- In “Three lives, one vision: how Dunant, Demidoff and Abdelkader shaped modern humanitarianism” (ICRC Blog) International Committee of the Red Cross experts Anastasia Kushleyko, Cédric Cotter, and Ahmed Al-Dawoody “revisit the contributions of Swiss businessman Henry Dunant, Russian philanthropist Anatole Demidoff, and Algerian scholar and leader Emir Abdelkader. Through their efforts to protect prisoners of war, care for the wounded, and uphold humane treatment during conflict, these three figures demonstrated that humanitarian principles were neither confined to one region nor rooted in a single tradition. The authors argue that modern humanitarianism emerged through converging ideas, networks, and practices across different societies, and that revisiting these histories can help reaffirm the universal character of humanitarian principles today.”
- In a recent essay, “His Favourite Camel” (London Review of Books), Youssef Ben Ismail (Amherst College) reviews Justin Marozzi‘s (independent journalist) Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World (Pegasus Books). The book argues that “Arab Muslims adapted and regulated this practice within an Islamic context. Sanctioned by the Prophet Mohammed, legitimated by the Quran and holy law, slavery endured for fifteen centuries. Abolition had few champions and came late in the day—hereditary slavery continues even today in Mali and Mauritania. Captives and Companions takes the reader on an extraordinary historical journey across deserts, continents and oceans, from Baghdad to Bamako, Tripoli to Timbuktu, Istanbul to the Black Sea, and reveals a hidden but vital chapter in our understanding of world civilization.”