So as not to de-rail another topic - here's one that's been argued to death already. But hey, that's what Islamica is for no?
In response to:
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelworks
Actually it did an excellent job of [abolishing slavery]. That is when people followed Islam.
The law only works if you follow it donchaknow  |
It didn't. Slaves were held in lands governed by Islamic ideals for more than a thousand years after the 7th C, under the sanction of Islamic law. Several Muslim countries' governments still uphold mandates for slavery - drawing on Islamic sources.
I'm obviously no scholar, but it seems to me the ruling is something like "it's better to free slaves, but you are permitted to keep them" The fact that it's written in there that it's an act of charity, even desirable to release slaves isn't a clear blueprint for the end of the institution.
It's often made out that the Islamic take on slavery was some kind of kindly practice. The fact that people instantly juxtapose it to the model of slavery in the American South, in my mind one of the biggest crimes against humanity in our species' history, only serves to further assure me that Islam's take on slavery was no picnic.