Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism

People are naturally comfortable with others who share their cultural norms. The tendency to identify with one’s people or nation is something Allah has placed in human nature and He has made it a reason for people to get to know each other. Allah has also told us that the superiority one person might have over another is based on that person’s character, moral fibre, and piety, not race or ethnicity. 

On the Day of Judgment, our ethnic origins will mean nothing. Allah says: “And when the trumpet is blown, on that day there will be no kinship among them, nor will they ask of one another.” [Sūrah al-Mu’minūn: 101] 

Islam is a religion for all people. It is not only for Arabs or people from a particular corner of the world. It is not for a particular race or sub-set of humanity, like the so-called “Afro-Asiatic” races, and it does not sanction racism. It just happens that the majority of Islam’s adherents are in Africa and Asia. Every day, people around the world are embracing Islam. They come from Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americans. They do not do so for material motives or political gain, but because they are convinced of Islam’s truth and are drawn to the purity and simplicity of its message. 

Dr. Jamal Hamdan estimated the total Muslim population in 1990 at over 500 million, roughly one in seven people on Earth. He also predicted that the Muslim population would rapidly grow to one-fifth of the world’s population. His prediction came true. If anything, his estimate was low. 

Racism and tribalism are old sicknesses that flare up time and again. At Prophet Muhammad’s time, some Arabs chose to follow the false prophet Musaylimah because he came from their tribe, rather than follow Muhammad, who descended from the tribe of Mudar. One of Musaylimah’s followers openly said to him: “I bear witness that you are a liar and that Muhammad is telling the truth, but a liar from the tribe of Rabī` is better to me than an honest man from Mudar.” 

Today, there are Arab nationalists who say regarding the Ba’ath National Socialist party: “I believe in the Ba’ath Party as my Lord without partner, and in the Arab race as my only religion.” Indeed, one of the primary objectives of many nationalists was to counter the influence of Islamic tendencies in the Arab world. 

It is not wrong for the Arabs to find dignity in their lineage and ethnicity. They were blessed to have the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) among them and to have the Qur’an revealed in their language. It would be wrong for any Muslim to despise the Arabs as a whole. However, pride for one’s lineage must stay within appropriate limits. Identification with one’s ethnic group should never be coupled with arrogance or a sense of superiority over other people. Nor should it lead to isolationism or shunning interaction with people of different ethnicities. 

The history of Islam was made by people of diverse ethnic backgrounds. From the earliest times there were Kurds, Persians, Turks, Indians, Berbers, and others who made a vital contribution. Today, there are Muslims of all ethnicities, and there is no problem with these people maintaining their ethnic identities. They can identify themselves accordingly and use this identification as an inspiration to excel in ways that benefit all humanity. By contrast, it is wrong for ethnic identity to become the basis for people to envision a separate future for themselves apart from the rest of humanity. 

People are influenced by their governments and government policy into taking a stance for or against other people. The official and quasi-official news media in many countries plays a crucial role in bringing about ethnic polarization and creating strained relations between various ethnic groups within a country, and sometimes even between families and individuals. 

Yet, we find that broader identities endure, though weakly. They reveal themselves in times when one country or region is beset with a crisis or stricken by natural disasters. At these times, we see people from around the world coming together to give aid and support to those who are suffering. 

Muslims must never permit themselves to make slurs or jokes about any ethnic group, race, or region of the world. We must avoid negative generalizations and stereotypes, like accusations that a certain people are stingy, cowardly, racist, haughty, or depraved. There is good and bad in everyone. 

There is the famous saying: “Love for one’s country is a part of faith.” Though this is falsely attributed to the Prophet, it does express a natural tendency that human being have, and one that can inspire loyalty and noble actions. We find in the Qur’an and Sunnah expressions showing favour to the cities of Mecca and Madinah, and to the lands of Arabia, Yemen, Syria, and Egypt, among others. 

Those who claim that national pride is akin to idolatry are taking things too far. National pride, in and of itself, is something natural and praiseworthy. It is good for the people of a country to work together for their upliftment and do so in ways that are appropriate to their particular needs and in ways to secure the welfare of their citizens. Indeed, they can set a good example for others by doing so. 

National identity is part of a person’s individual identity. It does not in any way negate a person’s identifying as a Muslim, or with all of his or her fellow human beings. Allah says: “And He created the world for everyone.” [Sūrah al-Rahmān: 10] 

Islam did not come to sever ties. Instead, it came to uphold the rights of neighbours. Allah says: “(Show) kindness unto parents, and unto near kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and unto the neighbour who is of kin (unto you) and the neighbour who is not of kin.” [Sūrah al-Nisā’: 36].

Sheikh Salman al-Oadah
Source: en.islamtoday (Aug.10, 2012)