Exploring Islam’s View on Slavery and Blackness: Seminar by Jonathan A.C. Brown

Jonathan A.C. Brown, an American scholar of Islamic studies and Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization at Georgetown University will deliver a talk on “Islam’s Approach to Slavery and Blackness” on August 11, 2023 Friday at ILKE Foundation. In his book “Islam and Blackness,” Jonathan Brown deeply investigate the common claim that Islam is antiblack, even inherently bent on enslaving Black Africans. He explains how antiblackness arose in the Islamic world and became entangled with normative tradition. Building upon his book, Brown discusses the sociopolitical and psychological implications of being labeled as “Black” in the seminar, emphasizing that the relationship between Blackness and slavery is socially constructed norms. Brown elucidated that slavery is inherently linked to power dynamics rather than being directly correlated with one’s skin color. Moreover, he underscored the varying definitions of slavery in academic discourse and highlighted the absence of a unanimous consensus on this issue. Delving into Islam’s outlook on races and colors, alongside a comprehensive exploration of the concept of slavery within Islamic teachings, Jonathan Brown adeptly concluded the seminar by responding to several questions that were asked during the session.