Following are excerpts from a statement by Dr. Saud Al-Fanisan, former dean of Islamic law at Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, Saudi Arabia, which aired on Al-Risala TV on March 16, 2012 :

Dr. Saud Al-Fanisan : Allah permitted the purchase and sale of slaves. Slaves are the property of their owners. This is slavery in the shari'a, yet a slave enjoys a great deal of freedom. The only thing he is deprived of is the right to own [himself]. That's it. He enjoys freedom of thought, freedom of belief, the freedom to work, the right to deny [Islam], and the right to command good and forbid evil. A slave enjoys all these liberties, so how can it be claimed that there is no freedom [in Islam]?

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