The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam

by (Historian) Simon Webb

Slavery was widely practised in Arabia before the arrival of Islam and it continued to be an important part of the economy despite the conversion of most of those living there to the new religion. The Qur’an is rather coy on the subject of slavery, using such euphemisms as ‘those whom your right hand possesses’ rather than referring outright to slaves. Nevertheless, it is obvious that slavery was not being abolished with the new religion, merely modified a little. We shall be looking in greater detail at the new perception of slavery which was introduced by Islam, but one point is especially notable. This is that, as in most other cultures at that time, a distinction was drawn between enslaving those belonging to one’s own religion or ethnic group and making slaves of foreigners, particularly those captured during war. This was, as we have seen, a common enough rule in most ancient societies, but under Islam it was codified into detailed instructions about the correct treatment of, and methods of acquiring, slaves.