Has Racism increased or are people getting caught?

Has racism increased or are people getting caught?

Over the past few months, the issue of racism has come to be at the forefront of many discussions.  There was the incident with the woman filmed being racially aggressive on a London tube journey which was aired on YouTube, the black MP who blurted out on Twitter that white people liked to ‘divide and rule’ and the various incidents of rude gestures and racially aggravating words being used in football. Has the issue of racism gone completely out of hand or is it starting to be better documented?

Let’s be brutally honest, racism does still exist in our society.  However, the only difference is that we now find it morally repugnant rather than acceptable in mainstream society.  There are laws in place to prevent overtly racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and NF from preaching their message in public.  Gone are the days when landlords would put a sign up on their doors saying “No Wogs Allowed” or dog poo being put through front doors of Asian houses.  Now a person can dress, speak, walk or talk in any manner they like without being heckled in the street and instead people are quick to embrace the foods and cultures of people from all walks of life.  The Notting Hill Carnival, Birmingham Mela and Chinese New Year celebrations are ample evidence of this.

Nonetheless, no matter how much we believe society has progressed; racism is still there.  It has just gone underground.  Now that certain individuals and political groups realize that the word ‘Paki’ can’t be said to someone’s face, they have employed certain socio-economic policies like tackling immigration and crime as a way of justifying their deep-rooted racist views.  Additionally, now that people are feeling the squeeze on their wallet due to the recession, joblessness and benefit cuts are prompting people to find an easy scapegoat.   That is a psychological phenomenon, which has existed since time immemorial.  This is what prompted Hitler to pursue his devious plans of exterminating Jews in the Second World War.   The racist attitudes of Brits can also be seen from the wave of immigrants that arrived in the country in the 40s, 50s 60s, 70s and 80s e.g. Jews, blacks, Asians and Poles.  Each group brought a new target for those who felt their country was being looted by the undeserving people who moved to England to make a better life for them and their families.

Additionally, tabloid newspapers were very quick to fuel the fire towards promoting racist views and then very quick to condemn those who joined the BNP or behaved in a lout like manner.  It was extremely hypocritical and did nothing to ease the confusion in the minds of extremely racist people. 

Whether it is for reasons of scapegoating or political motives, racism is a disease on any society and one that can eat a person alive.  It may never be removed from our society but needs to be discussed openly and dealt with in a different manner.  Clearly people are frustrated by political correctness, immigration, joblessness and hordes of individuals who can’t speak a word of English taking benefits which should belong to other deserving people.  It is a matter which needs to be openly discussed before this ticking time bomb explodes and peoples lives are endangered.

Islam clearly prohibits any kind of discrimination based on race, age, gender or religion.  No man is better than another simply because they look different or believe in different ideals.  A man is known for his deeds rather than his demeanour or design.  Every living, breathing organism is created by Allah (SWT) and He never created ranks between men based on the colour of their skin.  Islam is very clear about the boundaries between right and wrong.  If you transgress, then you cannot be saved by the colour of your skin or your bank balance.  We are all truly equal in front of Allah (SWT).  Our Creator even warns us not to walk on the earth with pride as high as mountains (Quran).  Although he made humans superior amongst all creations, He has not made white people more favorable than black people. 

I clearly remember as a child doing Umrah and noticing black people walking amongst white and not being heckled or abused or told to walk behind the white people. Everyone walked together in harmony with the same purpose of religious salvation. I never really faced racism or understood it until I moved to Western countries where people looked at me strangely and called me racist words when I started covering my hair.  It was extremely upsetting and made me an extremely angry person but I didn’t want to waste my life in this bitterness. 

I clearly believe that unless and until we don’t submit ourselves to Allah (SWT), then our life will always be swaddled with some form of emotional or physical disease, be it racism, jealousy, rage, greed or lust.  This is exactly how the accursed shaitaan wants us to live our life and it is something we must strenuously strive towards avoiding.