Jonathan Brown

Neither Islam nor Christianity banned slavery. For the near entirety of human history, the greatest prophets, statesmen, and philosophers did not seem to realize a truth that seems only too obvious today—that slavery is an unqualified and indisputable evil. How is it possible that they failed to realize this, despite being the most morally upstanding individuals of their time?   This is the “slavery conundrum.” How should Muslims and Christians—or anyone who holds certain moral truths to be self-evident—make sense of this inconvenient history? Do humans become more moral with time or less so? Our guest and guide in trying to answer these fraught questions is Georgetown University’s Jonathan Brown, one of America’s leading Muslim intellectuals and the author of the illuminating (and controversial) book Slavery and Islam.  LINKS Jonathan Brown’s book Slavery and Islam https://bookshop.org/a/65404/9781786078391 Tucker Carlson on George Washington and Statues for Slaveholders https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-if-we-want-to-erase-the-past-we-must-prepare-for-the-consequences Ephraim Radner on Christian Wrestling with Abraham’s Slaveholding https://covenant.livingchurch.org/2020/07/31/abraham-and-sarah-slaveholders/

Dr Jonathan Brown, an expert in the Hadith corpus, discusses the misconceptions and arguments surrounding Hadiths. Topics include the importance of Hadiths in Islamic tradition, the concept of Sunnah, grades of rulings in Islam, interpreting a Hadith on criticism of legal rules, Western assumptions and orientalist approach, rejecting unreliable Hadiths, evaluating reliability of information, and the process of authenticating Hadiths and the role of scholars.

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Jonathan Brown, the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization at Georgetown University, dives deep into the complex relationship between slavery and Islamic teachings. He examines how historical practices, contextual ethics, and modern moral perspectives intersect. Topics include consent in marital practices, the role of Muslims in the American slave trade, and the evolution of cultural constructs around slavery. The conversation sheds light on the importance of nuanced understanding in addressing these sensitive issues today.