In 1842, the British Consul General in Morocco wrote a letter to the Sultan to ask him if he had taken any measures to stop slavery or at least, slave trade. The sultan replied that he will not do anything about it because it has been the norm since the time of the sons of Adam and no sects of Islam are against it. Hence, he will not permit anything the Qur’an forbids and will not make unlawful anything that the Qur’an has allowed. In the Sultan’s reply, we see the simplest justification or at least, excuse, for almost 1300 years of slavery in the Islamic world.

Collection: Images, Multimedia

Project: 9. Travels and travelers: economic, social and cultural connections.

Chronology: XIX CE

Scope: Secondary Education, Higher Education

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OdIqeWkhHU

Resource type: Document, Image, Video

Format: Images|Multimedia

Source: Sources: The Legacy of Arab-Islam In Africa by Azumah John Alembillah & Race and Slavery in the Middle East by Bernard Lewis

Language: English

Date: 1862

Owner: Beatrice Borghi (Modernalia)

Abstract: Mesure to stop slavery and the slave trade