Fuad al-Sirti

Fuad al-Sirti was born beneath the shadow of the venerable University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, the son of a respected Maliki jurist whose family had served the court for generations. He memorized the Quran by age eight and spent his youth mastering Islamic jurisprudence, classical Arabic rhetoric, and legal treaties.

Best known among the ulama for his distinct legal argument regarding the trans-Saharan slave trade. Drawing strictly on Maliki jurisprudence, he contends that the Quran was designed to foster a natural, gradual abolition of slavery through systematic manumission. He argues that the vast majority of enslaved people imported from the West African interior are seized unlawfully in predatory raids and because their legal status cannot be proven under Sharia, Fuad deems their importation and sale in Moroccan markets religiously illicit. While these opinions are currently uncommon he has gathered few followers to his side.