Islamic Law and Abolition in East Africa and Arabia

Until very recently, Islamic conceptions of human equality were historically impoverished and dominated by tribal, cultural, linguistic, and imperial imperatives rather than the pietistic egalitarianism that was originally part of the Quranic and Muhammadan vision for Islamic societies. In this talk Freamon will use hisresearch to: (1) undertake a critical examination of the history of slavery and abolition in selected locales with a view toward uncovering juridical and sociolegal factors that play a role in shaping ideas about equality among Muslims; and (2) briefly explore a phenomenon I describe as Post-Enlightenment Quranic Hermeneutics, asking whether the problem of slavery and abolition in Muslim legal culture has had or should have any impact on contemporary interpretations of the Quran.