Islamic Solution to Racism - July 29, 2016
Written by Munawar HaqueIslamic Solution to Racism
Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on July 29, 2016
Brothers and sisters! We offer our sincerest condolences to the families of all the victims in the recent tragedies that saw the killing of African Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota at the hands of the police for offences said to be routine traffic violations. The police are responsible to protect the people, and not to intimidate or kill them without justification.
You may recall that the acquittal of a police officer in the shooting death of an African-American teenager in 2013 had triggered an activist movement called ‘Black Lives Matter.’ This movement regularly organizes protests around the deaths of black people in killings by law enforcement officers, and broader issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system. Since the Ferguson protests, participants in the movement have demonstrated against the deaths of numerous other African Americans by police actions or while in police custody.
With shock and surprise, we have also witnessed recent attacks on the police, such as the tragic murders of honorable Dallas police officers at the hands of extremists. Shooting of police officers—public servants who put their lives on the line to protect all of us present clear evidence that something is seriously wrong. Such incidents of senseless violence only fuel the fire of hate, bigotry, and racial discrimination. Extremists across the globe and right here at home often use religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation to vilify and kill other humans. We reject these extremists. Unjust killing must be condemned regardless of who the perpetrator is. Islam teaches that the killing of any soul without justification or due process of law is a grave sin.
مَن قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا وَمَنْ أَحْيَاهَا فَكَأَنَّمَا أَحْيَا النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا
“Whoever killed a human being except as a punishment for murder or for spreading corruption in the land shall be regarded as having killed all mankind, and whoever saved a human life shall be regarded as having saved all mankind.” (al-Ma’idah, 5:32)
The Qur’an further declares,
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ
“Do not take life, which Allah has made sacred, except in a just cause.” (al-Isra, 17:33).
We also reject racism as many Muslims such as Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali did before us. Racism is unjustifiable. It is a gross violation of the principles of our Islamic faith. My khutba today is on the problem of racism and its solution that Islam offers to humanity.
What is racism? It is the belief that some races of people are better than others. It is also the poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race. It also means the prejudice, discrimination, or rivalry directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. Islam promotes absolute equality and brotherhood among human beings. This is articulated in a very profound verse of Surat al-Hujurat, which says,
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
“O mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. The noblest among you in Allah´s sight are the ones most mindful of Him. Allah is all-knowing, all-aware.” (al-Hujurat, 49:13)
A verse in Surat al-Rum tells us,
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ إِنَّ فِيذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالِمِينَ
“Among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. There are indeed signs in that for those who know” (al-Rum, 30:22).
The document of the ‘Declaration of Independence’ signed in 1776 defines America and what it stands for. The very second sentence of this historic document says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Article 1 of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ says, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
It was twelve centuries before the birth of the Declaration of Independence and the French Revolution and fourteen centuries before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had not only preached the ideals of freedom, equality and fraternity, but had actually established these principles. Islam not only recognizes different people and languages but declares that all people regardless of their origin, color, ethnic background, faith, and gender belong to one family. They are all children of their first parents--Adam and Eve, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them. Allah (SWT) honors the children of Adam by saying,
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ
“And indeed We have honored the children of Adam” (al-Isra’, 17:70).
We should know that Muslims acknowledge the honor Allah (SWT) bestowed upon the wise sage Luqman before the advent of Islam, upon Bilal (RA) in the early days of Islam, and among many others, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, here in America after the birth of Islam. All of them—Luqman, Bilal, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali were blacks of African descent.
Malcolm X was honored as a martyr while raising his voice against racism. In 1964, he went to perform hajj. There, for the first time, he encountered the racial diversity within Islam. He saw in the behavior of Muslims towards each other a remarkable absence of racial prejudice. This experience taught Malcolm that people of different races could co-exist.
Among many other lines that he wrote from Mecca to his friends in America, he said, “Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient Holy Land….I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors… America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem….” “If white Americans could accept the religion of Islam, if they could accept the Oneness of God, they too could then sincerely accept the oneness of Men, and cease to measure others always in terms of their difference in color. And with racism now plaguing in America like an incurable cancer, all thinking Americans should be more respectful to Islam as an already proven solution to the race problem.”
Malcolm X believed that he could be a partner with non-Muslims and white people in an effort to construct an America and a world free from racial hatred and domination, a message he sought to spread by speaking on numerous college campuses. As fate would have it, he was assassinated on February 21, 1965. For Muslims, he is viewed as a bridge that spiritually connected America to the Muslim world. He may have come on the scene two centuries after its founding, but along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he made the principle that all men are created equal, more believable.
Muhammad Ali—the legendary African-American boxing champion used to proudly proclaim his Black and Muslim American identity. He went through the courts to challenge serving in the Vietnam War. He did not back down, nor did he break the law. He endured suffering because of his fearless stand. He was stripped of his boxing title. However, his call for peace, his fight against racism, and his service to humanity earned him glory and respect. Even in his death, he shattered the idols of fear of Muslims as his Muslim funeral was on every television channel, including those that engage in openly expressing hatred towards Muslims. In life, as in death, he brought Americans of all backgrounds together. This is especially important in the United States today, when a number of politicians are encouraging hate, fear, and division based on race, ethnicity, and religion.
In our current environment of racism, speaking up requires courage and boldness, along with placing one’s trust in Allah (SWT). Muhammad Ali demonstrated that. He was not only a great Muslim American hero just because of his sports achievements or for being at the forefront of the civil rights movement, rather it was because of his good character that he was an inspiration to the world, and that fueled his activism.
As Muslim Americans, not only do many of us fall prey to the dominant views of the society around us, but many of us also carry our own baggage of cultural racism and bigotry that often stem from prejudices imported from our home countries. We must understand that these cultural prejudices have no place in Islam and need to be eradicated. Immigrants and their children must take it upon themselves to examine their hearts and eliminate any racist beliefs they harbor.
As concerned Muslims, we must be just as passionate about the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement as we are about injustices in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Kashmir, and elsewhere. We should be just as quick to join an anti-black racism rally as we are to join a Palestine march. Injustice is injustice no matter who the victim is. As Muslims, we must always stand with the oppressed.
The challenge that lies ahead is tearing down the wall of discrimination that separates and divides us. Muslims of all races and colors should be completely integrated to exhibit the true color of Islamic brotherhood. Despite the prejudice, bigotry and discrimination that existed for centuries in Arabia before the advent of Islam, Islam brought the Muslims together as one community. Whether it was Suhaib of Rome, Bilal of Ethiopia, or Salman of Persia, they were all considered equal before the law under Islam and became real brothers in faith.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! The Prophet (SAW) in his farewell sermon summed up the notion of equality of human beings when he said, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim and that Muslims constitute one brotherhood….Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware! Do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.”
We ask Allah (SWT) to have mercy on us and on the people of our age. May He grant us the tawfiq to truly work toward eliminating racial discrimination, bigotry, and hypocrisy.