Slavery and Islam

Description

What happens when authorities you venerate condone something you know is wrong? Are you right or are they, and what does this mean about what you've been venerating? No issue brings this question into starker contrast than slavery. Every major religion and philosophy condoned or approved of it, but in modern times there is nothing seen as more evil. Americans confront this crisis of authority when they erect statues of Founding Fathers who slept with their slaves. And Muslims faced it when ISIS revived sex-slavery, justifying it with verses from the Quran and the practice of Muhammad. This book explores the moral and ultimately theological problem of slavery, tracing how the Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions have tried to reconcile modern moral certainties with the infallibility of God's message, in particular on the issue of sex-slavery. It investigates the challenge of defining what slavery is in the first place, showing that this remains more than ever a highly politicized question. This book lays out how Islam viewed slavery in theory, and also how slavery was practiced across the reality of Islamic civilization. Finally, it explains how Muslims have argued for the abolition of slavery in Islam, asking whether their arguments are sincere and convincing.

Jonathan A.C. Brown is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is also Director of the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. His previous books include Misquoting Muhammad and Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World, both of which are published by Oneworld. He lives in Virginia.

'Slavery & Islam hints at some of the great questions that are still outstanding in this field.' * Literary Review * 'For any system of belief that vests ultimate authority in the past, slavery is a big moral problem... For several reasons, this dilemma is an acute one for Muslims, as emerges in [this] scholarly but digestible new book.' * The Economist * 'A must-read for students and scholars of slavery in historical and contemporary Islam, as well as for anyone interested in slavery and its relationship to religion... Slavery & Islam is a thoughtful, well-researched, and well-written elucidation of a very difficult problem.' * Journal of Islamic Ethics * 'This insightful, courageous and comprehensively argued book is bound to constitute a new beginning. It is certain to be as widely debated as it is widely read. And we will all be all the better for it.' -- Sherman A. Jackson, King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture, University of Southern California 'A prodigiously researched, provocatively argued, learned and multi-faceted treatment of a difficult and complex problem. One might not agree with all of Brown's conclusions, but the book will be a must-read for students and scholars of historical and contemporary Islam, as well as for anyone interested in slavery and its relationship to religion.' -- Bernard K. Freamon, Professor of Law Emeritus, Seton Hall University School of Law