Islam & Slavery Hardcover – November 10, 2023

Read this book if you think that Brown’s Slavery & Islam is a good book. This is an important response and any serious discussion of the topic should take into account both points of view.

Dr. John Morrow's groundbreaking work, 'Islam and Slavery', dispels one of the most pervasive misconceptions about the Islam and the Quran. This book presents compelling evidence and arguments that refute the historical conspiracy propagated by sultans against the system of peacemaking, known as Islam.Muhammad, one of history's most transformative leaders, established a federal-secular, multicultural city-state, replacing tribal oligarchy with a just, elected leadership based on a social contract. Under his guidance, women were granted equal status and rights, including the right to vote. The state was prohibited from imposing a specific faith or religion, instead, it was mandated to treat all citizens equally. The traditional claims of superiority based on tribes or colors, men, or women, was rejected and the only superiority among the citizens was declared to be based on “righteous deeds.”In the darkness of the medieval Arabian desert, an egalitarian society was born against all odds. This progressive community valued reason, scientific inquiry, liberty, justice, rule of law, freedom of expression, human unity, a free-market economy adjusted by social and economic rights, and global peace. The city that birthed this revolution was fittingly renamed from Yathrib to al-Madina, The Civilization.Despite the forces of ignorance and aggression, the liberating message of the Quran served as a beacon for humanity for centuries. In just 23 years, the teachings of rational monotheism and the system of peacemaking guided Muhammad and his friends.Muhammad and his courageous companions fought against a polytheistic, warmongering tribal system that was deeply superstitious, misogynistic, racist, and cruel. However, to reverse these reforms within a few decades, the power-hungry oligarchs who lost their influence fabricated countless hadiths and volumes of tafseers and sectarian jurisprudence.As we have discussed in 'Manifesto for Islamic Reform' and 'Quran: a Reformist Translation', the claim that the Quran did not reject slavery is one of the greatest falsehoods in human history. According to the Quran, enslaving another person is not just a major sin and crime, but the cardinal sin and crime: it is polytheism.The Quran frequently reminds us of Moses' struggle against Pharaoh and his government, a story of freedom against slavery. The Quran refers to Moses by name 136 times, almost twice as often as the second most repeated name, Abraham, 69 times. The Sunni and Shiite clergymen, using countless hadiths, distorted the meaning of key words and verses in the Quran. To claim that Muhammad and his monotheist friends practiced slavery is akin to declaring them as Pharaohs, who claimed to be lords besides the only Lord.Dr Morrow explores the complicated relationship between Islam and slavery in this thought-provoking study. This book delves into the historical, religious, and socio-cultural aspects of slavery within the Islamic world, offering a comprehensive analysis that is both enlightening and balanced. The author, a diligent scholar, navigates the complexities of this topic with sensitivity and scholarly rigor, providing readers with a refreshing understanding of a subject often shrouded in controversy. 'Islam and Slavery' is an essential read for anyone seeking to deepen their knowledge of Quran, Islamic history, and its intersection with the historical phenomenon of slavery.