Slave Soldiers and Islam_ The Genesis of a Military System - Daniel Pipes

WhatIsa

Military

Slave?

17

chattel

slavery

inNorth

America.Astheharshestslave

system

in

history,

a

theAmerican

experience

provides

a

poor

basisfrom

which

tounderstandthemoresubtle

phenomenonof

military

slavery;thereaderwilldobesttofreehismind

ofitbeforecon-

sideringthefollowingdiscussion.

Although

often

oppressedanddebased,slavesneednotlive

badly;

some

pursueresponsiblecareers

in

business,

government,

orthecourt.Farfrom

beingdespised

in

these

positions,they

wield

power

and

accruewealth.Islamiclaw,for

example,hasa

special

termforthe

slavewho

engages

inbusiness,ma’dhn.

De-

spite

thefactthat

governmental

slaves

havefilledsuch

important

positionsallovertheworld,

includingEurope,

thesefactscom-

monly

arouse

surpriseand

protest:

"Such men arenot

true

slaves"istheusualreaction.

But,asweshallsee,

they

oftenare.

True

slavery

hasawider

range

of

possibilitiesthanone

might

imagine;

indeed,aslavecanlivein

anycircumstancesas

long

as

hemeetstwo

conditions.Hemust

normally

besalable

andhe

mustbe

subject

tohismaster

inall

important

matters.Trueslav-

eryimplies

treatmentasa

commodity;

theslavecanbe

bought

andsoldlike

any

other

object.

The trueslave

doesnothave

power

over the most

importantaspects

ofhis own

life; his

whereabouts,

occupation,

marital status, or

discipline.

The

masterdecideswherethe

slavelives,whatworkhedoes,whether

he

maymarry,

andwhetherheshouldbe

punished.

The

key

hereiscontrol;

thougheveryone

is

subject

to

innumerablere-

strictions

andlimitations,theslave

(andpossibly

thecitizenof

a

moderntotalitarian

statethoughhecannotbe

sold)consistently

lacksthe

power

tomakehisownmost

important

decisions.

Asthisdefinitionoftrue

slaveryconsidersonlytherelations

between

slaveandmaster,itallowsusto

ignore

the

slave’soccu-

pation,

wealth,social

standing,

and

power.

He

may

do

anything;

as

long

ashismastercontrols

him,heisstillaslave.He

may

ac-

quiregreat

wealthand

power

or

shapethedestiniesofmillions

of

peoplewhile

remaining

atrueslave.Forcenturies

theOtto-

andS.L.

Engerman,

Timeonthe

Cross:TheEconomics

of

American

NegroSlavery

(Boston,

1974),

forthelatest

majorstatementofthis

point

ofview.

23.Foran

explanation

ofthis,seeS.M.

Elkins,Slavery:AProbleminAmerican

InstitutionalandIntellectual

Life

(Chicago,

1959).