
Mumtaz Masih, a Christian man, was recently released from forced slavery by his Muslim employer.
Masih had an arrangement with his Muslim employer, part of which was that Masih remain on his employer’s property at all times except once a month when he would receive payment and could go home to visit his family.
In July 2014 the employer stopped paying Masih, banned him from home visiting, and effectively turned him into a slave.
Masih’s wife sought help when her husband stopped coming. After a habeas corpus court case on 29 May, a court official was directed to find Masih, who was found on his master’s property in a locked room.
Although bonded labor is illegal in Pakistan, many poor Christians live and work in such conditions.
Angemon says
While it’s true that slavery is a cross-cultural phenomenon, it’s also true that islam allows for muslims to take non-muslims as slaves, and that makes it almost impossible to eradicate slavery in muslim-majority nations. Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of islam, only outlawed slavery in 1962, and that was thanks to international pressure. Although, anyone who worked there and met Pakistani or Filipino workers can’t help but to think slavery is alive and well in the kingdom of Saud…
Catherine says
“Slaves, male and female, you may indeed possess, provided you buy them from among the neighboring nations…Such slaves you may own as chattels, and leave to your sons as hereditary property, making them perpetual slaves.” [New American Bible] Leviticus 25: 44-46.
The God of the Old Testament seemed to think slavery was perfectly acceptable, as this and many other passages demonstrate unequivocally.
Angemon says
Catherine posted:
“The God of the Old Testament seemed to think slavery was perfectly acceptable, as this and many other passages demonstrate unequivocally.”
Allowing one to buy slaves isn’t the same as commanding followers to wage religious wage war and take people as slaves, which is what orthodox islam teaches.
Catherine says
Wow, Angemon. Really? That’s some fancy gymnastics, honestly. Look, I am a devout Catholic. And I am only playing ‘the devil’s advocate’ here. But I have also slowly and meditatively read [aloud] the entire Pentateuch and most of the Old Testament. And, no kidding, there are some very disturbing passages, at least for us moderns. Just recently I came across another passage in Numbers [32-36] where a man had been caught breaking the sabbath rest (he had been “gathering wood”; gasp). “Then the Lord God said to Moses: “This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp. So the whole community led him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses””[New American Bible].
Now, I don’t know your religious leanings, but from a Christian/Catholic perspective, at least modern day Christian/Catholic, this passage is truly shocking, wouldn’t you agree? I have seen [thanks to GREAT websites like JihadWatch and TheReligionOfPeace, and Shoebat] videos of Muslims stoning people to death. And it thoroughly disgusts me. The very concept of throwing sharp-edged stones at a defenseless person on the ground until they die is so utterly repulsive that it should make us sick to our stomach. And that is exactly how I feel when I see these videos of Muslims stoning to death some poor woman [usually] who has been “convicted” of adultery. It is horrifying and sickening and disgusting and it makes me lose all affection for humanity when I see such a monstrosity. It is simply the most callous and cruel thing to do to a person. Think of it.
And yet I must admit – because it is there undeniably in our own Bible – that our own God Himself commanded Moses to carry out such a punishment, albeit infrequently. My point is simply: of course the Muslims are wrong to do what they are doing. They are Antichrist devils doing “the will of their father [Satan]”. Granted. No one hates Islam more than I do, I promise you. Muhammad was a devil in human form, no argument there. But I am still, as a believing Christian, trying to wrap my mind around the scriptural FACT that our own God certainly [and without any equivocation as you attempt here] morally permitted one person to “own” another person as his slave AND commanded that the punishment for certain sins was that the offender be stoned to death. Those are simply undeniable scripturally.
So, I am simply trying to be intellectually honest and open a discussion. Of course the Muslims are horrifically wrong and diabolical to stone persons to death and of course they always have AND STILL DO enslave other people. They do these things because they are “children of the devil” doing their father’s will. But what to do about the Old Testament passages that either command or permit THE SAME EXACT THINGS? And, again, I am merely posing a question or two, not making an accusation. I am a sinner deeply in need of the mercy of God and the LAST person who has ANY right to question God, as just Job did. But you have to admit, thanks to numerous passages in the OT, our job of “explaining” why the Muslims are SO VERY WRONG on these issues is made somewhat more difficult. No?
Sorry, this is on my mind because I have had recently to try to explain these very things to my sixteen year old daughter who, unfortunately, is my intellectual superior and not easily gainsaid. And, again, let nothing I have said be construed as rebellion a la Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov. I don’t mean in any way to speak rebelliously against the Living God, the God of Israel, before whom I am the lowest of sinners. I’m just posing a few questions for discussion.
Angemon says
Catherine posted:
“Wow, Angemon. Really? That’s some fancy gymnastics, honestly.”
Really? Taking words at their face value is “fancy gymnastics” now? Look, it’s one thing to say “you can buy slaves” and another to say “you must wage war against non-muslims, and if you please allah he’ll either let you in paradise or let you live and reward you with booty, including slaves”. Your false equivalence won’t change it.
“Look, I am a devout Catholic. And I am only playing ‘the devil’s advocate’ here.”
Then you should know that the Bible claims to offers salvation, not societal reform. Slavery was a thing back then and the Bible offered a set of rules for Christian slave holders. That’s it. And, as far as I know, the OT is not the final word for Christians. Why you’re trying to equate a passage allowing the buying of slaves with the direct, timeless words of allah mandating muslims to fight non-muslims and allowing them to take, and rape, slaves is beyond me.
“But I have also slowly and meditatively read [aloud] the entire Pentateuch and most of the Old Testament. And, no kidding, there are some very disturbing passages, at least for us moderns.”
Are they comparable to the timeless islamic imperative to wage war for religious reasons and allowing for slaves to be captured and raped? Does the OT mandates something similar for all Christians, regardless of day and age?
“Just recently I came across another passage in Numbers [32-36] where a man had been caught breaking the sabbath rest (he had been “gathering wood” gasp). “Then the Lord God said to Moses: “This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp. So the whole community led him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord had commanded Moses””[New American Bible].”
I would have expected a self-professed devout catholic to have read the Bible before claiming to be devout…
The rest of your post consists of more textbook examples of things a devout catholic should know the answer to, and as such unworthy of detailed response, especially because it would take the focus of the discussion from what I said (and I suspect that was your goal all along): orthodox islam commands followers to wage religious wage war and take people as slaves. Suffice to say this: the OT was written for a certain audience in a certain period of time, and there’s a reason to why there is a NT.
Champ says
Hi, Catherine,
You may find this information from “Got Questions” helpful in achieving a clearer understanding about slavery and the Bible …
Question: “Does the Bible condone slavery?”
Answer: http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-slavery.html
Excerpt …
“Another crucial point is that the purpose of the Bible is to point the way to salvation, not to reform society. The Bible often approaches issues from the inside out. If a person experiences the love, mercy, and grace of God by receiving His salvation, God will reform his soul, changing the way he thinks and acts. A person who has experienced God’s gift of salvation and freedom from the slavery of sin, as God reforms his soul, will realize that enslaving another human being is wrong. He will see, with Paul, that a slave can be “a brother in the Lord” (Philemon 1:16). A person who has truly experienced God’s grace will in turn be gracious towards others. That would be the Bible’s prescription for ending slavery.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found this very informative. Take care.
Celtic says
“Allowing one to buy slaves isn’t the same as commanding followers to wage religious wage war and take people as slaves, which is what orthodox islam teaches.”
Oh please… You sound like a Muslim defending their pedophile Prophet. Yes, the OT is very immoral and Jahwe is a pseudo God who had Moses and his gangsters kill all humans who did not bow without questioning, fact.
Btw: Moses also robbed virgins according to the Torah – so much for your little theory.
Angemon says
Celtic posted:
“Yes, the OT is very immoral and Jahwe is a pseudo God who had Moses and his gangsters kill all humans who did not bow without questioning, fact.”
And, unlike the quran, it does not have an open-ended commandment valid for all times telling all Jews and Christians to do the same.
“Btw: Moses also robbed virgins according to the Torah – so much for your little theory.”
And, unlike the quran, it does not have an open-ended commandment valid for all times telling all Jews and Christians to do the same.
CogitoErgoSum says
Catherine, I came across this website (link below) while looking for information concerning slavery and the Bible. I think the author, Rich Deem, makes a good argument. Would you care to point out any disagreements you have with Mr. Deem’s reasoning about whether or not God (either Old Testament or New) approves of slavery and encourages its practice?
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/slavery_bible.html
Catherine says
Thank you, Cogito. I wish I had had the article you reference when I spoke with my daughter recently about this issue of slavery in the OT. Several things. And I am rushing because I want to watch the Copa America match between Paraguay and Peru; I apologize.
First: I definitely learned several things from the article you reference. So, thank you. It is very well researched, obviously, and backs up what it says from scripture.
Second, I certainly was aware before reading the article of many of the points made in it, such as the real differences between modern [pre-Civil War American] slavery and OT slavery. I understand there were REAL differences, so to speak of the two as if they were exactly the same is to use the term “slavery” equivocally.
Third, this is a MAJOR problem I have with modern scriptural translation. For crying out loud, if there REALLY and TRULY are such VAST differences between ancient and modern slavery, why not let’s…wait for it…USE ANOTHER GODDAMN WORD? Here’s one that comes to mind: SERVANT. WTF? Every Bible I have ever read uses the word “slave”. And, forgive me, but as an American citizen born and raised post 1865, I definitely have certain ideas about what the word “slavery” means. So, forgive a simple person making a simple mistake. “Slavery”, in the context of America and the African slaves who were brought here, has a very DEFINITE denotation and connotation. If ancient “slavery” was so very different, then the translators should have used another Goddamn word. Forgive my French. In other words, if the Bible actually meant “servant” and I mistakenly thought “slave” [because that’s the word used in ALL the Bibles I have ever read] then, like “Rosanne Rosannadana” of SNL fame, all I can say is: “Oh…Never mind”.
I had a fourth point I wanted to make, but the Absolut I drank in a Bloody Mary about an hour ago is beginning to have its intended effect. Forgive me, I am more of an ANN BARNHARDT Catholic. But let’s pick this conversation up again another time, shall we. Paraguay-Peru, remember. Ciao.
Lia Wissing says
Thank you, Angemon, for a well-stated reply (better than I could do); and thank you, Champ, for the excellent reference. Cogito Ergo Sum, thank you for your reference as well. I’d read the Jewish views, simply because I’m a strong supporter of Israel. You are, all of you, educating me.
Western Canadian says
Whenever you find something in the old testament that strikes you as shocking, primitive or just plain awful….. and if you read the old testament, you will…. to understand it, you MUST go to the Jewish roots….. Your questions will find explanations that actually make sense to our modern viewpoints (practically always). You say why not use another term, instead of slavery? Or my favourite, use another term for ‘unicorn’, which also appeared in various early english translations of the bible….
The Jewish term for what what permissible for ‘slavery’ was and should be translated as ‘indentured servitude’… a state where debt was owed, and worked off. The rules governing the treatment of the indentured are given, and explained in detail. No the Jewish sources do NOT sanction slavery as understood by us today. Not even close. And those drawn from outside the Jewish population, were not to be treated as we understand slavery…..
And Leviticus itself contains several rather broad clues as to what it was referring too:
The reference to selling oneself would be a start.
48 after that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: 49 either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. 50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him. 51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. 52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. 53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight. 54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him. 55 For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
Rather different, we agree.
Oh, the unicorn reference?? Like ‘slavery’, a rather extreme miss-translation…. Water buffalo would have been passably accurate.
As you can see, quite of few of the posters who came later, should also check it out…. they seem to think slavery IS sanctioned…… They are off base as well.
Champ says
You’re welcome, Lia Wissing.
Western Canadian says
You really should make an effort to educate yourself, before you make even a bigger fool of yourself. For the Jewish take on slavery, check out the Talmud.
zaba says
Western canadian….muzim?
Jewish slavery?
You didn’t get the message that we don’t Iive by the Bible these days,
and that muzlims still ‘faithfully’ follow the koran including slavery?
Our ally KSA, is the largest slave holding state.
Celtic says
@Western Canadian
Yeah, the ancient hebrews were so good people that they did not allow the “real” slavery – unmentioned by you of course is the fact, that in the Torah is written, that a man may beat his slave to death without being punished as long as the slave does not die immediately but only 1 or two days after the beating (As a result of his injuries).
As it is written in the “peaceful” book of “light” named Torah: “Then he shall not be punished for it is his money” LOL – so much for that….
Maybe their form of slavery was a little elevated compared to the islamic concept of slavery – it still is very immoral and primitive (as the whole of the Torah) no matter what you say about it or what excuses you try to find.
Coming up next: Western Canadian attempting to whitewash “God’s” command to kill children who do not obey their parents.
And after that: Western Canadian attempting to whitewash the fact that Moses had a man killed for collecting wood on Saturday.
Excuse me, but Judaism is just a very messed up immoral religion – just as Islam. The difference being, that the “good ol” days of Judaism are over for good – while Islam is still doing the same as their warmongering pedophile named Mohammed.
Moses and Mohammed had far more in common than Moses and Jesus. But keep making up excuses for the mass murderer Moses so your little dogmatic faith will not be threatened.
Emjay See says
OH god, what year are you living in? The Bible is a Holy Book and only advises on how one should live, hopefully according to ALL our modern ! Now read the Koran (however you may spell it) it is later than the Bible, BUT their views are as I understand it are mandatory and are although similar (in parts) to the Bible yet the Bible is not mandatory!!.
Lioness says
No one practicing judaism or christianity is insane enough to take the slavery passages from the bible seriously and actually do this. We don’t practice 14 century BC laws. There were all kinds of things written in the bible that we, in civilized society, don’t do. Muslims, however, take their ridiculous, demented book seriously, word for word. That is the difference.
Betty says
WHAT IS THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE? NEVER HEARD OF IT.
Mark says
If anyone of course goes and reads the verses, including the following verses, shows your being extremely deceitfull..
Muslim?
zaba says
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of islam, only outlawed slavery in 1962,……
zaba says
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of islam, only outlawed slavery in 1962……
They did not get the message.
Our ally, KSA is the largest slave holding state.
Renee says
Slavery was started and is continued, in most Arab countries, in Muslim countries in Hindu countries. Glad this person was freed. Now free the slaves in Quatar building the World Champion Soccer Stadiums. The world does not seem to care when it concern their interest in sports or economics.
JamesonRocks says
I am curious if the court ordered the moozie to pay the wages that were owed?
Jon says
A late entry to the drawing contest –> http://9gag.com/gag/a4LY6dm —> https://twitter.com/JadeAube/status/617033185302589440 .. Please like, share, comment, and retweet
Champ says
Bravo, Jon!!!
Joseph says
Jon
That is really, REALLY good.
Make it into a t-shirt and I will buy one.
Did I mention that is REALLY good? Really! ! !
2John says
There is a wonderful organization, called “Rescue Christians”, which is currently working every day to free Christian slaves like this man and their families in Pakistan and elsewhere. I have researched them and they are wonderful people doing great work on the ground, helping Christians who have no one else to help them. I donate a [paltry] hundred dollars a month. If you want to help Christians like this, who are so cruelly persecuted in places like Pakistan, please look up Rescue Christians dot org. It is run by a gentleman named Keith Davies. I strongly encourage you, following Matt. 25, to help in any way you can. Our persecuted brethren desperately need us, as this JW story shows so well. Mr. Davies is a modern day Oskar Schindler, in my opinion. God bless you.
Raju G. C. Thomas says
The servants of rich Upper Class people in Third World countries, especially ruled by dictatorships, are usually treated as slaves. Moreover, native fellow Christians in Muslim countries are treated as even lower class, i.e., slave labor.. The treatment of the Christian native, Mumtaz Masih, in Muslim Pakistan was “normal” and “usual” practice in a Third World Muslim country. Pakistan is a Third World Muslim country. They acted normal and usual.