Racism and the Muslims
Sister Umm Zaid, wrote a nice piece that is a little old, but good nonetheless, on “White Privilege” amongst the Muslims in America. Click Here to read it
One of the most disappointing things that I remember experiencing after becoming Muslim was the realization that there is severe racism amongst the Muslims.
It was particularly disappointing to me because I (like many other converts in the mid 90’s) was told specifically by Muslims who were calling me to Islam that Muslims did not have this problem.
It was not that they were lying to me, they sincerely believed what they were telling me. But, for the most part, I don’t think that da’ees tell people this anymore. And no responsible da’ee should.
I also had read The Autobiography of Malcolm X and (again like many others) was particulary impressed with the chapter where he (rahimahullah) described his trip to Hajj
“Never have I been so highly honored. Never have I been made to feel more humble and unworthy. Who would believe the blessings that have been heaped upon an American Negro? A few nights ago, a man who would be called in America a white man, a United Nations diplomat, an ambassador, a companion of kings, gave me his hotel suite, his bed. Never would I have even thought of dreaming that I would ever be a recipient of such honors – honors that in America would be bestowed upon a King – not a Negro.
“All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.”
Malcolm X was only Muslim for a few short months before he was murdered, so he did not live to see many of the problems of racism we see today.
Walhamdulillah, we know that Islam is true and this is obviously not an indictment of Islam in spite of the mistakes and actions of the Muslims themselves, who are only human.
After embracing Islam, I began to see these things. One of the most telling incidents was where a five or six year old Arab child got into a fight with an African-American child, and the Arab child was insulting the African-American child with the most severe insults he could think of calling him the “son of a black woman”, “slave”, ”nigger” and other things. I have witnessed several other similar incidents.
I was so shocked that the children learn this behavior so early in their lives, seeing children as young as four laughing at black children and already picking up the insults.
We are so far away from our great past.
But you know what? In spite of this and all the other problems, I must say that I still find that the Muslims are the kindest, most eager to oblige and the most neighborly people in the world. There is no greater friend that a true practicing Muslim.
Filed under: Race
Great post. This is very common in Muslim countries. It is a cultural thing, not a religion thing. Some of the most racist people I have met have been Muslims, and there certainly are a lot of racist terms in the languages of Muslim countries, not to mention Arabic itself.
I agree with your analysis but somehow I feel that the issue runs deeper than that.
You have to understand that many Muslims who immigrated to the West are by-products of the post-colonial Muslim societies still suffering from an inferiority complex that was seared into their psyche from their Imperialist occupiers. Since much of the Muslim world fell under direct Imperial rule and by extension cultural Imperialism that helped reaffirm their Imperialists ability to rule, many Muslims in their own countries or in the West still show symptoms of their Colonizers legacy.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to defend racism but I’m trying to understand its deeper roots.
Amongst the South Asian community, I know that light skin is seen as beautiful and desired (particularly amongst girls), and it doesn’t even have to do with different race since it may be that the one girl is from the same family but just happens to be darker than her sister.
It will take time for Muslims to overcome their mistakes. We need to make sure there is progress towards that - not regression.
In one of the lectures I was listening on Bilal the Abyssinian by Sheikh Ahmed Jibril (http://ahmadjibril.com/audio/Bilal.mp3) and he said that once Abu Darr got into an argument with Bilal and called him the equivalent of what is ‘you son of ni**er.’ In return, Bilal goes to The Prophet (pbup) and tells him of what happened. The Prophet (pbup) was never seen angrier than in that instane and asks Abu Darr how he could have said such a thing of evil and ignorance. Abu Darr realizing he made a grave mistake that invoked the anger of The Prophet (pbuh) put his head and neck on the ground and said that ‘by Allah, the son of that black woman’ will step on me to show that I am not better than him based on color.’
I suppose my point is to show that even the greatest Muslims make mistakes since we are human. However, the question is what are we doing to remedy our mistakes? Are we improving or digressing? In the case of Abu Darr, he made it public point to show everyone of his mistake and show his credibility that he was correcting himself and making changes towards not repeating his mistake. After one doesn’t put his head and neck on the ground to be stepped on everyday.
Abu Abdir Rahman:
Barak Allahu feekum.
As for colonialism being the cause, I can't completely agree as this appears to have been a problem before colonialism. Colonialism probably only made it WORSE.
As for lighter skin being desired amongst women, it is not just Southeast Asian thing. I don't know a culture that hasn't been touched by that to one extent or the other. Even in Sub-saharan Africa, where skin lightener is sold at dangerously toxic levels.
The thing is that we also seem to find this in Europe where the men seem to prefer the women be paler then the men. But by contrast, darker (not necessarily black) skin in every culture seems to be preferred amongst the MALES. Even in Europe (i.e., "tall, dark and handsome"
At any rate, much of this seems to be more complex than colonialism. This is pretty taboo too. But I think that understanding these things is important to understanding the world we live in and how people may function. Things aren't always simply "black and white"
Nice site. I don’t know if you can call it racism, but I definitely know what you’re talking about. It is a shame, but there are some “superiority” complexes that float around in the mentalities of many Muslims, but I think this is a byproduct of what Nationalism does to people. But Alhamdulillah, never underestimate Islam’s effect on people. Often, not always but mostly, the stronger the Muslim is in their faith and devotion, the less you see nationalism. One can’t discredit the power of the American media and American stereotypes has on the immigrant mind, not only causing a shift in their personalities, but also their likes and dislikes. But you know what I find amazing, even if certain people become infected with this, its amazing to see the moment they know someone is a Muslim, if they are Nigerian or Indonesian they will instantly love to say “Assalam ‘Alikum,” even if they’re mentalities might still be skewed, and will not hesitate to hug that person (if they are the people who are ok with hugs, I mean what Muslim isnt ok with hugs?). Anyways, nationalisma and racism is a problem we have to deal with and I think the only solution is everyone must become more further engrossed in their faith, which eliminates all hints of racism, when Allah becomes everyones object of love, then all walls between people, all preconcieved notions, disappear because when we all let Allah and his Messenger reign supreme in our hearts, then we love those who love Allah his Messenger, and it won’t matter to us who those people are. And Allah knows best.
Thanks for your comments Yaser.
Some of the problems we have with tribalism/nationalism etc are in areas that do not even have television. You also have to consider that most in the Muslim world don’t watch the American media. Much of it is just plain ignorance
I also do not agree that colonialism is the cause, because if you study Arabic writings and others in the ummah, their anti-black feeling pre-dates colonialism. The average immigrant from the Muslim world has the same racial understanding of a 1920's white man from Mississippi.
Bro. Umar, I don’t think thats true. The racism in Arab cultures is not violent and they do actually socialize with people who are descendants of Africans. Well truth be told a whole lot of Gulf Arabs have African ancestors but that is another topic. So its not like racism in America, yes they look down on dark skinned people but its not as violent and hateful as it was in America. Plus its like it is in Latin America, if you have money nobody cares as much as what your race is. Where as in America, I dont care how rich a Black person was/is your average white American would not consider letting their daughter marry a Black man.
Have you guys ever read Bernand Lewis’ Race and Slavery in Middle east. Even he says that Arab racism and slavery was not as horrible as that in America. If I remember correctly the Arab racism was more about being from a certain African tribe and not so much color of you skin. Because Arabs were not white, the concept of white didnt even exist until the modern times. I believe they refered to themselves as red. And the hadith that is always quoted, the Prophets (pbuh) Hajj address is translated incorrectly because they didn’t use the word white.
Not making excuses for ignorant behaviour but sometimes we project American attitudes about race on to other cultures who have a different view of things.
Um Abdullah
Part of the problem I have found is that like SO many other issues, Muslims tend to look at this issue in stark black and white terms (no pun intended)
Once a brother I was having this discussion with denied absolutely that there was racism in his country (Saudi Arabia) because of the absence of lynching and other forms of terror in his country that was unleashed upon the African-Americans in this country. So, in his mind, with the absence of that, then there was no racism to be found. (I know that you are not saying that)
While it is not as violent as it was in America (I think Br. Umar may have been exaggerating a bit for effect), I think most of us here in America will agree that it is certainly present and pretty extreme.
On the other hand, I must say that I disagree with you on the point of interracial marriage. Here in America, nowadays, I think that it is much easier to interracially marry than in most of the Muslim world. I see it too often here in America, while in the Muslim lands, so much emphasis is put on lineage, that it is seen as being HARAAM by some.
AssalamuAlikum Tariq,
Well, if you can pinpoint the begginining of racisim in the SouthAsian subcontinent, you have to start with the Aryans. The Aryans who came to the subcontinent, encountered the Dravidian people(traditionally found in Southern India) who were darker. The Aryans became the masters, and the Hindu caste system was born, where "darker skinned" tended to be of the lower castes. So imagine being ruled by this mentality for thousands of years. It becomes part of the human psyche. I am not giving any excuses to racisim but things aren't black and white.
As for intermarriages, W.D Mohammed I think also said Afro Americans shouldnt marry other races, rather he would allow them to african american christians…… So things are not just one sided. If you look in classical fiqh books, on of the conditions that the fuqha laid for a suitable marriage partner was similar Urf (culture) and that makes some sense (although i support interacial marriages if both parties can understand and respect each others culture while marrying for the sake of Allah and making quran and sunnah dominant in their lives.). as for brother Umar's comment, "average immigrant from the Muslim world has the same racial understanding of a 1920's white man from Mississippi" is really disgusting and utter crap and Insha'Allah i will try to address that in more detaill…
wa alaykum as-salaam Br Aboo Talha
The intermarriage issue is a little complicated.
As for the books of fiqh, I am familiar with and have read what you are talking about and I agree with that. It is much better to marry a person of similar culture. But that must be understood as just that…CULTURE.
Here is my problem in how it is misinterpreted:
An Arab brother once told me that I should marry a person of my own culture and suggested I go to Senegal to do so.
Why would he think that I have a cultural connection with a Senegalese woman? I have never been there, don't speak their language and am only loosely familiar with their culture. Is THIS marrying within my culture?
There is only one reason he would say that. And that is skin color. Does skin color = culture? Of course not, but that is how it is taken to mean by many when it comes to blacks of W. African descent
All other groups have differing cultures that are never mistaken for one another, while the blacks (particularly those of W African descent) are lumped into one large monolith. This is wrong and also please keep in mind how I define "race".
In spite of skin color difference, a black American has much more in common CULTURALLY with a white American than he/she would with a Senegalese.
Culture IS a good condition to put on a suitable mate, along with other more important conditions, but it should be understood in the correct context. I know black American brothers that married black African sisters and found that the cultural divide was massive. Skin color does not necessarily equal culture.
Ya I agree with you 100%. Culture itself is a loaded term. Let me loosely explain what i mean by culture. Two people who are american in their mentality, whether they be black, white, pakistani or anything follow the deen are better of marrying each other since they group in a similar society and will understand the jokes and other finer details, which a prospective bride from a village in Pakistan won't understand.
The marriage there just becomes a "procreational" excercise in most cases. Also if brothers are willing to intermarry, more often than not if they use an approach of hikmah with their parents (and if parents are willing to listen), things do generally work out, and I personally have seen numerous cases. If I remember correctly, Abu Usamah said that when he got married into a certain african culture, the women has to fend you off for 4 days and he was like what… now Abu Usamah is black and so are the Africans, but it dont matter, cause skin color is overt, and it is culture which shapes it.
I meant that within a particular culture they are more willing to marry another "race". Like in Egypt, people have major color issues but if a man is wealthy his race is a non-issue. Where as in America the parents would be upset, no matter the race. The child might marry any way because in America kids don't put much weight into what the parents think. I dont know that there are more interacial marriages here between Black and white than other cultures.
That is such a good point about culture. I hate when people assume because you are both Black you need to get married. Well some people assume just because your both Muslim you can get married. I dont know why people discount culture, it is very important. I've seen some marriages that just made no sense and of course ended up in divorce.
Salaam 'Alaikum
The whole "no racism" thing was also a cause of disillusionment for me. Because Islam is definitely anti-racist, but it's misleading… the da'wah material has you thinking that race is not an issue among religious Muslims, and then you come to discover that it most certainly is. I think on social issues, however, that a lot of da'wah material is misleading; not intentionally, but it does give a very simplistic, Pollyanna view of things… they want to attract you to Islam and don't want to "complicate" things by delving into problems, etc. which I understand, but it's also a disservice.
wa alaykum as-salaam
Umm Zaid,
Yes, this is EXACTLY what I was trying to convey. At first I closed my eyes to it, then I had to face it. There are racist Muslims.
This was one of the problems of calling to the Muslims instead of calling to Islam.
This is a good conversation, Inshallah we will root out these problems amongst us. I know from my own experience (I am from Afghanistan but born raised here), that Afghans don’t seem to be racist, the ones who come here, but often end up repeating stereotypes they learn here. When I was young I’d usually get angry at those older than me, (not my parents Alhamdulillah!), telling them why are you being stereotypical, they often said they had no problems with them but they couldn’t rationally explain what they were saying. In terms of Arab racism, I don’t buy it. Maybe its more common now, but if you look at in terms of slavery, Jahili Arabs were equal opportunist slavers, Salman Al Farsi (radh) was a Persian and a slave, Suhaib Ar-Rumi (radh) was a European (well his story is complex) and he was a slave, Bilal bin Ra’bah was an Abysinian and a slave and Zaid bin Harith was an ‘Arab and a slave. And I think Arab/African friction is not at all racial, but instead tribal/ethnic. Because if you look at alot of Arabs…they don’t look so white to me, just look at (I think he’s )the Ambassador to US from Saudi Arabia, he doesn’t look white to me. And the obsession with being white isn’t limited to the Indian Subcontinent and the Arab world as stated before, its almost at dangerous levels in Sub Saharan countries, where its absurd. Being slightly tan aiming for white is bad enough, but black aiming for white? This shows how bad the mentality of the world has become in regards to looks where they deny their own natural beauty aiming for something they know is unattainable. Nonetheless, maybe I’m too nice, but I have more faith in Muslims as a whole, even the badly racist ones are more brotherly to the same people they may not feel equal to, which is amazing, that Islam still overrides their base negative feelings. But as Islam becomes more and more strong in everyone’s lives, the more it will, Inshallah, eliminate these ills in society. Wallahu A’lam
“There is no greater friend that a true practicing Muslim.”
Alhamdulilah, yes this is true. I know that warmth that comes from sharing a plate of food with brothers, wherever they may originate from. Those silent moments are the real gems.
[...] Those of you reading this and screaming ”just make hijrah” right now should consider that, in the above situation, your wife will likely be put out of the country before your body is cold in the ground. (Especially if she black) And even if she was able to stay, she would unlikely be able to survive in that situation, having no family or tribe members to help her or take care of her in that country. (So much for that panecea) [...]
Same s#*+ different people. How come not one “white arab muslim” will raise a finger to do something in Darfur(muslim on muslim). Black women muslim are raped on a daily basis yet the white christians do more to bring attention to these atrocities. I am an African-American who thinks that the major difference between alot of “white muslims” and the klan is that one wears a sheet all day. religion of love?
I have to say that racism is a million times more prevalent is islam. I do not see any demonstrations regarding darfur by any muslims. Plus, they practice slavery to this day. One example is Mauritius. Its disgusting.
Did you ever see that documentary on Hajj with the white woman from American and Black South African, among others? The white woman was sexually harrassed and the South African Indians dissed the Black South African hard. Had Malcolm X had such experiences, he might have been disgusted with our whole Ummah. Often, when I see certain things I ask myself: “What would brother Malcolm say if he saw this?”
Why does a certain “race” of Muslims have to protest the situation in Darfur? What are any of us doing about it? The Sudanese within other parts of the country don’t even care. It is not about the color of skin, it is more to do with the apathy towards poverty. Poor people are always the worst to struggle during war, political upheaval, and crime. No one cares, Muslim and Non-Muslim alike, if we must use sweeping generalizations. What role can each of us play in alleviating the suffering of our fellow human beings, in Darfur and across the planet?
I am Creole and we are notorius for excluding others based on their hair and skin, especially for marriage. Most will say no, it is just attraction preference or trying to stay within one’s “culture”, but it is just another sprout from the ugly root of Racism. Through Islam, being a revert, I had to learn to let my prejudices go, especially when thinkning about a marriage partner and mate. As an African descendent, plagued by self-hatred of being thought of as “slave” worthy, I had to learn to see the beauty in the African diaspora, embrace it, celebrate it, but most importantly represent it with the best I have to offer, alhumdililah. We should all do the same and eventually, as time has proven, and by the grace of Allah (swt), the world and its attitude will evolve for the better of all.