Slavery in the Indian Ocean

 Slavery in the Indian Ocean was focused on two trades:

• The Islamic

• European-Colonial

Undertaken by or in the direction of the Islamic world (the trade run by Zanzibaris is a good example of this, in fact Tippu Tib the sultan was notorious for his thousands of slaves). Examples of Islamic or Muslim-majority countries with African descended populations would be Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Turkey.

The trade undertaken in the direction of the European colonies (Mauritius, Reunion, the Seychelles, South Africa) as well as, of course, to the Atlantic colonies.

Slaves heading to European colonies were eventually integrated culturally and spiritually(though music such as Sega in Mauritius, Reunion and the Seychelles was continued) into those societies and those heading towards Islamic societies converted and eventually adapted to those societies while keeping some traditions (Zaar spiritualist cult* is an example as well as music such as Fann at-Tanbura).


These two slave routes were differentiated historically:

•  The Islamic Indian Ocean slave trade was conducted from the early 9^th Century to the 20^th Century (the Sultanate of Oman as a historical maritime society played a role in this being heavily connected to Zanzibar, Tippu Tib was half Arab). Saudi Arabia stopped slavery in the 1960s (Sudan is another that has continued but I am only referring to Indian Ocean societies).

• The European trade was conducted from the 16^th Century to the 19^th Century during the colonial period being firstly stopped by the British (trade stopped in 1807 while slavery itself stopped in 1833) then by the French (1848).

Note: I refer to cult in the academic sense and not the demeaning, pejorative sense, i.e a cult is a practice or group of practices relating to a specific theme/object of devotion, the cult of the dead, the cult of the Virgin Mary)

Sufi Muslim Philosophers

I will be exploring the Sufi school of Islam.

Islam is a religion was founded (or as Muslims say, revealed unto the prophet Muhammed) in the 7th Century of the Common Era(CE) or the First century of the Hijra according to the Islamic calendar. This religion emphasises the teachings of Muhammed as the last prophet of Islam.

Sufism refers to the esoteric or inner practice of Islam and includes orthodox or schools upholding Islamic law and practice as well as other schools which place a greater emphasis on faith and dedication to saints.
In regards to Sufi practice I focus on several key figures: Ibn Arabi, Rumi, Suhrawardi.
Of these Rumi would be best considered an upholder of orthodox sufi practice in that he upheld the practice of Islamic law while also focusing on the esoteric/inner (batin/batiniyya in Arabic) understanding of Sufi Islam. He is famous throughout the West for his poetry and tolerance towards other faiths, a faith based on love of God and others.

Ibn Arabi upholds Neo-Platonic doctrines such as emanationism or cosmic principles (divine attributes and names) emanating from God to humanity. Ibn Arabi holds the theory of the qutb or pole, a powerful being or presence who guides humanity. He then refers to different abdals or saints who guide humanity.  Even though Lapidus considers Ibn Arabi to stand in the middle ground (orthoprax), commitment to laws with an acceptance of gnostic (developing the personal connection to deity) practices such as meditation and similar exercises. Lapidus connects this nevertheless to the popular Islamic devotion to saints, praying at saints' tombs for blessings and guidance.

Suhrawardi impresses me in two ways: firstly: his doctrine of alam al-mithal or the Imaginal world/mundus imaginalis (in Latin) a spiritual world/plane where human beings can connect to God and gain divine understanding. It is a state comparable to the dreams we have which are felt as if they were real. Secondly, Suhrawardi takes a syncretistic approach (combining beliefs from various religions) incorporating aspects of Zoroastrian thought (the pre-Islamic religion of Iran). Suhrawardi, inherited (as did Ibn Arabi) a legacy from Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 12th Century Islamic philosopher) of emanationist, Neo-Platonic understanding incorporating hierarchies of angels (two in particular) connecting humanity to God.

Note: Neoplatonism is the school of thought appearing through the 3rd, 4th and 5th centuries CE. It expands on Plato's teachings regarding morality and cosmology (relating to the formation of the universe, specifically in regards to the soul, God, etc.).
Sources:
Lapidus, I (2012), Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century, 2nd, Cambridge University Press.