This notorious Islamic presence in the Indian Ocean, and particularly on the East African coast, had obvious importance in the development of slavery as an institution. However, as Cooper points out, it is important to keep in mind that there are no “Islamic societies” as a homogenous group of communities governed by Sacred Law. Instead, in each place, "Islamic slavery" was shaped by local conditions and reshaped by economic and social changes.1 Islam was one of the "ideological frameworks" used on the African continent to justify the slavery of other human beings. beings.2 The main characteristic shared by slavery in societies governed by Islamic law was the understanding of slavery as a condition for being part of the kin group, assimilation into the "new" cultural context was inherent in the condition of slave. . The slave was a foreigner, on the whole an infidel, so slavery was the means of converting the foreigner to the Islamic religion. Once converted, he or she began a process of incorporation into Islamic society.3 This particular characteristic allowed slaves to access important positions in the official bureaucracy and in the military apparatus. Women became an integral part of Muslim families, mainly as concubines or domestic slaves; concubines who had children by their master became free after their master's death, and their children inherited the paternal status.4 L Another characteristic commonly cited in this context is Thanks to the possibility of social mobility of slaves, some of them reached important positions within the administrative and military apparatus and became an integral part of the upper strata of their society .5 According to the “religious framework” criticized by Lovejoy,.6..... . middle of article......economic changes in East Africa and the Middle East, but also in the British campaign to abolish the slave trade after 1807. The decline in demand for slaves in the Atlantic had a direct impact on the increase in the number of slaves. as labor in Africa25 and the Indian Ocean26. Economic change in the region was notable in the Persian Gulf and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. Apparently, the Persian Gulf and the Middle East underwent a significant productive transformation in the 19th century, leading to an increasing use of slave labor in jobs different from "traditional" roles in domestic and luxury positions.27 According to Clarence-Smith, in the 19th century, 300,000 slaves were exported from East Africa to the Middle East, 500,000 to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Ports located on the Persian Gulf were points of re-export of slave laborers to other Muslim countries.