Today, institutional slavery conjures images of pre-Civil War Southern ownership of African slaves.  However, slavery is an ancient practice dating from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, as well as early Amer-Indian empires in Mexico and Central America.  It was also well established and ideologically sanctioned in the Muslim world from the days of Mohammed.  Concurrently with African enslavement in the Americas, a flourishing slave trade existed from 1500 to 1800 of white Christian Europeans by the Muslims of North Africa's Barbary Coast.  In his book Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters, Ohio State history professor Robert Davis takes a close look at this rarely discussed aspect of modern history.  Originating from the life of the Prophet Mohammed, slavery is deeply embedded in Islamic law and tradition.  Muslims are required to follow the teachings of Mohammed, who was a slave owner and trader.   Further, a large part of the sharia...(Read Full Article)