Samar Al-Mogren

Al-Jazirah



The battle against racism will take a long time. The laws and regulations aimed at curbing racism may shorten this period and prevent racism from spreading, as this is precisely what happened with the issuance of the first verdict of its kind a few days ago.



A court in Makkah sentenced a citizen to 100 lashes and a SR100,000 fine after he was convicted of using abusive racial remarks against another individual during a phone conversation between the two.



In my view, this verdict is tantamount to establishing a legal basis for criminalizing racism and will make racists think a thousand times before they commit such a crime. Moreover, I hope that the Makkah court’s verdict will help put an end to the cases related to “unequal level” of family backgrounds that strain relations between couples. The increase in the number of such cases can be mainly attributed to their handling by certain judges who will order a couple to separate on the basis of one partner’s “unequal” racial background. These verdicts are neither compatible with the fundamental principles of Islam that emphasize equality, nor with the fundamentals of ethics.



Such judgments take us down memory lane to the old days of the Nazi Germany when there was a ban on marriages between Aryans and non-Aryans. This issue ended with the introduction of new civil laws and regulations.



Even if racism is still rampant among Germans, its outward manifestations are very rare thanks to criminalization of such behavior.



There are different types of racism. At the national level, it is not restricted to tribal or regional considerations.

Discrimination against woman is considered a form of racism. I am of the view that racist acts must be stopped through enacting comprehensive regulations that cover all forms of racism, and it should not be restricted to any form or color or tribe.



I do emphasize once again that the battle against racism is a lengthy one and it will remain in the minds of a large number of people for a long time. I do not have any respect for those with a racist mindset because this only leads to the fracturing of society, damaging of cohesion and isolation of a section of its people in the name of color, nationality or tribe.



If we are serious about combating racism, then we have to start with our civil status cards (national IDs) by removing any mention of the person’s tribe. Our citizenship shall alone be the criteria to make everyone equal without specifying tribes or other affiliations.



I would also like to draw the attention of my readers to an American film that I watched. The film, “The Butler”, deals with the long battle waged by activists against racial discrimination targeting the black people through the profile of a black man — Eugene Allen — who served as butler to eight US presidents over a 30-year period. Renowned actor Forest Whitaker plays the role of Allen who struggles against racism and segregation.



The film shows us that the tragedy of racism prevailing in our society is nothing compared to the racism that once existed in American society.

Several civil rights laws have been introduced to contain racism and that helped the American people to live in a multi-ethnic society without any outward discrimination. Even if there are racist tendencies within American society, the law keeps those who dare to show its outward manifestations in check.