History of slavery in the Muslim world

The history of slavery in the Muslim world began with institutions inherited from pre-Islamic Arabia. The practices of keeping slaves in the Muslim world nevertheless developed in radically different ways in different Muslim states based on a range of social-political factors, as well as the more immediate economic and logistical considerations of the Arab slave trade. As a general principle, Islam encouraged the manumission of Muslim slaves as a way of expiating sins, and many early converts to Islam, such as Bilal, were former slaves. However, slavery persisted as an institution in the Muslim world through to the modern era. Throughout Muslim history, slaves served in various social and economic roles, from powerful emirs to harshly treated manual laborers. Slaves were widely employed in irrigation, mining, and animal husbandry, but most commonly as soldiers, guards, domestic workers, concubines (sex slaves). The use of slaves for hard physical labor early on in Muslim history led to several destructive slave revolts, the most notable being the Zanj Rebellion of 869–883, and led to the end of the practice. Many rulers also used slaves in the military and administration to such an extent that slaves could seize power, as did the Mamluks. Most slaves were imported from outside the Muslim world. Slavery in Islamic law does not have a racial foundation in principle, although this was not always the case in practise. The Arab slave trade was most active in West Asia, North Africa, and Southeast Africa, and rough estimates place the number of black Africans enslaved in the twelve centuries prior to the 20th century at between 11.5 million to 15 million. The Ottoman slave trade came from raids into eastern and central Europe and the Caucasus, while slave traders from the Barbary Coast raided the Mediterranean coasts of Europe and as far afield as the British Isles and Iceland. In the early 20th century, the authorities in Muslim states gradually outlawed and suppressed slavery, largely due to pressure exerted by Western nations such as Britain and France.