Myths about the Arab Slave trade


The greatest thing to appreciate in any study of the Arab or African slave trade pre-European involvement in African is the source of information. After Europeans had taken all they could possible take via enslavement it was appropriate for them to find new ways of exploiting Africa’s resources. Naturally the “moral� interface which facilitated this exploitation was Christian missionaries, using religion once again as a scapegoat for colonial rule. Having to account for their bloody past in slaving they then enterprisingly pointed the finger in two directions; the Arabs and the Africans. The sources were then written to share the blood that was on their hands with reference the “brutality� of Slavery in Africa, and Arab enslavement of Africans. All commissioned draws depicting slavery in Africa started to depict Muslims raiding villages and so today when we look at the sources and the images these sources and images are part of the European conspiracy, the European view point which we subsequently inherit.



Through pure ignorance and lack of historical evidence many of the “African� scholars embrace myths about Africa feed to them from strictly European sources. If anyone is in doubt of this fact then find any book written on the Arab slave trade by African-Americans (bar a few) and see their references (if any).



This is not to verify or deny the existence or the extent of the Arab Slave trade in captive Africans or to deny or confirm the dynamics of “Slavery� among African people. This is just to highlight a clear point where history has become distorted and we should with a clean slate appreciate this, be sensitive to this in our pursuit of the truth. There is no doubt the Arab slave trade scared Africa, but the true dynamics of this as expressed in contemporary circles today is vulgarly malicious with the sole intention of vindicating the actions of Europeans.

History has in fact been distorted by europeans regarding the slave trade, but don't under estimate the fact that history has also been distorted by the arabs also.

Admitedly the whites are trying to share or ease the burdon of slavery by pointing the finger at arabs, f**k it! I would if I did the same...but I'm not excusing them, equally more and more I'm hearing arab propaganda saying that they introduced religion peacefully and not a word about slavery, like it never existed, like they don't make 4yr olds race camels. What we have here are 2 turncoats and neither one of them should be trusted, because in order for you and I to comply with either of them, their religion would be put apon us thus ensuring obidence to their cause, not your own cause. This has usally come in the form of slavery in past times and civil war/coups or minority elected powers enforcing their practises in modern times.

Wants and needs.

I except the fact that we Africans were slave owners of our own, but do you know what? I don't need white,arab or chinese excuses they can all be non-existent, but if i was in dire medical trouble... I will need another African person to give up something from their body to help me.

Hence the term blood is thicker than water and all those who isn't blood can keep their myths and realities because it's all a facade.

@Ocacia.....and your point is??

You are so typical of diaspora African muslims who usually go blind the moment they become muslims and find the so called "African" religion...lol...your delusional denial of what Arabs brought with Islam to Africa is pathetic! I suggest you stick to making films where ONLY the white man is the enemy of Africans and stop talking fart about things you know nothing about! If you have been away from the Continent for over 500 years, how the hell would you actually KNOW what Arabs are like in Africa today? Some of you people make me sick with your patronising atittude the moment you lose your soul to that immoral religion which you convince yoursleves is the IT place to be as a lost wondering African......no wonder your film as good as it was, it was reduced to a piece of ignorant rant by Arab apologisers like you who just loves concentrating ONLYon the white man(yes, as smart as you all thought, i couldn't help but see the underlying denialist atittude)niceone.gif

I tell you what, go back to MOST African countries and see the bleedingdamage thosesavages did,AND are STILL doing to your people TODAY!

Its moment like this that i wish John Henrick Clarke was still alive to slap some damn sense into you pathetic apologists of Arabs! Oh and just like Jews, i hope we Africans can make it a bloody crime for anyone who will denyor even question theextent of Arab slave trade.

[align=center]Mauritania—A Legacy of Slave Trading[/align] The enslavement of black Africans has existed in Mauritania for many centuries. It is a country that joins the descendants of Arabs and Berbers from the North, known as beydanes [white men], and the black ethnic communities living in the South. Blacks, mostly sedentary farmers, consisting of the Tukulor, the Fulani, and the Wolof tribes were brought north after being captured by raiding Arab/Berber tribes. This activity predates and postdates the Atlantic slave trade. Simply put, the slave trade that brought black Africans to these shores never stopped in Mauritania. "More than 100,000 descendants of Africans conquered by Arabs during the 12th century are still thought to be living as old-fashioned chattel slaves in Mauritania" says Newsweek after co nducting a yearlong, four-continent investigation of slavery.
Differing only slightly with this estimate, the U.S. State Department estimates that 90,000 blacks still live as the property of Berbers, "and that's a conservative estimate," said Dr. Jacobs, who puts the actual figure closer to 300,000 when interviewe d by The News Tribune. In addition, Newsweek states that "Aside from the shantytowns and a strip of land along the Senegal River, virtually all blacks are slaves, and they are more than half the population."
"Black Africans in Mauritania were converted to Islam more than 100 years ago," says Mohamed Athie, Executive Director of the American Anti-Slavery Group, [and]. . ."the Koran forbids the enslavement of fellow Muslims, but in this country race outranks r eligious doctrine. . . Though they are Muslims, these people are chattel: used for labor, sex and breeding."
Africa Watch reported that "Religion has been used by masters as an important instrument to perpetuate slavery. Relying on the fact that Islam recognizes the practice of slavery, they have misinterpreted it to justify current practices. In truth, Islam only permits treating as slaves, non-Islamic captives caught after holy wars, on condition that they are released as soon as they convert to Islam. People living as slaves in Mauritania long before the first abolition in 1905 were all Moslems, but this d id not lead to their emancipation. We received numerous complaints about the extent of which qadis (judges in Islamic courts) continue to exercise their judicial functions to protect the institution of slavery, rather than to ensure its eradication."
Successive regimes outlawed slavery in 1905, at independence in 1960, and most recently in 1980. These edicts were only lip service and window dressing. The proof is that since independence all economic and political power have remained firmly in the h ands of beydanes.
The Sudanese government never passed any laws providing punishment for enslaving black Africans and they never bothered to tell many of the slaves about emancipation. In 1980, the government sought to have its ruling ratified by a body of religious juri st, the ulema. The jurists said that slavery is not wrong on religious grounds, but that outlawing it would be within the government's competence--provided that owners were compensated for the manumission of slaves. Nobody has ever applied for compensation."
These black African slaves in Mauritania are subjected to mental and emotional torments that have always been concomitant with slavery. "Routine punishments for the slightest fault include beatings, denial of food and prolonged exposure to the sun, with hands and feet tied together. "Serious" infringement of the master's rule can mean prolonged tortures, documented in a report by Africa Watch. These include 1. The "camel treatment," where a human being is wrapped around the belly of a dehydrated came l and tied there. The camel is then given water and drinks until its belly expands enough to tear apart the slave. 2. The "insect treatment," where insects are put in his ears. The ears are waxed shut. The arms and legs are bound. The person goes ins ane from the bugs running around in his head. 3. The "burning coals" where the victim is seated flat, with his legs spread out. He is then buried in sand up to his waist, until he cannot move. Coals are placed between his legs and are burnt slowly. A fter a while, the legs, thighs and sex of the victim are burnt. There are other gruesome tortures--none of which is fit to describe in a family newspaper" states Africa Watch. Another report states that some slaves caught fleeing are often castrated or branded like cattle.


http://hometown.aol.com/casmasalc/african_slave_trade.html

Ocacia your attitude is very dis-respectful and very dismissive of African History. I wonder if you are really a person of African origin because I am surprisd by your attitude. This article of yours spitting onand insulting the memory of more than 50 million Africans that were taken as slaves by arabs will earn you nothing but a curse from the ancestors for insulting their memories and sufferings and you will forever sleep with one eye open for their spirits will come to haunt you. You are nothing more than an arab apologist and anarab uncle tom sellout. How will you feel if we come here and dismiss the trans-atlantic slave trade as a mith and big hoax?

Look at this statues that were dedicated to the memories of the arab slave in Tanzania.

Arab slave market: Zanzibar



Arab slave market: Zanzibar

yeah Ocacia, it's already been said...



the story about the arab slave trade from african perspective hasn't been fully told because it probably hasn't been written about or translated from arabic to english yet...but real life depictions of the evil of arabic/islamic brandof slavery do exist.....



Doesn't benefit Black people to supress one and highlight the other....the atlantic slave trade, the arabic slave trade, the intra-african slave trade should all be spoken about and taught.......

Vubundada_Kandabais right...Ocacia!

From the7th Century up to the 20th Century [i.e. 700-1911] -- Under the disguise of "Islam" these money/blood hungaryArabs tweeked the African Slave Trade justas they tweek African AmericanDollarstoday.

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark...terntrade.html


[align=center]Arab ruins (graves)




The Arabs worked the slave trade in East Africa. They were the first outsiders to settle in Bagamoyo. The town was the exit terminal for the slave caravans from the area around Lake Tanganyika, far inside the country ... a three month trek. Livingstone began his travels here too. He estimated that 10 slaves died for every one that made it to Bagamoyo. [/align]