Racism among Muslims

Of course, we are equal and no one is superior to the other. This is what we teach our kids and this is what we learn from our parents and scholars. But are we really equal? There are gender, class and status biases that exist in almost every walk of life in a Muslim community.  Even when people convert to Islam, you can notice that. There are louder shouts for a white man or woman than for a black or Hispanic man or woman.

Racism is rampant among people of all ethnicities. Among the south Asians, people claiming to be of north Indian origin seem to look down upon people of other regions. Those who are of fairer skins feel they are better. Those who claim to belong to the lineage of Abu Bakr Siddiqi, Umar bin Khattab, Uthman bin Affan or Ali Ibn Talib as well those who call them Syeds declare them superiors to others. The way people of lower castes are treated in the area is totally un-Islamic, yet this has been going on for centuries.

The racism that exists in religious circles is even worst. Even though the clergy, by and large, tend to be arrogant in general, a good number of Arabs have the notion that they are superior to non-Arabs because their language is the language of paradise or the Quran was revealed in their language or the Prophet was from the tribe of Quraysh. Even though this attitude is contrary to the universal teachings of Islam, yet this is commonly observed even in the United States.

I distinctly remember a few unforgettable incidents that I personally experienced. Once, I was asked to lead the Maghrib prayer in a gathering of Muslims. An Arab brother came forward and in front of everyone asked me to repeat the kalima and recite Sura Fatiha. I was shocked. I stepped back and asked him to lead the prayer. The irony was that he forgot to recite Sura Fatiha correctly. This was nothing pure bigotry and racism. Similarly, in a mosque, where I had just concluded giving the Friday sermon which was more in Arabic than in English, one of the Arab brothers asked me to step aside so that an Arab can lead the prayer. His argument was very simple. Only Arabs are qualified to lead the prayer. These are not isolated incidents. I see this arrogance in many of our masajid and Islamic centers. When some people call at the Islamic Center and Masjid where I work, the first question they ask “do you speak Arabic.” My typical response to this question, “Yes I know Arabic but I would not speak with you in Arabic now.”

In the eyes of many Arabs, the status of non-Arabs in spiritual or religious matters is lower than them. This becomes apparent in the way they express their ideas and reactions to a non-Arabic speaking person.  

In the gulf, this phenomenon is even worst. Non-Arabs are looked down upon, especially, if they are from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. However, they treat white folks as if they are their masters. In fact, in several Gulf countries, a semi-educated or ordinary clerical staff belonging to the white race earns a higher salary than a non-white non-Arab worker.   

It is humiliating to be in the company of these people. Many of them are self-righteous, arrogant and rude and insulting. In a gathering, an Arabic speaking individual once stood up to admonish the speaker to either speak Arabic or step down from the podium because Islam can only be explained in Arabic.

Both Arabs and South Asians have in general a negative attitude towards African-Americans. How many masajid invite African-American scholars or imams to give Friday sermons. Of course, exceptions are there, but that is due to the higher academic or religious excellence these people have achieved.

This attitude is not an attitude people are born with. None of us knows our lineage, race, color, language or even name when we are born. Someone tells us who we are and how should we view the other. Some of our very renowned scholars, unfortunately, have promoted racism, and culturally exclusive ideas in our Islamic vocabulary. It is shocking to see the name of very renowned scholars in this category.

A great majority of people from Arabic and non-Arabic speaking backgrounds does not believe in any of these racially motivated attitudes. It maintains a distance from such people. But, such people are often unaware of each other’s presence amongst them.

This is not going to last. As the knowledge of the Quran with translations would become common among non-Arabic speaking people, the notion of the superiority of Arabs over non-Arabs would be challenged and genuine Muslims would refer to the sayings of the Prophet that an Arab is not superior over an Ajami and an Ajami is not superior over Arabs. The honor belongs to the one who is closer to the divine teachings. The idol of racism will be crushed here in America because American is the only country in our recent history that crushed the notion of Jewish, Christian, white or black or Hispanic superiority. With the divine teachings on their side, Muslim people devoid of their racially motivated leaders can give a real Islamic identity to them and their coming generations.