Call for Muslim States to Apologise for Slave Trade

Islamic and Christian historians have called for a number of Muslim states to apologise for their part in the slave trade during a live radio debate.

The programme, broadcast on Premier Christian Radio, featured Islamic expert and lecturer, Anthony McRoy and ex-Christian and Islamic convert, the author Abdul-Haq al-Ashanti.

The debate began with McRoy explaining how North African Islamic states raided European countries for slaves, and have yet to apologise for these actions.

"It's essential that all states that ever engaged in this nefarious activity [slavery] should themselves apologise. I think there is a special case for the North African states and the Ottoman Empire to apologise," he said.

"Between 1480 and 1830 one and a quarter million white Europeans and North Americans were raided into slavery in north Africa by the north African states. The only reason this stopped is because the British and French made them stop, using the military."

When asked about the effect an apology would have on the public's view of Islam and Islamic countries, McRoy said, "I'm advocating this as a way of undermining anti-Muslim feeling, of attacking Islamophobia."