When Did Slavery End In The Islamic World?

[vetuste_ennemi]

I have just read this statement on another post:

"... slavery was eradicated in Muslim world long (centuries) before Europe even thought about it. ".

There are a number of well-informed people on AB. Can You please comment on the remark above?

[Svejk]

I saw that. Too ridiculous for words.

[TheChair]

Interesting article here, though I can't vouch of its impartiality.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/quran/015-slavery.htm

[ABerrant]

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania banned slavery in 1981 and first enacted laws to enforce the ban in 2007, even though slavery must still persist else there would be no need for anti-slavery organisations to exist in Mauritania.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6938032.stm

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/08/freedom-fighter

[TWR]

It has now been reintroduced into the UK with Zero Hour Contracts Vetuste.

[keyplus90]

Islam is the only religion which encourages its followers to free a slave as not only a good deed but also as compensation or retribution for the wrong doing. Quran is full of verses but this article does have good ref.

http://misconceptions-about-islam.com/islam-quran-abolish-slavery.htm

Then as I said in the other post, Bilal Ibn Rabah (RA) is the prime example that how a slave was not only freed but also became leader and was respected within his life by the same people who once were his masters. Being Black he also proves that Islam eradicated racism long before people even thought about the word “racism”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilal_Ibn_Rabah

[keyplus90]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad's_views_on_slavery

[KARL]

Individual examples of slaves being given their freedom go back to the beginning of recorded history and probably back to the beginnings of slavery. However, slavery was openly/officially part of some arab-based societies well into modern times. The simplest googling reveals such details as Saudi and Yemen abolishing it in 1962, Oman in 1970 and Mauritania three times (1905, 1981 and 2007). Rumours persist of effective/covert slavery continuing in many countries, including Saudi and Sudan, and effective slavery (UN report/statements) is shockingly widespread even today (including in, but not confined to, some Muslim countries).

[Old_Geezer]

Wow Mauritania must be a pious place. Not content to abolish it the once, but made sure going through their vows again on two more separate occasions.

Of course even int he UK we here of certain families sometimes making the headlines for having kept a "slave" for years; and then there are the gangs of farm/shore workers and elements of the sex industry. Even when made illegal it's difficult to stamp it out completely.

[KARL]

Keyplus, sadly your statement is at least incomplete if not incorrect, unless I misinterpret your intended point. It correctly applies to individual examples which are replicated in non-Muslim societies/countries through history (i.e. not an exclusively Muslim prerogative or virtue) but it does not apply throughout the Muslim world today and racism (by that or other names) certainly continues to exist. Racism is definitely alive and well in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Muslim world - every bit as much as outside the Muslim world (I have the same opinion on the two). Blacks are frequently referred to as Abed (slave) and I met one, a very dignified man, there who actually carried that name for that reason (it was explained to me by his colleague that he is a first generation freed familial slave) although he was free (I was told the story of the royal edict setting slaves free).

[naomi24]

//Islam is the only religion which encourages its followers to free a slave as not only a good deed but also as compensation or retribution for the wrong doing.//

If that’s true, then the statement in your OP ["... slavery was eradicated in Muslim world long (centuries) before Europe even thought about it. ".] can’t possibly be accurate. If it were there would be no slaves to free so that wouldn’t be an issue. I suggest you ask your original source to explain what he’s talking about, V_E.

[keyplus90]

Karl, on the other hand if the best I could do then I would reverse your point. Because individuals (Muslims and Non-Muslims) had been, are and will be freeing slaves but when a religion (its books) says then it becomes obligatory to all and sundry who believe in that religion and the only time their action should be considered an individual action when they do not act upon what their religion has asked them. And in that case I will blame the individual and not the religion.

Only then your examples of Saudi Arab or anyone would become valid because very simply a person in Saudi Arab or even Saudi Arab as a country are not doing what their religion asked them to do. The example could be that if my car manufacturer (or manual) says that at 30 miles/hr I will have to use breaks once I am at least 20 yards away from a wall (or a person) but I do at 10 yards and car hits the wall. Now would you blame manufacturer (manual) that why the car did not stop in time or would you blame the driver who did not act upon the advice or instruction?

[keyplus90]

Having said that if someone wants to come up with names like Saudi Arab and Oman etc then one does not have to be rocket scientist to type something like history of organised slave trade etc to see which countries or area comes up as the biggest culprit.

[vetuste_ennemi]

If I asked the original source I don't think I would get a truthful answer. Naomi.

[jomifl]

It didn't.

[Khandro]

v_e; //... slavery was eradicated in Muslim world long (centuries) before Europe even thought about it. ".//
Absolute nonsense, Arabs have always been, and still are, the greatest traders of slaves, - children are still being sold into slavery even today!

Egon Flaig in his book, 'Weltgesschichte der Sklaverei' (World History of Slavery) covers the entire history of the subject. It, unfortunately, does not seem to exist in translation and I confess I haven't read it myself, but my wife read it about a year ago, and I gave me paraphrased details each morning over breakfast as she did so.

I have the book here in front of me now and the cover illustrations show Turbanned and bearded Muslim men selling black Africans into slavery.
(You can check it out on Amazon)

The British (and French) in fact, come out of the story very well: once having abolished slavery themselves, they rigorously persecuted anyone they found on the high seas still carrying on with trading.

[Sir Alec]

When I lived in Sheffield, I had a Jamaican neighbour. My other neighbour was a Muslim. He wouldn't even look at the Jamaican man, let alone speak to him.
One day, the Jamaican was in his front garden and I stopped to talk to him.
As we were stood there, minding our own business, a twenty-something Muslim walked past and shouted to the Jamaican, "Get back in the sewer where you belong, you black bstd!" To his dismay, and what he didn't know was that my Jamaican neighbour was a carpenter and he had a machete in his hand at the time, as he was cutting down some long grass. He ran after the Muslim, waving the weapon and shouting, until the Muslim was out of sight.
I hope the Muslim had to change his underwear when he got home.

As for slavery, you only have to look at how Muslim women are treated by their own men to answer that!

[jomifl]

/by their own men/

Can I suggest instead 'by the men that own them'?

[KARL]

Keyplus, unless the instruction is that slavery is wrong/evil (in your case Haram) then the religion does not go against it. Your original suggestion above is that refraining from keeping one or more slaves "would be looked upon favourably", not quite the same thing and is no better than acceptance of slavery as a common social practice. There is every reason to believe that since slavery began there were people who disapproved and disagreed, and not necessarily on religious grounds but simply for moral, humanitarian reasons - in my view it doesn't matter what the motive for opposition is/was.

The problem with religion in general is that there are so many individual practices of different shades - this is the inevitable result of the fact that it is an idea which will always depend on the state of mind of each of the followers/believers. While you might say all others fail to follow the rules, so each of them might say you are the one who is wrong, and they might each say all the others are wrong. None of you have a hope of coming to a definitive conclusion because you are discussing a concept - the argument will go on forever unless all agree to accept that each person's religion is their personal reserve and is not to be imposed on anyone - live and let live. At best there will be groups/clubs who mostly agree - this is why there are sects, etc.

Thus, in the context of the OP, the answer is simple and factual, irrespective of whether the different individual followers are in agreement: Among those who claim to live in a Muslim society, slavery continued in some quarters until very recently and may still go on (at least effectively). Dismissing that would be a denial of the truth and you are clearly not trying to do that although you (if I understand your analogies correctly) are simply saying that in your version of Islam (which you take as being the correct one) slavery is not seen as being the best of good (but not bad).

I doubt that trying to draw up a "Champions List" of slave owners is going to be helpful to anyone and certainly not relevant to any hope of crowning Islam as saintly in this matter. The past has already happened and the only thing that now matters is the present and the future - anything else is an exercise in inviting disagreement.

[Peter Pedant]

erm sorry

there wouldnt be so much on manumission ( mukataba) in the Koran if it [slavery]were eradicated

in other words he wouldnt be mentioning it alot unless it were a problem

Slavery still exists in the Sudan ( North ) oh and Darfur
but it is quite reassuring as a thought - we dont have to anything about slavery in islamic countries because everyone knows there isnt any .....

[keyplus90]

Ok, slavery was not eradicated by Muslims or Islam. In fact Islam and Muslims are the biggest reason for all of the African slaves in Europe and America.

Happy?