Slavery, the State, and Islam

Slavery, the State, and Islam looks at slavery as the foundation of power and the state in the Muslim world.

Mohammed Ennaji (Author)

9780521119627, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 April 2013

260 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.9 cm, 0.48 kg

'Slavery, the State, and Islam is an important study of the history of slavery in Islam. Its highlight is the laborious linguistic work of excavating the Arabic lexicon of slavery and servitude. Readers will also have an opportunity to discover how several aspects of contemporary human relations of proximity (e.g., marriage and greetings) are deeply rooted in the culture of servitude.' Mourad Laabdi, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences

Slavery, the State, and Islam looks at slavery as the foundation of power and the state in the Muslim world. Closely examining major theological and literary Islamic texts, it challenges traditional approaches to the subject. Servitude was a foundation for the construction of the new state on the Arabian peninsula. It constituted the essence of a relationship of authority as found in the Koran. The dominant stereotypes and traditions of equality as promoted by Islam, of its leniency toward slaves, is questioned. This original, pioneering book overturns the mythical view of caliphal power in Islam. It examines authority as it functions in the Arab world today and helps to explain the difficulty of attempting to instil freedom and democracy there.

Foreword Paul E. Lovejoy
Introduction: the sources and structures of the bond of authority
1. The deadly lie, or the death announcement
2. The battleground of servitude: an illusory freedom
3. Open-air servitude
4. The master of heaven and the master of earth
5. The king and his subjects
6. The king and his entourage
7. The threshold of the king, or the weapon of forced servitude
Conclusion: between heaven and earth.

Subject Areas: Islamic studies [JFSR2], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]