Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi

“Are you Iraqi?,” asked the passport officer in Cape Town International Airport, South Africa.



* No, Sir, I am Saudi. Same passport color, I know!



From where in Saudi Arabia?, He asked with a big, sweet smile.



* From Jeddah, Makkah region!



Oh, you come from the Land of Islam. Welcome to South Africa!



* Are you Muslim?



Yes, brother, alhumdillah. It is my dream to go for Haj. I made a reservation, but I have to wait years for my turn. Lucky you! I guess you could go every year for Haj and every week for Umrah, if you wish! 



He stamped and handed me back my passport, then held my hand and looked at me with loving, smily, wet eyes.  “May I ask you for a favor, brother?”, he asked.



* Sure, dear. How can I help you?, I answered wondering.



When you go to Haram, and stand by the Kaaba gate, please pray for me and my family. Pray I can kiss the black stone and drink Zamzam, at least once, before I leave this world. And when you go to Madinah, give my salaam to my beloved Prophet, peace be upon him. “Amana” brother, don’t forget!”



That was the best introduction to South Africa, where the worlds meet. The man seemed from Asian origin, Indian or Malay. After the Dutch settled in Cape Town, in 1652, they brought Asian slaves to help them farm and build towns. They were trying to find a new route to India, which was found later, by Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama.



The British, Germans, French and other Europeans followed. The Xhosa, Zulu and other African tribes, who lived north of Cape Town, came down. So, South Africa, today, is made of representatives of all world stripes — Black, white and colored. They came from the old civilizations to build a new one.



After a century of apartheid, non-white South Africans finally won their freedom and rights. Nelson Mandela came out, in 1992, of 27-year imprisonment to lead his nation transition to democracy and equal duties and rights. He managed to do so, when he convinced his oppressed people to forget and forgive... to forgo revenge and focus instead on rebuilding their new democratic nation.



Twenty years later, since the first election in 1994, have they succeeded? Blacks are in power. They run the government, thanks to their 80% majority. The white and colored run most trade and industries. Still, most blacks are illiterate. The colored fare better but not as well as the whites. Educational, medical and accommodation services are still behind government promises and people’s expectations.



However, peace rules. The democratic system and its institutions are functioning. The press is free and people vote for the parties and candidates of their choice. Compared to the old times — its troubled, harsh history — this is a great achievement.



What really moved me is what I saw in an elementary school. For the first time in South Africa’s history, black, white and colored children were attending the same classes, learning how to love and respect each other, and to judge one another on the bases of merits and achievement, not race, religion and skin color. This is something the world, ours included, need to learn.



Dr. Rasheid Small is a South African professor, Prince Sultan College, Alfaisal University, explains: The fabric of society's moral values together with a corrupt justice system only but encourages the degradation and abuse of humanity.



In South Africa where racial discrimination was enshrined in the constitution and laws of the land, it was applied for the benefit of one sector of its population. However, after 1994 when the country was freed from discriminatory laws, discrimination is still rife at a societal level and the laws, which should be applied to ensure equality is skewed to favor the persons with wealth and authority.



Abuse and discrimination are morally incorrect and goes against the nature of human beings.”



Faiz Al-Najdi writes: “The article points out to the dichotomy that exists in the Saudi Society. It drives me crazy to learn about such a thing is going on here — in the name of so-called Tribal Purity and Superiority — never ever heard in other parts of the world. It is hard to imagine Islamic laws being trashed in a country where Islam was born. I think the Ulemas should rise up to the occasion and recommend abolishing such un-Islamic practices & customs.”



Muhammad Nasir Siddiqui adds: “The only discrimination allowed in Islam is based on TAQWA and nothing else. All other discriminations are man made and strictly prohibited in Islam, so I request religious scholars to further guide us all in this respect.”



– Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi can be reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com and followed on Twitter: @kbatarfi