sition that was superior to Adam’s e.
On that basis, he refused to fulfill the
command of Allah and thus became
accursed outcast. Would it not be
appropriate for Shaytan to divide and
deviate mankind with the very same
ideology that earned him eternal
damnation?
Thumbing through the pages of history,
we can find countless examples
of groups, ideologies, and even religions
that espoused racist doctrines.
Let us explore a few of these in order
to see how saturated history really
is with these fundamentally racist
ideologies.
Allah favored Bani Israel in many
ways. One of the greatest favors was
a successive generation of prophets
sent from among them. Over time,
they mistook this divine favor as a
matter of ethnic superiority that has
evolved into a creed and more apparent
through the passage of time.
Despite their recognizing the Final
Messenger a ‘like their own sons’,
they renounced him. They believed
that the last prophet must descend
from their race and were jealous
of the Arabs and the Prophet a for
‘usurping’ that divine providence
from them.
The racist and prejudice nature of
the caste system, which stems from
Hinduism, is no secret to the modern
world. It creates an oppressive schism
between the Brahmins and the Untouchables.
It is not based on virtue or
merit, but on birthright. The disparity
between the two extreme ends of the
spectrum is alarming. It allows the
systematic oppression of one class by
another on the basis of jati (lineage or
caste).
Certain ideologies of modern times
have taken these very same examples
and used them to assert that it is
actually religions in general and belief
in revelation that promote racism
Is there not a system that
truly promotes a holistic
version of equality and
does not need to update
as time passes?
and prejudice in the world. With their
ultra progressive modernist views,
they boast of a egalitarian system that
engenders equality. They claim that
we have been living in the dark ages
until the present. The problem is that
this same ideology not too far in our
recent history employed the same
principles to colonize, enslave, and
oppress under virtuous pretenses.
Those who venerate science and cling
to Darwin’s theory of evolution suffer
from an ever-mutating moral code.
Due to their unstable ideology, they
are forced to anchor their ship to a
moving object and can never really
be sure of anything objectively.
Although not the current “scientific
truth,” not too long ago, the scientific
community held racist views based
on biological data; for example, a
certain race was believed to be less
evolved and therefore less adaptive.
In order to promote strength and
survival, nature selects the fittest. But,
what if the process could be sped up
by wiping out the weak and enhancing
the future generation? This could
potentially create a race of superhumans,
which would be for the greater
good of society. Although this view
is no longer palatable, it was in fact a
prevalent view held by scientists and
was justified within their empirical
framework. The unstable foundation
of this ideology could easily allow a
second coming of this view provided
that the supporting data is produced
and that society’s taste molds into
conformity.
The inconsistency of the above view
presents a major philosophical dilemma.
With an incompetent infrastructure,
the solution will always remain a
pipe dream. Is there not a system that
truly promotes a holistic version of
equality and does not need to update
as time passes? Having an All-Wise
and Just Creator who is not bound by
time and location, it would only be
natural that He provide His creation
with an all-season foundation that
does not crack and sink over time.
Alhamdulillah, Allah Most High has
crafted a functional and time independent
system for us. Islam is the
only invariable and truly objective
ethical system in existence. At the
fundamental level, its traditionalist
attitude identifies and challenges any
corruptive ideas attempting to nestle
into its fiber. Even with all the mess
and corruption amongst the Muslims,
Islam remains pristine and unchangeable.
It balances all aspects of life and
resolves the issues related to racism,
tribalism, and prejudice.
The pre-Islamic Arabs lived an
extremely tribal society. They used
to say: “Help your brother, whether
he is an oppressor or is oppressed.”
The tribe you were born into decided
your obligations to mankind. It was
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