DITTO!!Ginny. Ethnic strife and hatred predated religion. So, the basic reason for enslavement-use a lesser human to subsidize your absolute comfort-still remains. Pre-religion and law, it was achieved by war. Religion now seems more politically correct and less costly in terms of lives lost. Cheers!! >From: Ginny Quick <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: SILENT TERROR- SLAVERY IN MAURITANIA >Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 17:45:13 -0500 > >Hello, I have heard of Samuel Cotton before. A couple of years ago, he was >on a talk show, but I can't remember which one it was. It was really late >at night, and I was trying to go to sleep anyway. >It is unfortunate taht according to the summary of the book, religion is >used as a way of enslaving black Africans. Especially since, from what I >have read, the Qur'an clearly states that all people are equal. Thus it is >unfortunate that people would use Islam to justify the continued practice >of slavery. However, on second thought, in America, Christianity was also >used in this way. > It just seems to me that a minority of people are trying to justify >their continued oppression of a majority of people by any way they can. >Ginny > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: fatou sowe > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2000 3:15 PM > Subject: SILENT TERROR- SLAVERY IN MAURITANIA > > > Silent Terror: A Journey into Contemporary African Slavery by >Samuel Cotton > > $15.95 ISBN 0-86316-259-2, 240pp, 6 x 9 > > Published by Writers and Readers Publishing, Harlem River Press > > Orders will deliver within 10-14 days. > > > > > > SILENT TERROR is the disturbing story of a black American's >journey into the horrors of modern-day slavery in Africa. The author's >odyssey takes him from New York to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, >where he comes face to face with the Arab-Berbers' centuries-old practice >of enslaving black Africans. Samuel Cotton's research exposes this heinous >practice while documenting and analyzing the hatred that the Arab minority >holds for blacks, both slave and free, in a country where everyone is >Muslim. > > Cotton takes the reader into the life of oppressed Africans and >provides critical insights into the use of religion and language to >successfully enslave blacks. He also shows the process by which Arab >masters produce docile slaves. The narratives he recorded from those who >escaped reveal the capacity for hope and courage. Interviews with former >slaves who have become abolitionist leaders show the path from bondage to >freedom and offer the hope that this grim practice will one day be a relic >of the past. Silent Terror examines why African nations have been silent on >this subject and the role that neocolonialism plays in continuing an >unspeakable practice. > > This book is also a personal narrative. The author shares the >impact of coming to grips with his African past and identity and his >internal and external struggles to bring the issue of slavery to the >American public. He sheds light on the growth of a modern-day abolitionist >movement aimed at destroying the remaining strongholds of slavery and >details the difficulty of getting the Black Muslim community to confront >the idea of slavery in the Islamic world and to get black people in general >to deal with this painful reality. > > > > _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------