Islam and the Slave Trade

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the topic of slavery in the Islamic world with the intention of showing that, contrary to some popular myths, the slave trade was not a European invention but that there was already a well established industry in this regard prior to European colonization. In this article, the writer relates the contention made in many articles and studies, that the fact of slavery in the Islamic world has not received the same moral criticism and censure as the better known slavery in the European world. Furthermore, the writer notes that scholars also state that not only did Muslim slavery predate European slavery in Africa, but it has also been more resistant to abolition than European slavery; and in some instances the claim is made that the Islamic slave trade provided the model and motivation for slavery for other cultures and nations.

Outline:
Introduction
Evidence of the Pre-Colonial Islamic Slave Trade
The Characteristics of Slavery in Islam
Conclusion
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"The fact of Islamic slavery is further substantiated by the attitude towards slavery from the tenets of the Islamic faith. In Islam and the Koran there is a general acceptance of slavery as part of social life. However this fact should come as no surprise, as slavery is one of human societies most endemic and ancient institutions; and a defense of slavery can, for example, be found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible as a basic feature of human civilization. Neither were the Islamic nations the first to enslave Africans. Before them the Egyptians enslaved Africans on a large and systematic scale."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Braudel, Fernand . The Perspective of the World, Vol. III of Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1992.
• Klein, Martin A. "2 The Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on the Societies of the Western Sudan." The Atlantic Slave Trade Effects on Economies, Societies, and Peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Europe. Ed. Joseph E. Inikori and Stanley L. Engerman. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1992. 25-41. Questia. 6 Mar. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=11973938>.
• Madany S. Arabs and Slave Trade. 2 march. 2006. http://www.answering-islam.org/ReachOut/slavetrade.html
• Mckay, Hill, Buckler, & Ebry. Slavery as an Outgrowth from old African Slave Trade. 3 march. 2006, http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:_raUvjwMQJ0J:ocw.mit.edu/NR/rdonlyres/History/21H-912The-World-Since-1492Spring2003/EC95DAE9-6E1C-4B13-B1CF-5B57F63D7CE7/0/hotransatlanticslavetrade.pdf+Slavery+as+an+Outgrowth+from+old+African+Slave+Trade%E2%80%94Mckay,+Hill,+Buckler,+&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a
• Miller, John J. "The Unknown Slavery: In the Muslim World, That Is -- and It's Not Over." National Review 20 May. Questia. 6 Mar. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002467240>

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