Survival through faith
-
Enslavement is a physical capture. It takes away physical freedom. However, it doesn’t take away the freedom to think and a freedom to believe so easily. And when faced with an imminent seizure of all autonomy, the enslaved people rushed to protect whatever of their essence and identity they could protect. Their faith was perhaps the only basic part of their identity that could survive the enslavement. The performance of songs, dances, rituals and all other cultural practices could be banned. But because Islam was before all rooted in belief rather than performance (although performance was its manifestation), it could be retained and it could survive enslavement. It was a preservation of the ‘self’– at least part of it.
Prayers could be done in secret or not at all. A symbolic, imaginative or even invented hajj could be performed. Islam’s flexibility on the four (out of five) pillars allowed a slave to not fear Judgement day. But shahada was not flexible. Also, it is the only thing that couldn’t be taken away by enslavement - not least from Ayuba. If shahada survived enslavement, so did Islam and so did an essence of self for the enslaved.
But other faiths proved less resistant to conversion. I believe it can be explained by the content of Islam itself. A Muslim is aware of Jesus and is aware of Abraham. A Muslim understands the essence of Christianity. In fact, Islam claims itself to be the next (and final) in God’s message to humanity previously delivered by Jesus, Moses and the rest of the prophets believed to be common within the Abrahamic religion. Thus, it would be hard to convince a Muslim to convert to Christianity, as it would seem to be a regression. Meanwhile, for more ‘pagan’ practices, Christianity could co-exist in some sort of syncretistic manner with traditional practices. Many traditional practices allowed for some fluidity. It could be an addition and thus more palatable.
But if forced through violence, Muslims could choose a pseudo-conversion wherein they would conceal their true beliefs while practicing in public whatever was imposed on them. They could still practice Islam in private and in hiding. Still in this Orwellian nightmare shahada could exist. And, since Christian practices and beliefs aren’t necessarily the antithesis of Islamic practices, a Muslims could still rejoice in connecting with God even though through a Christian medium.
-
A very interesting argument!