Salamu aleikum all... I did some business in arabia and saw that some Saudis treated immigrant workers relatively badly. As if they were lesser humans. A quick research revealed that slavery was abolished there only in 1962. Were there muslim slaves? If yes, doesn't this contradict with the teachings of islam? Were they imported from somewhere or were they members of native slave families?
Saudi Arabia - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
well not having been born yet.. I dont have much experience first hand knowledge.. but from what i know.. its not much different from slavery anywhere else in the world.. ie: USA for example. or South Africa.. etc etc.. and just cause the laws were abolished in 1962, doesnt mean there were millions of slaves in 1962.. there werent.. Just a law on the books is all.. and my life growing up.. There werent much foreign labor when I was younger 30years ago.. until just recently in the early 80's when the oil boom started, thats when all of a sudden we started hiring maids, drivers, and laborers.. before the Saudi's did it all themselves.. and not everyone is treating unskilled laborers badly.. dont generalize.. its the same as anywhere else.. Do you think all Americans who hire an immirgrant treats them badly? NO.. same here..
2 :
The law concerning slavery was only changed recently, compared to other countries. However the problems some foreign workers face are not due to this. It is more due to the fact that the influx of foreign labour was both sudden and very large, and the legal mechanisms have been slow to catch up with the new reality that there are millions of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia these days. For most foreigners, the Saudi legal system is very hard access, let alone navigate, and so they are afraid to approach the authorities if they are mistreated, and some unscrupulous employers will take advantage of that. The same is true, though, of anywhere that has a large immigrant workers population who are unsure or nervous of approaching the authorities. The only difference is that the Saudi authorities have been slower to make efforts to make themselves accessible to foreign workers, whereas other countries (such as Singapore) have launched dedicated outreach units. And to answer your question about religion, I don't believe there was any particular issue with having Muslim slaves. It was simply a matter of convenience. Most slaves came from the horn of Africa, as it was nearby and with established trading likes with the peninsula, and it just so happened that many people were, and are, Muslim.
3 :
slavery still exist, just now it is filipina maids forced to have sex with there emploer and beaten by his jealous wife and Pakistan, Bangladeshi men in bonded labor.
4 :
Muslims can't be slaves. Also you have to treat your slaves equal and let them get married if they want to. Not like the USA, where they treatead the Native Americans*yes they did enslave the native Americans and tried slavery with the white people* before enslaving the blacks, after bribing African tribes and kidnapping tons of innocent men, women and children from their homeland. In the USA, slaves were treated like lesser beings, like animals, and a slave master could rape his slave girl and father children with her, thus making his children slaves. But Islam says, that a man can have sex with his females who his right hand posses, as well as his wives(I think that only applies to war; better ask an Sheikh or Imam for better information), and any child born of a slave girl and her master is a free person. They aren't slaves. Slaves can't be beaten in Islam, and you ahve to treat your slaves like human beings(i.e. give them the same food as you eat, the same clothes you wear, etc.). But the prophet(Salla Allahu alahi Wa Salaam) encouraged us to free our slaves. We can also free our slaves for the ransom of a Muslim prisoner, or free a slave during Ramadan if we are unable to fast. It counts as a good deed.
5 :
i dont know how it was during that time but it was not very common .. if i am not mistaken, it was only at some of the higher end of society and it was not like the slaves as you see them in old slavery movies .. with chains, put them in jails and sell them as commodities .. it was more of a servant / boss relationship, where they are provided with home shelter, salary .. vs. help and loyalty. it is very much similar to the big boss in any province in the world (my men). personally, there was not any single story of a slave i heard in my whole family roots or relatives, and those stories go for a 100 years. so, i assume it was very little. About slavery, it still exists today, and worse than any other time in history. According to the book in the link below, that: In the past it was limited to the elite class, and buying a slave is like buying a mercedes car. Today, you can get a slave for a 100 dollars in Haiti (worst place for slavery in the world. There is a new trafficking to slave in the USA every half an hour. One of worst places of slavery today is Israel with sex slave traficking. Also countries like Vietnames and Thailand. There is about 70,000 prostitutes underage in Vietname alone, this is other than the other Vietnamese exported to other countries. There is no way that a teenage will choose to be a prost. by choice at this young age.
6 :
Sure it still exist and 'ME' gave the best answer. I personally know Philippina girls who escaped that environment. . .being raped by a dirty unshaven Saudi master and told to keep quiet or they will be beheaded. GOD what a decadent bunch of people hiding behind religion. Mind you not all Saudis are like that, however the perpetrators leave such a bad impression behind that people think all Saudis are like that.
