Slavery is taken for granted as acceptable in the Qur’an, and the Islamic world only abolished it under Western pressure; there has never been anything in the Islamic world comparable to the abolitionist movements led by Christian preachers such as Wilberforce in Britain and Garrison in the United States. And despite the official abolition of slavery in much of the Islamic world, because of its Qur’anic sanction it is still widely practiced.
“Women ‘enslaved’ by Arab royals,” by Bruno Waterfield in the Telegraph, July 2 (thanks to Paul):
Seventeen women have been taken by police from a luxury hotel in Brussels amid allegations that they had been enslaved by an Arab royal family.
Police officers and officials from Belgium’s Labour Audit Authority raided the Conrad Hotel, the city’s most prestigious and the preferred choice of many national leaders during European Union summits, on Tuesday evening.
The operation was triggered by the apparent escape of a maid who was among 20 servants working for the widow of a senior royal figure from the United Arab Emirates and her four daughters who have rented the entire fourth floor of the hotel for the last year.
Officials took away 17 people, from countries including the Philippines, Morocco, India, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Syria, amid allegations they had been held captive for eight months.
Several members of the royal party have been questioned, police said yesterday. No charges have been brought but the investigation continues.
“We are convinced that these 17 girls are victims of people trafficking,” said an official.
The servants, dubbed “slaves” in the Belgian media, allegedly had to be at the service of the Arab royals 24 hours a day and had their passport taken away on arrival in Belgium. The women were reportedly not allowed to leave the hotel and their monthly salaries were as low as £80 a month.
“We were not allowed to leave the hotel and we had to be at their disposal 24 hours a day,” claimed one young woman of Middle Eastern origin.
“We were not allowed to complain or to ask any questions. We just had to be there at their beck and call.”…