Slavery, Abolition, and Islam: Debating Freedom in the Islamic Tradition

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Haroon Bashir (Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Markfield Institute of Higher Education)

Slavery, Abolition, and Islam

Debating Freedom in the Islamic Tradition

Haroon Bashir (Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, Markfield Institute of Higher Education)

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English

Oxford University Press
10 April 2025

Slavery & abolition of slavery; History of religion; Islam

Does the Qur'an promote the abolition of slavery? If so, why had the slave trade been allowed to operate across the Muslim world for over a millennium? And why had Muslim scholars not attempted to eradicate slavery previously? These were the questions that Islamic abolitionist scholars explored as they sought to challenge the slave trade throughout the nineteenth century. The abolition of slavery remains a relatively new concept in human history and scholars from all religious traditions have attempted to navigate the religious and ethical questions raised by the historical acceptance of slavery. In this book, Haroon Bashir tells the story of how scholars promoting abolition in the name of Islam transformed the debate around Islam and slavery. The book explores how abolitionism became the hegemonic position within contemporary Islamic thought and highlights the journey behind the current consensus. Abolitionist arguments were not simply accepted, with defenders of the slave trade using the weight of historical tradition to emphasise the legitimacy of slavery. The strongly contested debates that ensued had huge ramifications for understandings of authority, tradition, and modernity within Islamic thought that are as present as they are past.

Through an exploration of these various discourses and contestations, Slavery, Abolition, and Islam highlights how both slavery and abolition were historically challenged within the Islamic context and demonstrates how those debates continue to impact contemporary discussions. In doing so, the book also explores broader themes of religious traditions, continuity, and transformation.

By: Haroon Bashir (Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies Markfield Institute of Higher Education)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 242mm, Width: 166mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 490g
ISBN: 9780192874740
ISBN 10: 0192874748
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 10 April 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Dr Haroon Bashir is Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education. Since 2021, Dr Bashir also serves as the Director of the Markfield Centre for Contemporary Islam. His research focuses on Islam's conversation with modernity, contemporary Islamic thought, and Quranic interpretation.

Reviews for Slavery, Abolition, and Islam: Debating Freedom in the Islamic Tradition

Bashir's scholarship offers one of the first substantial studies of this complex and delicate topic. Showing mastery of its sources, it surveys Qur'anic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence, and modernist reasoning to explore shifting perspectives on slavery in Islamic thought, and the viability of an ""Islamic abolitionism"". This is a bold leap forward in the field, written with both precision and ambition. It has acute relevance in a world that has seen the re-imposition of ""Islamic"" enslavement practices through Islamic State and other groups on the one hand, and an increased recognition of the global legacies of systems of slavery on the other. Moreover, the book has direct bearing for how complex issues arising from classical Islamic jurisprudence might be productively reformulated in contemporary times. * Justin Jones, Associate Professor of the Study of Religion, University of Oxford * A remarkable book on a topic of more contemporary importance than one might think. Haroon Bashir combines the skills of the historian with those of the theologian to great effect. * Mark Sedgwick, Professor of Arab and Islamic Studies, Aarhus University *