Some time ago, I debated a particularly hard-headed group of atheists who seemed to think that Islamic traditionalist writings which discuss slavery were meant for the graveyard. I offered the idea that traditionalist interpretations on how to deal with poverty and the subclasses far outweigh ‘democratic alternatives’.

What is funny about certain forms of idealists is that they don’t even know they are idealists. Atheists such as these believe in an idealic vision where the weak are simply eliminated by the virtue of human goodness.

It’s not happening:

Two hundred years after the abolition of the slave trade by the UK Parliament in 1807, there are more slaves in the world than ever before; some estimate as many as 27 million.* It is easier and cheaper to buy and sell humans today than it was at the height of the transatlantic slave trade; in the 1800s, slaves were precious commodities, now they can be traded for just a few British pounds. Slavery may be forgotten, but it is not yet gone.

TurbanTip to Seekers Digest:

OpenDemocracy - Slavery in the 21st Century
March 2007 marks the bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade. openDemocracy presents the first of a series of five photo-essays documenting contemporary forms of slavery around the world.