by Syarif Hidayat
What is racism, really? Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another.
Racism has existed throughout human history. It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes. Today, the word racism is thrown around all the time by not only members of racial minority groups but by whites, too. Use of the term “racism” has become so popular that it’s spun off related terms such as “reverse racism,” “horizontal racism” and “internalized racism.”
Let’s start by examining the most basic definition of racism—the dictionary meaning. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, racism has two meanings. Firstly, racism is, “The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” Secondly, racism is, “Discrimination or prejudice based on race.”
Examples of the first definition abound. When slavery was practiced in the United States, blacks were not only considered inferior to whites but regarded as property instead of human beings. During the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, it was agreed that slaves were to be considered three-fifths people for purposes of taxation and representation. Generally during slavery, blacks were deemed intellectually inferior to whites. This notion persists in modern-day America.
In 1994, a book called The Bell Curve posited that genetics were to blame for why African Americans traditionally score lower on intelligence tests than whites. The book was attacked by everyone from New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, who argued that social factors were responsible for the differential, to Stephen Jay Gould, who argued that the authors made conclusions unsupported by scientific research. In 2007, Nobel Prize-winning geneticist James Watson ignited similar controversy when he suggested that blacks were less intelligent than whites.
Discrimination Today
In 2003, researchers at the University of Chicago and MIT released a study involving 5,000 fake resumes that found that 10percent of those featuring “Caucasian-sounding” names were called back compared to just 6.7percent of those featuring “black-sounding” names. Moreover, resumes featuring names such as Tamika and Aisha were called back just 5percent and 2 percent of the time. The skill-level of the faux black candidates made no impact on callback rates.
Can Minorities Be Racist?
Yes, of course. However, it’s important to note that because racial minorities in the U. S. have spent their lifetimes in a society that has traditionally valued whites over them, they are also likely to believe in the superiority of whites. It’s also worth noting that in response to living in a racially stratified society, people of color sometimes complain about whites. Typically, such complaints serve as coping mechanisms to withstand racism rather than as anti-white bias. Even when minorities are actually prejudiced against whites, they lack the institutional power to adversely affect whites’ lives.
Internalized Racism and Horizontal Racism
Internalized racism is when a minority believes that whites are superior. A highly publicized example of this is a 1954 study involving black girls and dolls. When given the choice between a black doll and a white doll, the black girls disproportionately chose the latter. In 2005, a teen filmmaker conducted a similar study and found that 64percent of the girls preferred the white dolls. The girls attributed physical traits associated with whites, such as straighter hair, with being more desirable than traits associated with blacks.
What about horizontal racism? When this occurs, members of minority groups adopt racist attitudes towards other minority groups. An example of this would be if a Japanese American prejudged a Mexican American based on the racist stereotypes of Latinos found in mainstream culture.
Racism Myth: Segregation Was a Southern Issue
Contrary to popular belief, integration wasn’t universally accepted in the North. While Martin Luther King Jr. managed to march through a number of Southern towns during the Civil Rights Movement, a city he chose not to march through for fear of violence was Cicero, Ill. When activists marched through the Chicago suburb without King to address housing segregation and related problems, they were met by angry white mobs and bricks. Fast-forward to 1975 Boston. When a judge ordered city schools to integrate in 1974 by busing black and white schoolchildren into each other’s neighborhoods, white mobs pelted the buses with rocks.
Reverse Racism
“Reverse racism” refers to anti-white discrimination. It’s often used in conjunction with practices designed to help minorities, such as affirmative action. The Supreme Court continues to receive cases that require it to determine when affirmative action programs have created anti-white bias.
Social programs have not only generated cries of “reverse racism” but people of color in positions of power have also. A number of prominent minorities, including the biracial President Barack Obama, have been accused of being anti-white. The validity of such claims is clearly debatable. They indicate, though, that as minorities become more prominent in society, more whites will argue that minorities are biased. Because people of color will surely gain more power over time, get used to hearing about “reverse racism.”
The exact definition of racism is controversial
The exact definition of racism is controversial both because there is little scholarly agreement about the meaning of the concept "race", and because there is also little agreement about what does and doesn't constitute discrimination. Some definitions would have it that any assumption that a person's behavior would be influenced by their racial categorization is racist, regardless of whether the action is intentionally harmful or pejorative. Other definitions only include consciously malignant forms of discrimination.
Among the questions about how to define racism are the question of whether to include forms of discrimination that are unintentional, such as making assumptions about preferences or abilities of others based on racial stereotypes, whether to include symbolic or institutionalized forms of discrimination such as the circulation of racial stereotypes through the media, and whether to include the socio-political dynamics of social stratification that sometimes have a racial component. Some definitions of racism also include discriminatory behaviors and beliefs based on cultural, national, ethnic, caste, or religious stereotypes.
Racism and racial discrimination are often used to describe discrimination on an ethnic or cultural basis, independent of whether these differences are described as racial. According to the United Nations convention, there is no distinction between the terms racial discrimination and ethnic discrimination, and superiority based on racial differentiation is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous, and that there is no justification for racial discrimination, in theory or in practice, anywhere.
In politics, racism is commonly located on the far right due to the far right’s common association with nativism, racism, and xenophobia. In history, racism has been a major part of the political and ideological underpinning of genocides such as the holocaust, but also in colonial contexts such as the rubber booms in South America and the Congo, and in the European conquest of the Americas and colonization of Africa, Asia and Australia. It was also a driving force behind the transatlantic slave trade, and behind states based on racial segregation such as the USA in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and South Africa under apartheid. Practices and ideologies of racism are universally condemned by the United Nations in the Declaration of Human Rights.
Usage of the term and related terms
In the 19th century, many scientists subscribed to the simple belief that human populations are divided into separate races. This was often used to justify the belief that some races were inferior to others, and that differential treatment was consequently justified. Such theories are generally termed scientific racism. When the practice of treating certain groups preferentially, or denying rights or benefits to certain groups, based on racial characteristics is institutionalized, it is termed “institutional racism”.
Nowadays, most biologists, anthropologists, and sociologists reject a simple taxonomy of races in favor of more specific and/or empirically verifiable criteria, such as geography, ethnicity, or a history of endogamy.
Those who subscribe to the proposition that there are inherent distinctions among people that can be ascribed to membership in a racial group (and who may use this to justify differential treatment of such groups) tend to describe themselves using the term “racialism” rather than “racism”, to avoid the negative connotations of the latter word. “Racialism” is assumed to be more value-neutral terminology, and more appropriate for (scientifically) objective communication or analysis.
However, this distribution of meanings between the two terms used to be precisely inverse at the time they were coined: The Oxford English Dictionary defined “racialism” as “belief in the superiority of a particular race” and gives a 1907 quote as the first recorded use. The shortened term “racism” did not appear in the English language until the 1930s. It was first defined by the OED as “the theory that distinctive human characteristics and abilities are determined by race”, which gives 1936 as the first recorded use.
Additionally, the OED records racism as a synonym of racialism: "belief in the superiority of a particular race". By the end of World War II, racism had acquired the same supremacist connotations former associated with racialism: racism now implied racial discrimination, racial supremacism and a harmful intent. (The term “race hatred” had also been used by sociologist Frederick Hertz in the late 1920s.)
Modeled on the term “racism”, a large number of pejorative -ism terms have been created to describe various types of prejudice: sexism, ageism, ableism, speciesism, etc. Related concepts are antisemitism, chauvinism and homophobia (which in turn has led to terms such as Islamophobia).
Racism in Torah (?) and Talmud
“Racism
Originated in the Torah” say Israeli Rabbis. Racism from high ranking
Rabbis across Israel who are stating that racism is a part of Judaism
and Jews shouldn’t rent apartments to Arabs. Imagine if they were
Muslim?
We must also take note of those voices speaking
out against such rhetoric and pronouncements because many are opposed to
the language used by these Rabbis.
Top rabbis move to forbid renting homes to Arabs, say ‘Israel belongs to Jews’
(Haaretz).
A number of leading rabbis who signed on to a religious ruling to
forbid renting homes to gentiles – a move particularly aimed against
Arabs – defended their decision with the declaration that the land of
Israel belongs to the Jews. Dozens of Israel’s municipal chief rabbis
signed on to the ruling, which comes just months after the chief rabbi
of Safed initiated a call urging Jews to refrain from renting or selling
apartments to non-Jews.
Signatories include the chief
rabbis of Ramat Hasharon, Ashdod, Kiryat Gat, Rishon Letzion, Carmiel,
Gadera, Afula, Nahariya, Herzliya, Nahariya and Pardes Hannah, among a
number of other cities. “We don’t need to help Arabs set down roots in
Israel,” Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of the Beit El settlement, said. Aviner
explained that he supported the move for two reasons: one, a Jew looking
for an apartment should get preference over a gentile; and two, to keep
the growing Arab population from settling too deeply.
“Racism
originated in the Torah,” said Rabbi Yosef Scheinen, who heads the
Ashdod Yeshiva. “The land of Israel is designated for the people of
Israel. This is what the Holy One Blessed Be He intended and that is
what the [sage] Rashi interpreted.” He added that he did not
see the move as racist so much as segregationist. “The world is so big
and the State of Israel is small, that God intended it for the people of
Israel and the whole world covets it. That is the injustice.”
Upon
news of the religious ruling, Meretz faction whip Ilan Ghilon
immediately asked the attorney general to dismiss each of the rabbis who
had signed their names.
“We are witnessing an epidemic of racism
and xenophobia and we must act firmly,” he said. Deputy Knesset chairman
MK Ahmed Tibi decried the letter as a “mass crime [committed] by a
group of racist rabbis who should be given intensive course in Jewish
history.”
The entire group should be tried for “incitement
to racism,” added Tibi, “Muslim clerics have recently been tried or
fired from their jobs for much less but the rabbis are able to pursue
their unruly behavior without concern. Haifa Mayor Yonah Yahav termed
the ruling the “real desecration of God’s name. It is bringing hatred
against those with whom we have chosen to live our lives.” Nazareth
Mayor Ramiz Jaraisy also decried the moving, declaring that “whoever
thinks it damages one side is mistaken. We are all children of the land.
Both nations must search for common ground and not bring about
escalation.”
In their ruling, the rabbis called on the
religious community to voice support Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu,
who could face trial for incitement against Arabs for initiating the
move against renting to gentiles. Minority Affairs Minister Avishay
Braverman has also asked Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman to begin the
process of suspending Eliyahu immediately from his post as municipal
rabbi.
Politicos from the national religious sector
believe that the mass of prominent figures who signed on to the ruling –
all of whose salaries are paid by public funds – will send a message to
the attorney general to take Eliyahu’s position seriously. The rabbis’
letter prompted by Eliyahu, which was first published months ago and
reprinted in October, urges Jewish owners of apartments to reconsider
renting their properties to Arabs since it would deflate the value of
their homes as well as those in the neighborhood.
“Their
way of life is different than that of Jews,” the letter stated. “Among
[the gentiles] are those who are bitter and hateful toward us and who
meddle into our lives to the point where they are a danger.” The rabbis
also urge neighbors of anyone renting or selling property to Arabs to
caution that person. After delivering the warning, the neighbor is then
encouraged to issue notices to the general public and inform the
community. “The neighbors and acquaintances [of a Jew who sells or rents
to an Arab] must distance themselves from the Jew, refrain from doing
business with him, deny him the right to read from the Torah, and
similarly [ostracize] him until he goes back on this harmful deed,” the
letter reads.
HERE ARE Some VERSES of Talmud THAT ARE RACIST AND AGAINST HUMANITY
Jews May Rob and Kill Non-Jews
Sanhedrin 57a . When a Jew murders a gentile ("Cuthean"), there will be no death penalty. What a Jew steals from a gentile he may keep.
Baba Kamma 37b. The gentiles are outside the protection of the law and God has "exposed their money to Israel."
Hitting a Jew is the same as hitting God
Sanhedrin 58b. If a heathen (gentile) hits a Jew, the gentile must be killed.
O.K. to Cheat Non-Jews
Sanhedrin 57a . A Jew need not pay a gentile ("Cuthean") the wages owed him for work.
Jews Have Superior Legal Status
Baba Kamma 37b.
"If an ox of an Israelite gores an ox of a Canaanite there is no
liability; but if an ox of a Canaanite gores an ox of an Israelite...the
payment is to be in full."
Jews May Steal from Non-Jews
Baba Mezia 24a
. If a Jew finds an object lost by a gentile ("heathen") it does not
have to be returned. (Affirmed also in Baba Kamma 113b). Sanhedrin 76a.
God will not spare a Jew who "marries his daughter to an old man or
takes a wife for his infant son or returns a lost article to a
Cuthean..."
Jews May Lie to Non-Jews
Baba Kamma 113a. Jews may use lies ("subterfuges") to circumvent a Gentile.
Non-Jewish Children are Sub-Human
Yebamoth 98a. All gentile children are animals.
Abodah Zarah 36b. Gentile girls are in a state of niddah (filth) from birth.
Abodah Zarah 22a-22b . Gentiles prefer sex with cows.
Abodah Zara 26b: "Even the best of the Gentiles should be killed."
Nidrasch Talpioth, p. 225-L: "Jehovah created the non-Jew in human form
so that the Jew would not have to be served by beasts. The non-Jew is
consequently an animal in human form, and condemned to serve the Jew day
and night. (Talmud)
Aboda Sarah 37a: "A Gentile girl who is three years old can be violated."
Schulchan Aruch, Choszen Hamiszpat 388: "It is permitted to kill a
Jewish denunciator everywhere. It is permitted to kill him even before
he denounces."
Schulchan
Aruch, Choszen Hamiszpat 348: "All property of other nations belongs to
the Jewish nation, which, consequently, is entitled to seize upon it
without any scruples."
Baba Mezia, 114b "The Jews are called human beings, but the non-Jews are not humans. They are beasts."
Midrasch
Talpioth (fol. 225d): "God created them [Jews] in the form of men for
the glory of Israel . But Akum were created for the sole end of
ministering unto them [the Jews] day and night. Nor can they ever be
relieved from this service. It is becoming to the son of a king [an
Israelite] that animals in their natural form, and animals in the form
of human beings should minister unto him." (Talmud)
Babha
Kama: "The name of God is not profaned when, for example, a Jew lies to
a Goi by saying: 'I gave something to your father, but he is dead; you
must return it to me,' as long as the Goi does not know that you are
lying." (Talmud)
Zionism
is a racist ideology, like all nationalisms. The specific racist
characteristics are summarised here: labelling them racist should be
uncontroversial in itself. However Israel and its supporters are
allergic for the label, and that hinders rational assessment of
nationalist ideology. "ZIONISM is racist. Being a
fundamentalist political movement, ZIONISM is not categorically
different from NAZISM. Only when we understand ZIONISM in its racist
context will we begin to comprehend the depth of its atrocities. If Israel won't stop itself. Humanity will eventually unite against this disgraceful state!" - An Anti-Zionist Israeli activist Gilad Atzmon.
Meanwhile
the relation between Zionism and anti-Semitism is surrounded by an
emotional smoke screen that deters many people, including Jews, from
voicing their apprehensions about Zionism. This reluctance is well known
to Zionist public relations men, who make use of it in a kind of
emotional blackmail. The Zionists always use "Anti-Semitic"
(branding or labeling against those who criticize them or speak against
Israel) besides "Holocaust” as their best marketing stuffs to sell
"ZIONISM" to the world especially the USA (their captive market for
their propaganda stuffs) and the other western countries.
Racism and Social Darwinism
Anti-semitism is actually a type of racism. Therefore, while we search for the roots of - and remedy for - anti-semitism, we have to refer to the concept of racism. Racism is the most important component of fascist ideology, which was responsible for the greatest genocides, massacres and wars of the 20th century. When we look at Nazi ideology, in particular, we see that racism is the main constituent of fascism. The Nazis set out with the dream of making the German race, which they regarded as the superior race, dominant all over the world, and tried to eradicate other races, and particularly the Jews, to that end. As Wilhelm Reich put it, "The race theory is German fascism's theoretical axis." The root of this theoretical axis is based on Darwin's theory of evolution.
The greatest influence in the sudden development of racism in the 19th century Europe was the replacement of the Christian belief that "God created all people equal" by "Darwinism". By suggesting that man had evolved from more primitive creatures, and that some races had evolved further than others, it provided racism with a scientific mask.
In short, Darwin is the father of racism. His theory was taken up and commented on by such 'official' founders of racism as Arthur Gobineau and Houston Stewart Chamberlain, and the racist ideology which emerged was then put into practice by the Nazis and other fascists.
James Joll, who spent long years as a professor of history at universities such as Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, explained the relationship between Darwinism and racism in his book Europe Since 1870, which is still taught as a textbook in universities:
Charles Darwin, the English naturalist whose books On the Origin of Species, published in 1859, and The Descent of Man, which followed in 1871, launched controversies which affected many branches of European thought… The ideas of Darwin, and of some of his contemporaries such as the English philosopher Herbert Spencer, …were rapidly applied to questions far removed from the immediate scientific ones… The element of Darwinism which appeared most applicable to the development of society was the belief that the excess of population over the means of support necessitated a constant struggle for survival in which it was the strongest or the 'fittest' who won.
From this it was easy for some social thinkers to give a moral content to the notion of the fittest, so that the species or races which did survive were those morally entitled to do so.
The doctrine of natural selection could, therefore, very easily become associated with another train of thought developed by the French writer, Count Joseph-Arthur Gobineau, who published an Essay on the Inequality of Human Races in 1853. Gobineau insisted that the most important factor in development was race; and that those races which remained superior were those which kept their racial purity intact. Of these, according to Gobineau, it was the Aryan race which had survived best… It was.. Houston Stewart Chamberlain who contributed to carrying some of these ideas a stage further… Hitler himself admired the author (Chamberlain) sufficiently to visit him on his deathbed in 1927.
The evolutionist German biologist Ernst Haeckel is one of the most important of Nazism's spiritual fathers. Haeckel brought Darwin's theory to Germany, and prepared it as a program ready for the Nazis. From racists such as Arthur Gobineau and Houston Stewart Chamberlain Hitler took over a politically-centred racism, and a biological one from Haeckel. Careful inspection will reveal that the inspiration behind all these racists came from Darwinism.
Nazism's Race Theory and Social Darwinism
Indeed, a heavy Darwinist influence can be seen in all the Nazi ideologues. When this theory, which was given form by Hitler and Alfred Rosenburg is examined, one sees concepts such as 'natural selection,' 'selective mating,' and 'the struggle for survival between the races,' which are repeated dozens of times in Darwin's The Origin of Species. The name of Hitler's book Mein Kampf was inspired by Darwin's principle that life was a constant struggle for survival, and those who emerged victorious survived. In the book Hitler talked of the struggle between the races, and said: “History would culminate in a new millennial empire of unparalleled splendour, based on a new racial hierarchy ordained by nature herself.”
That Nazism was influenced by Darwinism is accepted by almost all historians who are expert in the period. The historian Hickman expresses the influence of Darwinism on Hitler in these words. (Hitler) was a firm believer and preacher of evolution. Whatever the deeper, profound, complexities of his psychosis, it is certain that [the concept of struggle was important because] … his book, Mein Kampf, clearly set forth a number of evolutionary ideas, particularly those emphasizing struggle, survival of the fittest and the extermination of the weak to produce a better society.
In The Mass Psychology of Fascism Wilhelm Reich describes the Nazi theory of race thus: The race theory proceeds from the presupposition that the exclusive mating of every animal with its own species is an "iron law" in nature. Only exceptional circumstances, such as captivity, are capable of causing a violation of this law and to leading to racial interbreeding. When this occurs, however, nature revenges itself and uses every means at its disposal to oppose such infringements, either by making the bastard sterile or by limiting the fertility of later offspring. In every crossbreeding of two living creatures of different "levels," the offspring will of necessity represent something intermediate. But nature aims at a higher breeding of life; hence bastardization is contrary to the will of nature. Natural selection also takes place in the daily struggle for survival, in which the weaker, i.e., racially inferior, perish. This is consistent with the "will of nature," for every improvement and higher breeding would cease if the weak, who are in the majority, could crowd out the strong, who are in the minority.
As we have seen, this biological view that forms the basis of the Nazi's race theory is undiluted Darwinism. Nonsense such as that nature's aim is to 'cause superior species to evolve,' that it uses natural selection to do so, and that the weak are inevitably eliminated are really just a summary of Darwinism. These evolutionist views, which have no scientific basis and are just a reworking of the superstition of 'ascribing consciousness to nature,' existing in animist cultures, finally reached their culmination in the savagery of the Nazis. The theory was put into practice in human societies, again in a manner in conformity with Darwinism.
Wilhelm Reich continues: The National Socialist went on to apply this supposed law in nature to peoples. Their line of reasoning was something as follows: Historical experience teaches that the "intermixing of Aryan blood" with "inferior" peoples always results in the degeneration of the founders of civilization. The level of the superior race is lowered, followed by physical and mental retrogression; this marks the beginning of a progressive "decline." The North American continent would remain strong, Hitler states, "as long as he [the German inhabitant] does not fall a victim to defilement of the blood," that is to say, as long as he does not interbreed with non-Germanic peoples.
When Hitler said, 'Take away the Nordic Germans and nothing remains but the dance of apes' he based that thought on the Darwinist ideas that man had evolved from apes, for which reason some of them still possessed 'ape status.' This logic constitutes the starting point of the horrible massacres they carried out against various races such as Gypsies, Slavs, Russians, and especially the Jews, and the horrible insensitivity they displayed while carrying out these horrendous acts.
Anti-semitic/Social Darwinist Racism In Our Day
The National Alliance Organization is based in the United States and produces books and magazines in Swedish, French, German, Portuguese and Russian. It is rapidly spreading its Darwinist, neo-pagan ideology. The articles inside the organization's fascist National Vanguard magazine frequently quote from the works of Darwin and other ideologues of Social Darwinism. One can find similar statements, Darwinist comments, and propaganda defending deviant pagan culture against the divine religions in the publications and web sites of other fascist organizations. Put briefly, fascist racism which was born with the re-awakening of pagan culture and the theory of naturalistic evolution in the 19th century, continues to grow in the 21st century, based on the same fundamental notions.
Is there a solution?: Islam is The Solution - The Values of the Qur'an Are Against Racism
Racist
ideology, which inflicted great pain on mankind, is completely
contradictory to Islam. According to Islam, human superiority has
nothing to do with race. No matter from what race people may be, they
are still people. Each one was created and placed in the world by God.
The Qur'an reveals this truth thus:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. “O
Mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into
peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The
noblest among you in God's sight is that one of you who best performs
his duty. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. “ (The Qur'an , 49:13)
The
above verse is perfectly clear. No matter by what criteria human beings
are judged in this world, in God's eyes 'superiority' consists of
closeness to Him, and fear of Him.
An individual or group which
sees one race as 'superior,' or tries to show it to be so, is engaging
in self-deception. Everyone will have to appear before God at the Day of
Reckoning, and will be called to account alone. Those attributes that
he perceived as conferring 'superiority' in this world will be of no use
to him then. Quite the contrary, those who set up criteria outside
those revealed by God, who claim that they are superior and oppress
others, and who try to grow strong by crushing the weak, will definitely
reap the fruit of their actions, both in this world and the next:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. “..Shown
by their arrogance in the land and evil plotting. But evil plotting
envelops only those who do it. Do they expect anything but the pattern
of previous peoples? You will not find any changing in the pattern of
God. You will not find any alteration in the pattern of God. Have they
not travelled in the land and seen the final fate of those before them?
They were far greater than them in strength. God cannot be withstood in
any way, either in the heavens or on earth. He is All-Knowing,
All-Powerful.” (The Qur'an , 35:43-44)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. “There
are only grounds against those who wrong people and act as tyrants in
the earth without any right to do so. Such people will have a painful
punishment. “(The Qur'an , 42:42)
Here are the examples of racist remarks:
”Ahab,
Albino, Beach-Nigger, Beaner, Blackrobe, Blanco, Blue-eyed Devil,
Buckra, Cabbage, Cancer, Caveman, Chink, Chite, Chocolate-Dipper, Clan
man, Coal-Burner, Cocksauce, Conky, Cowfuck, Cracker, Cremlin, Crizm,
Devil, Ditchpig, Egg, Fan Kuei, Farang/Falang, Firangi, Fish...-Belly,
Flat-Back, Gabacho, Gai-jin, Gai-ko, Ghost, Golden Toe, Gollywog, Gomer,
Gorilla Head, Goy/Goyim, Grey, Greyboy/girl, Gringo/a, Gro, Groid,
Groundskeeper Willie, Grout, Guerro, Guido, Guinea, Guteater,
Gwailo/Gweilo, Haole, Hawaga/Khawaga, Hay Seed, Helo, Hick, Hillbilly,
Honkey/Honkie, Hooknose, Hoosier, Kabloonuk, Lofan, Massa, Mayonnaise,
Michelli, Moon Cricket, Moss Eater, Mouse, Mud Shark, Mullethead,
Muppetfucker, Nazi, Neck, Nigger, Ofay, Paki, Paleface, Pastyface,
Peckerwood, Persuasion, Pinewood, Po'bucker, Powder, Redneck, Rice King,
Round-Eye, Rube, Sage, Saltine, Sand-Nigger, Shagitz/Shiksa,
Shit-Kicker, Skip, Slaker, Stump/Tree Jumper, TPT, Tabeetsu, Timmy,
Trailer park, Trailer Trash, Trash, WT, Wasp, White bread, White
Chocolate, Whitetrash, Whitey, Wic, Wigger, Wiggerette, Wiggie/Wigg,
Wink, Wonder Bread, Wood, woodie, or white devil” … The list of remarks which signify racism in our world, is endless.
But
to many people in the West, racism no longer exists. Many believe that
our 'free'(?) world has eradicated this problem. The rights of
homosexuals and animals are given higher priority, and people believe
that the real oppression in the world lies here! Such delusion clouds
the reality which we live in. Whilst animal rights activists and
homosexuals march so vigorously for freedom, they seem to forget that
people the world-over are continually being oppressed, simply due to the
color of their skin or the label of their race. How sad it is that the
Western world conveniently chooses to ignore the devastating
consequences of this problem.
According to the Oxford dictionary, racism is the: "belief in superiority of particular race; antagonism towards other races"
. From such a simple definition arises so much oppression and hatred.
The belief that one particular race is superior to another, has led to
injustice and tyranny against fellow humans. Racism is a disease which
has taken on epidemic proportions and has even become accepted in many
societies, past and present. But one may well ask, where did such
behaviour originate from?
The Origins of racism - Devilish behavior
The
origins of racism can be found in the annals of history. However,
people are often biased and very subjective in their findings. For
example, a Jew may claim that racism started with the expulsion of the
Jews from Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. An Afro-centric person on
the other hand, may claim that racism originated from the European
colonisation of Africa and the engagement with the slave trade. Each
race can thus claim to reveal the origins of this problem according to
their own historical sufferings.
Islam however, is not like this.
Because Islam was not revealed for a specific set of people or for a
specific period of time, it is able to answer this question in a truly
objective manner. This is one of the reasons why Islam has been so
successful against racism. The origins of racism, as explained by Islam,
go back to the beginning of mankind's creation. Before the creation of
man, Allah the Most High, had already created the Angels and the Jinn.
Amongst the Angels at that time was a Jinn by the name of Iblis.
Iblis
had resided amongst the Angels and was very obedient to Allah. However,
this was to change, as Allah then created man. This new creation of
Allah was created from clay and named Adam. He was first in the line of
humanity, and as a result occupies a very special place in history. From
him and his wife Hawwa (Eve), the generations of humanity have
descended. After his creation, Allah ordered the Angels and those with
them to prostrate to Adam. The holy Al Qur'an informs us of this
important event, from which we may all learn a valuable lesson:
In the Name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. "And
(remember) when We said to the Angels: 'Prostrate yourselves to Adam',
and they all prostrated except Iblis. He refused and was proud and was
one of the disbelievers" - (Al Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:34) and: "(Allah)
said: 'What prevented you (Iblis) that you did not prostrate?' Iblis
said; 'I am better then him, you created me from fire and you created
him from clay'" - (Al Qur’an, Surah Al-A'raf 7:12)
In
Islam, the other name for Iblis is 'Shaytan' or the Devil. Thus, the
root of racism is attributed to the Devil. Iblis's insistence on being
better than Adam, aroused his arrogance and pride. And what was the
reason for this insistence? Nothing more then the fact that Iblis was of
fire and Adam was of clay. It was at this stage in the history of the
world, that the ugly head of racism first reared itself.
Iblis,
the Devil, was consequently the world's first racist! This Islamic
explanation helps us to understand the reality of racism. Pride and
arrogance leads to people thinking that they are better than others,
simply because of their physical makeup. This pride and arrogance is
truly a Devilish trait which humans have learnt from Iblis, the accursed
Devil. Iblis's refusal to prostrate before Adam led to his expulsion
from the company of the Angels, and he vowed to Allah that: ".. I
shall indeed adorn the path of error for them (humanity) on the earth
and I shall mislead them all, except Your chosen slaves among them" -
(Al Qur’an Surah Al-Hijr 15:39-40)
True to his word, the
astray Devil has indeed adorned the path of error for most of mankind
throughout the ages. One of these adornments has of course been the
Devilish behaviour of Racism.
Manifestations
Ever
since Iblis's refusal to bow down to Adam, the world has seen an
increase in racism. Not only were people affected by this trend, but so
were religions, creeds and ideologies. Before long Religions and creeds
were justifying the superiority of some over others. An example of this
is the religions of Judaism and Hinduism. By their very teachings, both
of these ancient religions are racist. With Judaism, a person cannot
become a Jew unless be/she is born from a Jewish mother. This then means
that all non-Jews cannot enter Paradise, simply because they were not
born into this faith!
With Hinduism, not only does it
degrade the Creator by representing him as a monkey, rat, cow, elephant
and even the male private organ (!), but it has also created one of the
worlds most ancient forms of racism - the caste system. According to
Hinduism, the higher castes originate from the upper body-parts of God,
such as the chest and head, whereas the lower castes come from the lower
bodyparts of God such as the legs and feet! This theory of degrading
the Creator then justifies the oppression which happens to the lower
castes. Such is this oppression, that if a higher caste person walks
through the shadow of a lower caste person, he deems himself to have
become impure and consequently has to bathe himself!
Other
religions such as Christianity, have often been used to justify racist
ventures. During the age of exploration the European powers used
Christianity to justify their own imperial ambitions. The infamous
Spanish Conquistadors used Christianity as a pretext to wipe out the
Inca and Aztec civilisations of Central and South America during the
15th and 16th centuries. Nations such as the Dutch and the British used
Christianity to justify their horrendous treatment of native Africans.
The notorious Trans-Atlantic slave trade saw one of the worst forms of
racism ever implemented. This form of racism saw entire cultures wiped
out and replaced with the culture of their racist aggressors. This is
why even today, many of the surnames which people from the Caribbean
have, are in fact the names of their ancestral European slave masters.
It
is not only religion which has been gripped by this disease, but also
science. By the 19th century the Western world had rejected religion and
was looking towards science to provide the answers for our existence.
The dominant theory at the time was Charles Darwin's theory of
Evolution. However, unknown to many, Darwin's expeditions were
only-funded by the British government so that a scientific base could be
used for racist and imperial ambitions. The theory espoused that man
evolved from apes. It then claimed that some people had not fully
evolved from their primate forms, and were thus inferior to others.
These inferior people were said to be the non-Europeans, and especially
the Africans. Thus, on a mission to civilise these 'savages', the
Europeans used Darwin's theory to oppress and destroy many parts of the
world.
The 20th century has also seen attempts to justify
racism and its theories. During the 30's and 40's the German Nazi regime
of Adolph Hitler used the credentials of the Aryan people, to
legitimise his ruthless actions. The Apartheid regime of South Africa
also used racism and racial segregation to maintain its existence. This
has continued until today with many groups advocating clear White
supremacy over the rest of mankind. The Ku Klux Klan, the British
National Party and the Aryan Nation are examples of such groups.
The faces of racism are many. It should not be thought that racism is only conducted by the Europeans or Whites.
Racial
superiority over Whites has also been advocated by Black people during
this century. After centuries of oppression, the Black community in the
Western world expressed its sentiments in an explosive way. The decade
of the 60's saw many civil rights movements emerge. Along with these
came all the radical movements who popularised slogans such as 'Black
Power'. Before long there were many movements who openly advocated
racism against White people. What made things even worse, was that some
of the most vocal movements attached themselves to the religion of Islam
- a religion which (as will be seen) destroys racism from its very
root. Amongst these groups were the Nation of Islam and the Ansarullah.
They openly advocated that the White people were devils and Black people
were gods. Their open (but false) attachment to Islam helped to
visualise Islam as being racist - something which could not be further
from the truth.
The Solution
So
what is the solution for this world-wide epidemic? As Muslims we know
that to defeat racism means to defeat Iblis, the Devil. Because humans
are weak, it would be imperative that we adopt some, divine method in
tackling this Devilish disease. This method is none other then ISLAM,
the untainted and pure religion which came to benefit humanity through
its teachings. Just as Islam explains the origins of racism, it also
tells us how to combat it. This is firmly expressed in the holy Qur'an,
when Allah explains the reason for our variety as different races and
peoples:
In the Name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.Allah Almighty said in the Noble Al Qur’an: “O
mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female,
and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not
that ye may despise each other). Verily the most honored of you in the
sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has
full Knowledge and is well-acquainted (with all things).” (Al Qur’an, Surah Al-Hujarat, Verse:13)
It
is clear from this verse as to how humanity should act towards one
another. We have been created like one huge beautiful garden with many
different types of flowers in it. Each flower is clearly distinguished
from the other, yet they all belong to the same garden. This unity of
the nations can only be achieved when people recognize that it is Islam
which will bring the different peoples of the world under one banner.
And it is within this banner that people can achieve true piety and thus
excel themselves in the sight of Allah.
The teachings of
Islam cut racism from its very root. By looking at the sayings and
actions of the last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), we can see how
racism was truly obliterated with the advent of Islam. The Prophet (saws) said: "Indeed
there is no excellence for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over
an Arab, nor a White person over a Black one, nor a Black person over a
White one, except through piety". A statement
like this tells us that this man, Prophet Muhammad PBUH (SAW), was truly
a recipient of Divine inspiration. His words were not empty like the
words of so many leaders today. Rather, he was always the first to lead
by example, and this is why we find that during his lifetime so many
different types of people accepted Islam.
From amongst the
Prophet's companions we find that he had an Ethiopian companion by the
name of Bilal. Bilal had been a slave before he accepted Islam, and as a
result his standing in Arabian society was worse then the animals.
However, upon Bilal's conversion to Islam, the force to combat the
disease of Iblis, became known to all. Bilal was given a status like no
Black slave had been given before. He was given the immense honour of
being the first person to call the Adhaan (call to prayer) in Islam's
glorious history. More importantly however, he was accepted as an equal
and a brother by the Prophet and his companions.
Through
its teachings and practical implementation by the Prophet and his
companions, Islam has spread to every corner of the known world. You
will not see a more assorted group of people than the Muslims. From
China to Spain, Siberia to Australia - never has there been such a wide
body of people all united under one banner - the banner of Islam.
The Prophet (SAW) said: "Whosoever
fights under the banner of the blind, becoming angry for nationalism or
calling to nationalism or assisting nationalism and then dies, he dies
the death of the pre-Islamic days". This
statement of the Prophet makes it clear that the consequences of
involving ourselves in nationalism (which is a form of racism), is dying
upon disbelief. And whosoever dies upon disbelief will undoubtedly
taste the Fire of Hell. Through such statements, Islam totally isolates
all forms of racism which can occur amongst humanity. It is indeed sad,
that people cannot observe such beautiful advice, for if they did then
maybe all the bloodshed caused by nationalism, ethnic cleansing etc. can
be avoided.
The rites and injunctions of Islam also help
to overcome racism. An example of this is the prayer of the Muslims.
When Muslims pray in congregation, they are commanded by Islam to join
together their ankles and shoulders to those next to them. Whether a man
is a king, a leader, a slave, a judge or even a beggar, this command is
incumbent upon every Muslim. Thus Blacks, Whites, Arabs, Indians,
Malays and all other races: are truly united by worshipping their
Creator. This unity is not only confined to the prayer, but to the whole
of ones life, to the extent that Muslims try to fall under the saying
of their beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH who said: "The
example of the believers in their mutual love and mercy is like the
example of a body; if one part of the body feels pain, then all the body
suffers in sleeplessness and fever ". It is evident that a
Muslim follows this example set by the Prophet PBUH, when he/she feels
distress at the situation of the Muslims around the world, be they from
Africa, Palestine, Kashmir, Bosnia etc. Unity amongst such a wide range
of people, can only be created by Islam.
The Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) eradicates Racism
Another rite which has helped so many to eradicate racism from
their lives, is the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, which is obligatory upon
every Muslim at least once in a lifetime.
This annual pilgrimage,
or Hajj as it is called in the Arabic language, is one of the five
pillars, one of the five fundamental religious duties to be performed by
Muslims.
The Hajj- the annual pilgrimage is the prime example of
the multi-racial aspect of Islam: Muslims of all races gather with one
common purpose to worship Allah. This is a compulsory act which should
be done by all those Muslims with the strength and ability to do it.
During this act, it is also very important to wear two white pieces of
cloth to cover the body. People of all nations, countries gather
together with one purpose, to worship Allah (SWT). Each and everybody
appear the same, do the same actions, speak identical words, so much to
say that everyone is Equal. This is why Allah (SWT) states in the Quran:
In the Name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. "The
Believers are but a single Brotherhood: so make peace and reconciliation
between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that ye may
receive Mercy." (Al-Quran, Chapter 49, Verse 10)
In the Hajj pilgrimage, You
will see a multitude of men, women and also children, close perhaps to
three million, from every corner of the world, black and brown of
complexion, Yellow and white, Arabs and Iranians, Turks and Malays,
Chinese and Africans, black and white Americans, blond and blue-eyed
Europeans- in short to quote one of our great Germanic Poets, Frederick
Schiller : " Who knows the nations, who the names of all who here together came?"
NO DISTINCTION
And
there is still more that fills us with wonder: Whether black or brown,
yellow or white, rich or poor, young or old, every male that our eye
beholds is dressed alike, wearing two white seamless sheets of simple
material, thus eliminating completely all marks and signs of distinction
of dress between the African and American, the Asian, Australian and
European, the mighty and wealthy and the poor and lowly. Here they have
come, brother unto brother, sister unto sister, bearing witness to the
brotherhood of mankind, to the equality of all human beings before their
Creator, for it is to worship Him and to extol His glory that has
brought them here.
They have heard and heeded His call,
and their reply uttered, nay cried out by all and sundry, echoing and
re-echoing from the surrounding mountains is: (Talbiya Du'a)
"Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik. Labbaik, La Shareek Laka, Labbaik. Innal
Hamdah, Wan Nematah, Laka wal Mulk, La Shareek Laka"
("Here
I am at Thy service O Lord, here I am. Here I am at Thy service and
Thou hast no partners. Thine alone is All Praise and All Bounty, and
Thine alone is The Sovereignty. Thou hast no partners.")
The
pilgrimage to Mecca, the huge assembly of believers from all five
continents, the gathering together of the multitude of worshippers of
all races on the plain of Arafat is perhaps the most spectacular
expression, symbol and proof of unity and brotherhood of man as
enunciated and upheld by the religion of Islam, and it is equally a
symbol and proof of the equality of man before Allah, the Supreme Being,
as taught by this religion.
The concept and idea of the
oneness of humanity is Islam's unique contribution to human
civilization, and it came as a natural sequel to its cardinal doctrine,
the doctrine of " TAUHID" or the unity of God. The
doctrine which runs through all teachings of the Holly Quran like a red
thread, has found its most concise and terse expression in the 112th
chapter of the Holly book, called "AL-IKHLAS," or Purity of Faith:
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. “Say
(O Muhammad SAW): "He is Allah, (the) One. Allah the Self-Sufficient
Master, Whom all creatures need, (He neither eats nor drinks). "He
begets not, nor was He begotten.” "And there is none co-equal or
comparable unto Him." - The Holly Qur’an 112: 1-4
The
Hajj brings together the peoples of the world, all at one time of the
year, in one place. Anyone who has witnessed this annual rite of Islam,
will truly testify that there is nothing quite like it. The breathtaking
view of millions of people gathered together, all for the purpose of
worshipping Allah, is unforgettable. It was this rite of lslam which
changed the life of the famous Black nationalist-turned-Muslim, Malcolm
X.
Describing his experiences he said: "Never
have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of
true brotherhood as is practised by people of all colours here in this
ancient Holy land.... There were tens of thousands of pilgrims from all
over the world. They were of all colours, from Blue-eyed blondes to
Black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same
ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences
in America had led me to believe never could exist between the White
and non-White. America needs to understand Islam, because this is the
one religion that erases from its society the race problem".
The
words of Malcolm X can be added to; it is not only America which needs
to understand Islam, but rather the whole world. Islam has brought so
much to the lives of so many, that it is inconceivable that racism could
be defeated without it. From the moment the Prophet Muhammad PBUH
preached his message of unity under the worship of Allah, did the light
of hope shine forth in this World of darkness. Honour has been given to
all those who have entered Islam. Throughout the ages, those who
normally would have been downtrodden were rescued and dignified by
Islam.
Today, this is still continuing. People who were
clearly racist (like Malcolm X) have been humbled and overwhelmed by the
truth of Islam. British National Party members, Ku Klux Klan members,
members of the Nation of Islam and many others from racist
organisations, have all become united under the banner of Islam. It is
now up to the people of the world to choose; do they want to stay in the
darkness of racism or do they want to be illuminated by the light of
Islam?
Either way, Islam could provide and would still be, the solution for the problem of racism. (HSH)Bibliotheque:
1. Al Qur’an
2. What is racism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism)
3. http://racerelations.about.com/od/understandingrac1/a/WhatIsRacism.htm
4. http://www.adl.org/hate-patrol/racism.asp
5. http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/12/racism-originated-in-the-torah-say-israeli-rabbis/
6. “Racism And Social Darwinism” by HARUN YAHYA (http://www.islamdenouncesantisemitism.com/thesocial.htm)
7. Racism: is there a solution? from the 'Invitation to Islam' Newsletter, Issue 4, January 1998. (http://www.khayma.com/librarians/call2islaam/articles/racism_is_there_a_solution.html)
8. “ISLAM’S ANSWER TO THE RACIAL PROBLEM” by Muhammad Amen Hobohm, a German diplomat (http://www.islamawareness.net/Racism/hobohm.html)
9. “Islam & Racism” (http://www.inter-islam.org/Prohibitions/RACISM.htm)
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