By leveling the moral playing field, we in know way wish to suspend judgement with regard to enslavement, nor do we advocate an abdication of respons… - Ehud R. Toledano

In the early 1980s when my first work on Ottoman slave trade in 19th century was published I was keenly aware of the sensitivity of the subject and actively sought not to offend any of my readers...even in domestic slavery situations, especially when women were concerned, it would be quite inappropriate to describe their experience of enslavement as mild....Simply put the powerful (here Ottomans and Arabs) stand accused of bestowing on the unwilling powerless (here enslaved Africans) the questionable benefits..

Human bondage in it's various forms existed in almost all known historical societies and cultures. Since biblical times all monotheist religions have sanctioned slavery, although they did try to mitigate its harsh realities; other belief systems were not free from various forms of enslavement either.

Too often the debate over history of enslavement has been suppressed by reluctance of Arab and Muslim writers to engage in an open discussion...about human bondage. Excepting modern Turkish scholarship and a few contributions from scholars in Arab countries the work produced by Arabs and Muslims has been apologetic and polemical.