(Wait a minute, a PDF on line since 2002? Not yesterday?)
These are important historical records. Omar was 37 when he was enslaved in Africa. So it does give insight into how Africans viewed their own lives.
Regarding the narrative that Africans were uncultured and uneducated, Academia had a major hand in creating that perception, and it has been outdated for years. Bringing it up as if it is current is misleading.
As if Africa at the time was a thriving industrial tribute to invention and modernity
Oh puhleeeze