islamic-jihad-legacy-of-forced-conversion-imperialism-slavery

Islamic JihadFrom Muhammad’s own practice of slave-concubinage, it flourished into a widely practisedinstitution in later periods as captives became numerous. Islam puts no limit on the number of sex-slavesMuslim men can keep; ‘there is absolutely no limit to the number of slave girls with whom a Mohammedanmay cohabit, and it is the consecration of this illimitable indulgence which so popularizes the Mohammedanreligion amongst the uncivilized nations and so popularizes slavery in the Muslim religion,’ writes ThomasHughes. 838 Accordingly, writes Lewis, ‘The slave women of every ethnic origin were acquired in greatnumbers to staff the harems of the Islamic world—as concubines or menials, the two functions not alwaysclearly differentiated… Some were trained as performers—singers, dancers, and musicians.’ 839 Ronald Segalalso affirms this in saying: ‘Female slaves were required in considerable numbers for musicians, singers anddancers—many more were bought as domestic workers and many were in demand as concubines. The haremsof rulers could be enormous. The harem of Abd al-Rahman III (d. 961) in Cordoba contained over 6,000concubines; and the one in the Fatimid palace in Cairo had twice as many.’ 840 Muslim rulers of India did notlag behind either; even enlightened Akbar had 5,000 women in his harem, while Jahangir and Shah Jahan had5,000 to 6,000 each. In the eighteenth century, Sultan Moulay Ismail had 4,000 concubines in his harem.Clearly, Muslim rulers—from Africa to Europe, from the Middle East to India—had accumulatedsex-slaves in their thousands. In the heyday of Islam, court officials, nobles, high-ranking generals andprovincial governors had dozens to hundreds and even thousands of slaves. Even the poor Muslim householdsor common shopkeepers used to have many slaves, as recorded by Muslim chroniclers. In general, the youngfemale slaves in all households had to provide sex to their masters as demanded. It appears that capturing thewomen for keeping as concubines was a major focus of Islamic slave-hunting; because, for every male slave,two females were captured in Africa for transporting to the Muslim world. And for those transported byEuropeans to the new world, there were two males for every female.Niccolao Manucci, who lived in India during Emperor Aurangzeb’s reign, observed of the Musliminfatuation with women and sex that ‘all Mohammedans are fond of women, who are their principalrelaxation and almost their only pleasure.’ 841 Dutchman Francisco Pelsaert, who visited India during EmperorJahagir’s reign (1605-27), wrote of the sexual indulgence of Muslim rulers and noblemen in the harems that:‘…each night the Amir visits a particular wife or mahal (quarter), receives a very warm welcomefrom his wife and from the slaves [girls], who dressed especially for the occasion… If it is thehot weather, they… rub his body with pounded sandalwood and rosewater. Fans are kept goingsteadily. Some of the slaves chafe the master’s hand and feet, some sit and sing, or play musicand dance, or provide other recreation, the wife sitting near him all the time. Then if one of thepretty slave girls takes his fancy, he calls her and enjoys her, his wife not daring to show anysigns of displeasure, but dissembling, though she will take it out on the slave girl later on.’ 842However, the wife could never get rid of such beautiful slave-girls from the harem, because it was only in thepower of the master to free her (Muslim women cannot own slaves).Similarly Maria Ter Meetelen, a Dutch slave-girl of Moulay Ismail’s palace in Morocco, left aneyewitness account of the sultan’s sensual indulgence with his wives and concubines in the harem. She wrote:838. Huges, p. 600839. Lewis (2000), p. 209840. Segal, p. 39841. Manucci N (1906) Storia do Mogor, trs. Irvine W, Hohn Murray, London, Vol. II, p. 240842. Lal (1994), p. 169–70237