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Remember the memorable words of Pastor Martin Neumueller
leading up to World War II “First
they came for the communist, and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t Communists. Then they came for the
Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t Jew. Then
they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and
by that time there was no one left to speak up for me”.
Muslims must stand shoulder to shoulder with our
African-American brethren in confronting and
challenging the hate crimes to obtain justice. Muslims
should speak up against inequitable Justice rendered
against one race. The horrific incidents like Jasper
killing, Katrina, Watts Riots, LA riots and now Jena 6
are all to do with racism. The case known as Jena Six is
about six black boys ranging in age from 15 to 17 years
old are charged with attempted murder for schoolyard
fight after nooses were hung from tree and face up to
100 years in prison without parole. The fight took place
amid mounting racial tension after a black student sat
under a tree in the schoolyard where only white students
sat. According to published reports, race has always
been an issue in Jena. Jena is a small rural town of
4,000 people in Louisiana and since last year it has
become a central point in the debate around issues of
race and justice in this country.
Certainly, Islam isn’t racist and is very steadfast
against racism and prejudice as demonstrated in the
Quranic words "O Mankind! We
created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female
and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know
each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight
of God is he who is the most righteous of you” (Quran
49:13).
This
is also evident by Prophet Muhammad establishing the
Moaakha system. Moaakha is a system of making people
brothers to establish brotherhood based not on color,
language, race or ethnicity but purely on faith and
piety. Muslims pray daily five times a day shoulder to
shoulder with no regards to any nationality, ethnicity,
or color difference. And Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is
the classic example of fighting racism. Malcolm X is one
of the Muslim who through his blessed journey to Mecca
in 1964 made him so profoundly shift his perspective on
race and racism. This is what he wrote in a letter to
the followers the Nation of Islam.
“There were tens of thousands
of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all
colors; 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”.
Islamic egalitarianism (the
ideals of equality, brotherhood, and social justice)
still gains converts from the untouchables of
India to likeness Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. However,
how should Muslims win the minds and hearts of the
fellow human beings to fight the diseases of racism,
nationalism, prejudice and stereotype? Muslims should
initiate a personal Jihad for tolerance and pluralism
with interfaith dialogue and assimilation with other
culture and faiths.
The
Prophet Said: if one of you
sees something evil he should try to change it. If he
cannot, he should speak out against it and if he cannot
do even that he should at least detest it in his heart,
this being weakest form of faith (Sahih Muslim).
Looking at the life history of the Prophet Muhammad one
finds his companions were from around different
continent, like the first Muezin (caller for prayers) -
Bilal, the Black African slave from Abyssinia. Salman
the devout from Persia, Suhayb the blonde haired the
Roman and Abdullah the Hebrew. Prophet said:
Indeed my friends and allies are not the tribe of so and
so. Rather, my friends and allies are the pious wherever
they may be.
The
battle of Karbala, which took place in the year 680
between 72 men of Husayn ibn Ali (grandson of Prophet
Muhammad) finds that warriors of truth participated from
all ages, race, class and sanctuaries. As Muslims, it is
our duty to speak out against prejudice and racism
weather it is committed against Native American, Jews,
Gypsies, Japanese American, Blacks or Muslims because
Holy Quran says “And among His signs is the creation of
the heavens and the earth, and the variation in your
language and you color; verily in that are Signs for
those who know.”
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