Exhibiting the history of slavery in the Indian Ocean world and the Gulf

It is generally understood that the inhumane practice of slavery was one that continued for centuries around the world, and that many countries and societies perpetuated it in one form or another.

Today, while many nations shy away from openly acknowledging their past involvement with slavery and human exploitation, Qatar has boldly erected a museum at the site of what was once a slave trader’s house.

Named ‘Jelmood’ — meaning ‘rock’, a reference to the rock-like heart of the slave trader — the museum is the first establishment in the region dedicated to exhibiting the slave trade in the Indian Ocean, a tradition that existed as recently as the early 20th century and involved various Arabian Gulf countries.

“When we talk about the history of slavery in the Middle East, we don’t have an institution that focuses on that,” said Dr Hafiz Ali Abdulla, Director of Msheireb Museums, which operates the Bin Jelmood House.

The museum, which officially opened in 2015, is one of the four houses established by Msheireb Properties, a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation. The four houses highlight different aspects of Qatar’s sociocultural development and heritage, with Bin Jelmood House focusing on the contribution of enslaved people to the development of Qatar.

The house features exhibitions ranging from the sources of enslaved people to the role of Islam in regulating the institution, and from the integration of enslaved people into society to the eventual abolishment of slavery.

Buried history

Inside the museum, a section displays a large screen where a local woman recounts the story about how her grandparents were enslaved and persecuted. Encouraging people to share such tales, however, let alone doing so on camera, was not an easy task.

“It was tough to convince people. Their first instinct would be: ‘Why do we need to talk about this buried history?” explained Dr Abdulla.

According to Fahad Al Turky, Exhibitions Manager at Msheireb Museums, the museum curators had to work almost secretively before the launch of the museum, not only for confidentiality purposes like any other museum but also because they needed to be keenly aware of the sensitives of the topic. The subject’s emotional connection to people in Qatar also meant that they had to be very careful about the framing of the story so as not to hurt people’s sentiments and to accurately showcase the contribution of enslaved people to the society.

The idea of a slavery museum came about when the presence of a former slave trader’s house was realized during the rebuilding of Msheireb Downtown Doha, a planned city. Dr Abdulla noted that it was the support from Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of both Msheireb Properties and Qatar Foundation, that made this museum possible as she wanted to use it to educate people about an important period of the country’s history.

“We thought the house could be a great asset from which to explore and tackle a very important and essential aspect of history, and to find a way to educate the young generation about the past and roots of slavery in the world,” said Dr Abdulla. “Once the people understood the mission of the museum, they said: ‘This is something we need to educate others.’”

Educating the past
While numerous museums in the West shed light on transatlantic slavery, the Bin Jelmood House aims to raise awareness not only about the Indian Ocean slavery but also about how it has evolved into ongoing human exploitation around the world. The museum doesn’t fall short of addressing modern-day slavery in the region, including displaying pictures of migrant workers from Qatar as well as the Arab world.

“This is something that Qatar is known for, which is being honest and being transparent. And this is the strength that the museum has: the honesty and transparency,” said Dr Abdulla.

“Slavery is about more than any one person or country. It’s a situation that has existed for thousands of years,” added Al Turky. “We are trying to elevate the situation to just more than blame so that it becomes more about the need to find how we can support and raise awareness of the issue.”

The Msheireb Museums team has launched various programs in collaboration with local and international schools in Qatar to educate both the students and teachers about the topics it is addressing. Their work has been recognized internationally, including the awarding of the Best Educational Practice Program by the Committee for Education and Cultural Action (CECA), a committee of the France-based International Council of Museums.

Msheireb Museums has also collaborated with the US Embassy in Qatar to enhance the outreach of the US government’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which talks about the trade of humans for forced labor, sexual slavery, and other exploitative purposes.

“[This museum] is an invitation for everybody to research, to learn more, and to contribute to the conversation,” said Dr Abdulla. “For us, the idea is to have a living museum and living heritage.”