Moses, Muhammad and Their Laws in Transatlantic Slave History

This book engages the way Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular-progressivist actors used Mosaic and Islamic law and ethics in relation to slavery in American, West African and transatlantic history from 1440 to 1830. It focuses on how various groups marshalled these religious-legal traditions to respond to questions of enslavement, amelioration, emancipation and abolition in the face of ever-transforming social, religious-cultural, legal and political contexts over several centuries. The study offers a vital corrective to secularized histories of slavery by showing that sacred law was not peripheral but ever-central to the makingand unmakingof American slavery, with legacies that reverberate through Reconstruction, segregation and modern civil rights debates.

Provides the first comparative study of how Abrahamic religious-legal traditions impacted slavery in American history Elucidates the historical twists and turns of Mosaic and Islamic-Sharia Law in American social-cultural history Significantly supplements and revises studies focused more generally on American 'Christianity' and 'the Bible'

Autorentext

R. Charles Weller , Ph.D., is Associate Professor of History (Career), Washington State University, and Senior Research Fellow, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. He has also been a visiting fellow at Yale University (2010-11), a visiting researcher at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (2014-19) and Affiliate (Research) Faculty of History at George Mason University (2021-22).

Klappentext

[A] compelling work With a solid historical foundation and careful curation, the book fosters a deep understanding of sacred law, national identity, religion, and race.

Toyin Falola , Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, University of Texas at Austin, USA

[A] highly original analytical framework Weller's brilliant argument that sacred law was both a malleable instrument and a battleground for talking and tackling bondage brims with piercing novelty.

Moses E. Ochonu , Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of History, Vanderbilt University, USA

brilliantly reveals the long-term American encounters with Jewish, Christian and Islamic slave law traditions [A]n extraordinary work grounded in abundant primary source material brings new light to the study of transatlantic and American slave history...

Patrick Manning , Emeritus Andrew Mellon Professor of World History, University of Pittsburgh, USA

This book engages the way Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular-progressivist actors used Mosaic and Islamic law and ethics in relation to slavery in American, West African and transatlantic history from 1440 to 1830. It focuses on how various groups marshalled these religious-legal traditions to respond to questions of enslavement, amelioration, emancipation and abolition in the face of ever-transforming social, religious-cultural, legal and political contexts over several centuries. The study offers a vital corrective to secularized histories of slavery by showing that sacred law was not peripheral but ever-central to the makingand unmakingof American slavery, with legacies that reverberate through Reconstruction, segregation and modern civil rights debates.

R. Charles Weller , Ph.D., is Associate Professor of History (Career), Washington State University, and Senior Research Fellow, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. He has also been a visiting fellow at Yale University (2010-11), a visiting researcher at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (2014-19) and Affiliate (Research) Faculty of History at George Mason University (2021-22).

Inhalt

1 Introduction: Historiographical Backgrounds, Contexts and Frameworks.- Part I: Laying the Foundations.- 2 The Early Historical and Theological Origins and Development of Mosaic and Islamic Law in West African, Transatlantic and American Enslavement History.- 3 Mosaic Law in the Transition from Indentured Servitude to Racialized Lifelong Hereditary Bondage for Black Africans, 1600-1710.- Part II: Mosaic and Islamic Slave Law Before and After the American Revolution.- 4 The Rise & Fall of Moses the Liberator Before and After the American Revolution, 1710-1830.- 5 Moses, Muhammad and Slavery among Jews and Muslims in Colonial and Early Independent America, 1654-1830.- 6 Moses, Muhammad and Slavery in the Thought & Writings of Key American Founders, 1750-1830.- 7 Concluding Reflections and Contributions of the Study.