For centuries, history has obscured one of the longest and most brutal slave trades in human history—the Islamic slave trade. While the transatlantic slave trade is widely condemned and discussed, the enslavement of both White and Black people under Islamic rule has been deliberately ignored. As Iranian-American ex-Muslims, we are launching the Truth and Justice Campaign for Islamic Slavery Reparations to demand accountability from Muslim nations for the atrocities committed against our ancestors.
The Forgotten White and Black Slaves
The Islamic slave trade, spanning over 1400 years, saw the forced enslavement of millions of people from Europe, Africa, and Persia. White Europeans, particularly from the Balkans, Greece, Italy, and even as far as Ireland, were kidnapped, sold in Islamic slave markets, and forced into servitude as sex slaves and slave soldiers (Janissaries, Mamluks, and Ghilman). Persian and other non-Arab peoples suffered similar fates, with the Samanid and Safavid dynasties forcibly converting and enslaving countless Iranians under Arab and Turkic rule.
Meanwhile, Black Africans were systematically captured, castrated, and sold as house slaves and concubines throughout the Arab world. Unlike in the transatlantic slave trade, where descendants of slaves survived in large numbers, the Islamic slave trade resulted in near-total annihilation due to forced sterilization and brutal treatment (Segal, 2001).
The Case for Reparations
Today, the descendants of these enslaved peoples have received neither recognition nor justice. Muslim nations, particularly those that were direct beneficiaries of this slavery—Saudi Arabia, Iran under Islamic rule, Turkey, and North African states—must be held accountable for their historical crimes. If Western nations can be pressured into reparations discussions for far shorter periods of slavery, why should Islamic nations remain exempt?
Our campaign seeks the following:
- Official Acknowledgment – Muslim nations must publicly recognize the atrocities committed against White, Black, and Persian slaves.
- Financial Reparations – Compensation should be made to the descendants of enslaved Europeans, Africans, and Iranians.
- Educational Reforms – Islamic slavery must be included in history curricula worldwide, just as the transatlantic slave trade is taught.
- Abolition of Modern Islamic Slavery – Slavery is still present in parts of the Muslim world today, particularly in Mauritania, Libya, and the Gulf states. Immediate international pressure must be applied to end these practices.
Breaking the Silence
As ex-Muslims, we have broken free from centuries of indoctrination that justified these crimes under Islamic law. The Truth and Justice Campaign for Islamic Slavery Reparations stands as a demand for historical accountability. If the world truly believes in justice and equality, then Islamic nations must also be held responsible for their past sins.
It is time to break the silence. It is time for reparations.
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