influence on my decision to become a Muslim later in life.

For peace of mind, and since I am a convert to Islam, I would like to believe my ancestors were Muslims as well.

In recent years whenever I encounter someone from Africa, I try to extract as much historical information as possible about our ancestry. Because of these acquaintances, I have gradually been able to put together the puzzle of my own ancestry.

For example, when Nigerian Amir Hyattadin visited the Muslim community in Bermuda in November 2000, he confirmed that the Fulahs (Fulanis) and Hausas still encourage kinship ties or clan.

He validated that those two tribes practice the monotheistic religion, Islam - belief, prayer, fasting, compulsory charity and pilgrimage.

Amir Hyattadin informed us that there are Qur'anic schools where students learn to read and write Arabic, the language of Islam. The students eventually memorised the Qur'an, similar to their ancestors to continue the legacy of Islam.

Additionally, I met some African educators who attended an international conference at Stonington Beach Hotel. One particular husband and wife were not only African, but were Muslim as well.

The wife dressed in purdah, with full-length dress and hijab (headcovering).

They both confirmed the fact that there have always been and still are great cities with excellent educational facilities in Africa, and there is great emphasis on teaching Islam as well as academia.

These historical and current facts attest that Islam truly is a universal religion with a universal message - for all mankind, all races.

All Muslims believe: the Oneness of God Allah; all the prophets, and that Muhammad is the last one; the Angels; the Holy Books of God (Qur'an, Torah and Injil) and the Day of Judgment and the Hereafter.

The basics of Muslims' ibadat (worship) are Shahada (declaration of faith), Salat (pray at least five times a day), Saum (fasting especially during the month of Ramadan), Zakat (poor due or alms) Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

As a result of this universality, the Sunni Muslims in Bermuda, of which I am a member, are re-uniting with our Muslim brothers and sisters globally by utilising each other's expertise in Sunnah and Shariah.

More specifically, we are liaising with Hausas, who are adept at tracing their ancestral roots by forming clans.

Even though, I may not be Hausas, I plan to adopt this clan to give me the comfort of belonging to a people. Hence, the legacy of my African heritage will be passed on to my offspring and countrymen in Bermuda.

My other ancestral roots have been excluded from this account, since this is an article for Black History Month.

Similar to all Black families in Bermuda, I have a very diverse lineage, but that is an entire story in itself. Insha Allah, (God Willing) that other story would describe how the Bermudian Muslims are reconnecting with our European and Asian Muslim brothers and sisters.

Ayesha Abdur Rahman, a Sunni Muslim in Bermuda, traces her heritage from Sierre Leone, Africa.