The enslavement of black Africans has existed in Mauritania for many centuries. It is a country that joins the descendants of Arabs and Berbers from the North, known as beydanes [white men], and the black ethnic communities living in the South. Blacks, mostly sedentary farmers, consisting of the Tukulor, the Fulani, and the Wolof tribes were brought north after being captured by raiding Arab/Berber tribes. This activity predates and postdates the Atlantic slave trade. Simply put, the slave trade that brought black Africans to these shores never stopped in Mauritania. "More than 100,000 descendants of Africans conquered by Arabs during the 12th century are still thought to be living as old-fashioned chattel slaves in Mauritania" says Newsweek after co nducting a yearlong, four-continent investigation of slavery.
Differing only slightly with this estimate, the U.S. State Department estimates that 90,000 blacks still live as the property of Berbers, "and that's a conservative estimate," said Dr. Jacobs, who puts the actual figure closer to 300,000 when interviewe d by The News Tribune. In addition, Newsweek states that "Aside from the shantytowns and a strip of land along the Senegal River, virtually all blacks are slaves, and they are more than half the population."
"Black Africans in Mauritania were converted to Islam more than 100 years ago," says Mohamed Athie, Executive Director of the American Anti-Slavery Group, [and]. . ."the Koran forbids the enslavement of fellow Muslims, but in this country race outranks r eligious doctrine. . . Though they are Muslims, these people are chattel: used for labor, sex and breeding."
Africa Watch reported that "Religion has been used by masters as an important instrument to perpetuate slavery. Relying on the fact that Islam recognizes the practice of slavery, they have misinterpreted it to justify current practices. In truth, Islam only permits treating as slaves, non-Islamic captives caught after holy wars, on condition that they are released as soon as they convert to Islam. People living as slaves in Mauritania long before the first abolition in 1905 were all Moslems, but this d id not lead to their emancipation. We received numerous complaints about the extent of which qadis (judges in Islamic courts) continue to exercise their judicial functions to protect the institution of slavery, rather than to ensure its eradication."
Successive regimes outlawed slavery in 1905, at independence in 1960, and most recently in 1980. These edicts were only lip service and window dressing. The proof is that since independence all economic and political power have remained firmly in the h ands of beydanes.
The Sudanese government never passed any laws providing punishment for enslaving black Africans and they never bothered to tell many of the slaves about emancipation. In 1980, the government sought to have its ruling ratified by a body of religious juri st, the ulema. The jurists said that slavery is not wrong on religious grounds, but that outlawing it would be within the government's competence--provided that owners were compensated for the manumission of slaves. Nobody has ever applied for compensation."
These black African slaves in Mauritania are subjected to mental and emotional torments that have always been concomitant with slavery. "Routine punishments for the slightest fault include beatings, denial of food and prolonged exposure to the sun, with hands and feet tied together. "Serious" infringement of the master's rule can mean prolonged tortures, documented in a report by Africa Watch. These include 1. The "camel treatment," where a human being is wrapped around the belly of a dehydrated came l and tied there. The camel is then given water and drinks until its belly expands enough to tear apart the slave. 2. The "insect treatment," where insects are put in his ears. The ears are waxed shut. The arms and legs are bound. The person goes ins ane from the bugs running around in his head. 3. The "burning coals" where the victim is seated flat, with his legs spread out. He is then buried in sand up to his waist, until he cannot move. Coals are placed between his legs and are burnt slowly. A fter a while, the legs, thighs and sex of the victim are burnt. There are other gruesome tortures--none of which is fit to describe in a family newspaper" states Africa Watch. Another report states that some slaves caught fleeing are often castrated or branded like cattle.
There is a belief among African Americans about Arabs near and far that may cause them to shrink in disbelief and doubt the credibility of these reports. Many blacks feel that racism and racist attitudes do not exist among Arabs, especially Muslims, and that there is a common bond between black people and Arabs, and again, I must add--particularly Muslims. It is partly for this reason, that the Arab slave trade has always been played down.
This perception was reinforced among African Americans by the experiences of Malcolm X. His positive interactions with beydanes (white men) played a significant part in his transformation from Black Muslim to Orthodox Muslim. Malcolm stated quite elate dly, "America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. "Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been consider ed 'white'--but the 'white' attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam. . . .We were truly all the same (brothers)--because their belief in one God had removed the 'white' from their minds, the 'white' from their behavior, and the 'whi te' from their attitude." (The Autobiography of Malcolm X pg. 345, 346) Are these perceptions true? Does racism along with economics drive slavery in these two countries, and possibly other Arab nations, as was the case in the Judeo-Christian We st? This question must be asked of other Arab nations because "The UN report suspects that many blacks are sold into Libya."
In Mauritania, Newsweek spoke to Fahl Ould Saed Ahmed the owner of two 10-year slave boys. He was asked if there was racism or slavery [in his country]. He replied "There is no racism, thaere is no slavery." The truth is that "In Mauritania, there is a Muslim ruling class made up of Berbers and Arabs, whose base is in the north of the country. They enslave thousands of blacks, who are cut off from their tribes in the south. from their language and culture.< P> They are Islamicized and made slaves for life." said Dr. Jacobs who, along with Mohamed Athie was featured on a PBS expose of modern day slavery that aired on Tony Brown's Journal, the week of January 6 to the 12. "All the blacks of Mauritania converte d to Islam a hundred years ago," Athie said. "The nation forbids it. The religion forbids it. Yet slavery goes on. And it is clearly racial in nature. These people are slaves solely because they are black. A non-black Muslim is not enslaved, a black one is."
In 1992, Newsweek spoke to a slave named Dada Ould Mbarek in Mauritania: "He was asked: weren't Mauritania's slaves emancipated? 'I never heard of it,' he said. 'And what's more, I don't believe it. Slaves free? Never here.' Isn't he the same as hi s master? 'No, I'm different. A master is a master and a slave is a slave. Masters are white, slaves are black.' Is this just? 'Naturally, we blacks should be the slaves of the whites." Dada Ould Mbarek manifests the effects of physical and psycholog ical slavery. He sadly has come to think that black men are inferior to whites
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