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This is not a new discovery. I mention slavery in Mauritania in Islam Unveiled five years ago, and it wasn't anything new then. Boubacar Messaoud was doing the same work then that he is now.
Of course, Islamic apologists and pseudo-reformers in the West cry "Islamophobia" if you point it out, but slavery is justified in Mauritania, of course, by the Qur'an: Muhammad had slaves and took slavery for granted; why shouldn't Muslims today? Of course, most Muslim countries don't, but if this is from conviction, rather than expediency, why aren't they putting a stop to it in Mauritania and Sudan? Why isn't the international community?
By Pascal Fletcher for Reuters, with thanks to all who sent this in:
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - They do not wear chains, nor are they branded with the mark of their masters, but slaves still exist in Mauritania.In the Saharan Islamic state, a centuries-old system of bondage is resisting the rise of democracy in the largely desert former French colony.
Herding camels or goats out in the sun-blasted dunes of the Sahara, or serving hot mint tea to guests in the richly carpeted villas of Nouakchott, Mauritanian slaves serve their masters and are passed on as family chattels from generation to generation.
They may number thousands, anti-slavery activists say. A shocking anomaly in the 21st century, this is widely accepted in a racially diverse, hierarchical society dominated by a Moorish elite and a brand of Islam that preaches submission.
"It's like having sheep or goats. If a woman is a slave, her descendants are slaves," said Boubacar Messaoud, who was born a slave and is now his country's leading anti-slavery campaigner.
He says a 1981 decree outlawing slavery is a dead letter and slavery is alive in Mauritania, with all its manifestations of non-paid work, punishment, forced sex and other abuses.
Mauritania's military rulers, who are handing over to civilian rule in democratic elections, shy away from discussing the issue and prefer to talk of "vestiges of slavery."
Some members of the light-skinned elite which has traditionally ruled the country deny slavery exists at all. Questions about it can draw anger, mistrust and silence.
But anti-slavery campaigners say the master-slave relationship and its social repercussions are branded into the minds of all Mauritanians, just as class-consciousness still haunts social discourse in Britain and other European states....
Yes, just like that, I'm sure.
"There is slavery in our country, in all of our society. You need laws to eliminate it. The fact people try to hide what exists just complicates things," said Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, a black Mauritanian and descendant of slaves."It doesn't have to have chains to be there," added Boulkheir, who ran for the presidency in an election this month, finishing fourth out of 19 candidates.
"BORN A SLAVE"
In Nouakchott's sprawling, dirt-poor slums, most of whose inhabitants are black, the testimonies about enduring slavery are repeated, and heartfelt.
"Yes, it's true," said Abdarahman Ould Mohamed Abd, 52, a street vendor sitting outside his ramshackle hut. "In the interior of the country, it's the worst. You see it in the way some people treat others. Sometimes, they (the masters) have even killed children," he added.
His own surname means "son of Mohamed Slave" as "Abd" is the Arabic word for slave.
"It comes from a long way back. But it should end," he said....
Historians say slavery developed in Mauritania from the 7th century, when Arab invaders pushed south into Sub-Saharan Africa, bringing their Islamic religion which explicitly allowed the enslavement of non-believers.
This blossomed into a Trans-Saharan Slave Trade that captured black Africans several centuries before the peak of the European-run Atlantic Slave Trade. Some historians argue the practice of slavery already existed in black Africa.
This religious sanctioning of slavery -- and the establishment of Arabicised Berber ruling castes whose wealth was partially based on it -- has marked Mauritanian society.
"There is a racial policy here ... It's the politics of domination," said Boulkheir, adding that Islamic law and succession rights guaranteed the perpetuation of slavery, passing on ownership from master to son.
He said the 1981 ban "doesn't exist" in practice. "It gives the right of compensation to the master," he added.
"The state has never prosecuted anyone. We need a law that criminalizes slavery," Messaoud said.
The activists said they had asked the outgoing junta head, Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, to include a prohibition of slavery in the constitution, but he rejected the idea.
Hmmmm. Why might he have done that?
Posted by Robert at March 21, 2007 6:15 AM
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Odd-everyone's comments disappeared, including Hugh's! Now I know when comments get deleted at times it's due to a mere glitch.
Anyway, I hope the "moderates" are pleased with the fact that slavery is doing just fine in the the 21st century thanks to Islam. Funny, rather than condemn that slavery they will condemn stories like these instead.
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at March 21, 2007 9:32 AM
What's going on? Is this site under attack?
Posted by: Hugh at March 21, 2007 9:57 AM
…a brand of Islam that preaches submission…
I've heard about this, he must be talking about the extreme brand.
Muslims are harsh against the unbelievers, merciful to one another. - 48:25
at March 21, 2007 10:12 AM
…a brand of Islam that preaches submission…
Isn't that like saying, "...A brand of Christianity that preaches Christianity..."?
I'm surprised that a Reuters employee actually wrote the passages Dr. Spencer high-lighted.
Posted by: Jimmy the Dhimmi at March 21, 2007 11:08 AM
Mosque in business of jihad, beheaded schoolgirls, and modern slavery?
An English college student should be punished for all this Islamophobia! Just another day in the bilad al-kufr dar al-islam.
Posted by: Beagle at March 21, 2007 11:20 AM
"A shocking anomaly in the 21st century, this is widely accepted in a racially diverse, hierarchical society"
I love this sentence, it shows their mindset perfectly. Why throw in the term "racially diverse"? Is it because they believe that a "racially diverse" society is naturally good and therefore cannot have anything as evil as slavery?
Anomaly? Hardly. Slavery is more common than ever, especially in countries dominated by a certain religion.
at March 21, 2007 11:58 AM
a brand of Islam that preaches submission
Which brand of Islam does not preach submission?! Islam is the religion of submission, by definition.
Posted by: US_infidel at March 21, 2007 12:15 PM
As Winston Churchill once stated it is regrettable that slavery will not cease to exist as long as Islam is a religion in this world.
He definitely knew what he was talking about, however getting people to see this fact is the real difficulty.
As for posts being deleted, I had this problem last year, but I feel my problem was a little different. I could only post on this site and not on Jihadwatch. I remedied this by making a new profile and I have not since been deleted.
Posted by: The fanatic at March 21, 2007 1:12 PM
http://www.christianaction.org.za/articles_ca/2004-4-TheScourgeofSlavery.htm
Posted by: Dsinc at March 21, 2007 1:20 PM
When it comes to Muslims doing bad things such as slavery, FGM, beheading, etc. the moderate and black Muslims are like the 3 monkeys, See no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. instead they change the subject. Hey, how about those isrealis enslaving palastinians?
Posted by: desidude at March 21, 2007 1:29 PM
Quick! Someone tell Ken Livingstone. He feels the need to apologise for Britain's role in the slave trade (what like abolishing it and using her navy to do likewise where ever we had influence?), I'm sure he'll be comdemning this if he gets wind of it.
Posted by: Celsius at March 21, 2007 1:48 PM
Hugh,
I don't what is going on about this site being attacked. This is news to me. It would not surprise me in the least if some jihadist was doing this.
Afterall, they hate news, information, debates, criticism of islam in any form. You need to put some safeguards or something in this blog site.
Posted by: callmeinfidel at March 21, 2007 3:22 PM
Islam is not only comfortable w/the status quo of the slave trade .. but they have managed to convince the very people whose ancestors they sold into slavery (African Americans) to join their death-cult in record numbers.
Let's not expect a William Wilberforce or an Abraham Lincoln or a Martin Luther King to arise from Islam .. the abolition of slavery is antithetical to Islam. Let's not hope for an "Amazing Grace" to channel through and enlighten the evil of Islam .. the best we will get is "Allah Akbar" screamed as the battle cry of these enslaved enslavers. Islam itself is what must be abolished in order to abolish slavery. Only then will (former) Muslims even begin to be able to recognize grace.
Posted by: Daisytoo at March 21, 2007 4:23 PM
Tomorrow in England a new set of stamps are coming out commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. There has already been quite a lot of media attention to whether or not we should apologize for slavery (apologies are not the same thing as recognition). A little of the debate has shed light on how English people were captured and enslaved by the Barbary Corsairs. Let's hope some attention is focused on the existance of slavery in the world in the 21st century.
Posted by: Elephant at March 21, 2007 5:04 PM
I don't know what the right or the wrong is in this issue - but there are plenty of millionaire blacks in America who will tell you slavery is alive and well. Sort of like the commercial that Halle Berry did awhile back. An A listed, millionaire pretending slavery still holds her back. What else does she want?
Posted by: infidel! at March 21, 2007 9:18 PM
Elephant,
With a name like that I'm sure you never forget what's important to remember :). Good for England to commemorate the abolishment of the slave trade! England has every right to be proud of the fact that .. for the first time in history .. a country struggled with it's own conscience,, came out on the right side and abolished slavery! What an extraordinary precedent. I don't know about apologizing (in the more ordinary sense of the word) 200 years after the fact .. after all, some of the best apologies are made by changing one's behavior.
Changed behavior can include speaking the truth about the wrongs committed against oneself (or one's countrymen .. or about still enslaved peoples) by evils such as slavery. Changed behavior can demand accountability from others about their part in the evil . The silence from Islam concerning its contribution to evil is, as usual, deafening - but so is the demand for accountability from concerned parties who have rectified their part in this evil practice (that would be the civilized world). We do have a right to demand accountability from Islam for its part in the slave trade.
Btw, Irish women, in particular, were captured in large numbers by Muslim pirates and sold into (sex/hard labor) slavery in Jamaica and other colonies of England (with the tacit cooperation of the English). Has this ever been publicly acknowledged by the English or the Irish (forget about Islamists .. they have never done anything wrong, as we all know)? With an evil as great as slavery, sometimes the amends are made later rather than sooner. But 200 years later is time enough, I think.
infidel,
As far as Halle Berry is concerned - she is in a top notch position to demand accountability from the people on the other side of the trade: The Muslim and African sellers. Moral gumption requires her to tell the whole truth. I wonder if she will - or will she choose to stay lost and confused?
Posted by: Daisytoo at March 22, 2007 11:58 AM
You will never see Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton protesting against slavery in Africa, there just arent any deep pockets to extort, which is what it is all about anyways.
at March 23, 2007 2:59 PM
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