How Islam Denounces Racism in tone, vocabulary, and substantive principle

By Dr. Taha Alalwani

The Holy Qur'an, the most important text in the Muslim tradition, asserts that all people come from the same soul (4: 1) and that all humans are brothers and sisters. Furthermore, all humans are alike in origin, humanness, reason for existence, and morality. The Holy Qur'an states: "We have created you from a male and a female, and we have made you into nations and tribes to get to know one another" (49: 13). The Qur'an asserts that differences in race, color, and language exist and must be a vehicle for friendship and harmony, so that all may cooperate to establish God's message on earth, and build civilization, and utilize the world's resources for the betterment of the whole human family.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, states in the "farewell sermon" (delivered 81 days before he passed away): "O people, our father is one, and our God is one; we are all from Adam, and Adam is from dirt". The Prophet asserts that the only criterion for being better than another is character. We must compete in behaving better with others and helping all of humanity. He states, "The most valued of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-conscious". He also states "there is no higher status of an Arab over a non-Arab except on God-consciousness". God-conscious is a human trait that allows us to civilized. The Prophet, peace be upon him, teaches that religions have the same origin, the whole earth belongs to us all. And we must work together to establish peace and justice for all. Allah states in the Qur'an "Allah created you from earth and spread you over it" (---). The Prophet, peace be upon him, states "the earth has been made a place of worship for me, and a pure place". The whole earth must be protected and respected, and everything and everyone on it.

Positive Means to Overcome racism

We must increase awareness in schools and media outlets regarding the evil of racism, which is a akin to a disease that destroys unity, disrupts civilization, and leads to conflicts and war.

A human is not a human because of color or race or language, but rather one is human to the degree that he or she helps others. This is the fundamental religious value that establishes human brotherhood and sisterhood, and it should be promoted in the workplace at all levels.

We must be honest in presenting the role of racism in encouraging conflict and war (such as the American Civil war, Turkish-Kurdish conflict, the Serb-Croat conflict, and the Tamil-Sri Lankan).
We must sponsor studies of previous civilizations, to show the role of racism in their decline and fall.

We must reform the field of sociology and anthropology, which have a history of spreading racism. New vision to the oneness of humanity and a shared fate need to be promoted by these fields.
The Affirmation of Basic Religious Values

As Muslims we affirm the worth of every person, we emphasize the need for compassion, we join in call to reconciliation, and we assert the desirability of cooperation. Differences among us should be reason to come together, rather than to be apart. We are very happy with the Initiative on Race, and we support this and other initiatives in the schools, workplaces, and churches to highlight the oneness of humanity, the danger of racial enmity, and the need for love and respect among all.
 

Source: http://www.fiqhcouncil.org/articles/racism.asp