Racism in the Arab world

History

Medieval Arab attitudes to Black people varied over time and individual attitude, but tended to be negative. Though the Qur'an expresses no racial prejudice, ethnocentric prejudice towards black people is widely evident among medieval Arabs, for a variety of reasons: their extensive conquests and slave trade; the influence of Aristotelian ideas regarding slavery, which some Muslim philosophers directed towards Zanj and the influence of Judeo-Christian ideas regarding divisions among humankind. On the other hand, the Afro-Arab author Al-Jahiz, himself having a Zanj grandfather, wrote a book entitled Superiority of the Blacks to the Whites, and explained why the Zanj were black in terms of environmental determinism in the "On the Zanj" chapter of The Essays. By the 14th century, a significant number of slaves came from either West or Central Africa; Lewis argues that this led to the likes of Egyptian historian Al-Abshibi (1388–1446) writing that "[i]t is said that when the [black] slave is sated, he fornicates, when he is hungry, he steals."

Some charge that "ultra-Arabism and Jihadism have been responsible for widespread persecution and genocide." such Saddam's using chemical weapons and gas against the Kurds during the bombings of Halabja in northern Iraq. "The Kurds, a non-Arab people whose language belongs to the Iranian group, have suffered from persecution under the Baath of Iraq and Syria, especially since the departure of British and French forces in the late 1940s." (Kurds are also claiming rights in Iran and Turkey.) The Berbers, the pre-Arab native peoples of North Africa, have been victimized by the Arabs in North Africa.

There are historic racial divisions, racial and religious prejudices in Iraq, including on Kurds, on Shia and the Marsh Arabs.John Burns Q and A: Ending the War in Iraq – NYTimes.com Sep 29, 2009 http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/john-burns-q-and-a-ending-the-war-in-iraq/

Author draws parallel between Arab nationalism and Turkish nationalism, both were "likewise evolving into the "racial" stage, the ideal being a great "Pan-Arab" empire, embracing not merely the ethnically Arab peninsula-homeland, but also the regions of Mesopotamia, The Levant, Egypt, Tripoli, North Africa and the Sudan."

A writer on the Durban conference regarding racism suggests: That stressing out that "Arabism is racism" would have been an interesting debating topic. Yet, he adds that "the OIC countries were very clever in how they deflected the slavery issue that could so easily have been turned on them with a vengeance."

Some Muslim activists have also expressed that "Arabism is racism, pure and simple." There was Sheikh Mustafa al-Maraghi, who in a famous 1938 essay dismissed the goal of [pan] Arab unity as racist.

Arab Muslim authors in "Arab-Iranian relations": Much ink has flowed on the issue of Arab nationalism. Some people believe it to be a racist movement, advocating the superiority of the Arabs.

Ali A. Allawi, the former Iraqi Minister of Defense and Finance, envisioning a peaceful Iraq: "Arabism, racism and sectarianism – would be dethroned. Iraq would be at peace with itself and with its region."

In 1960's, the French Comite d' Action de Defense De- mocratique published a pamphlet titled Racism and Pan-Arabism, its introduction followed by an article by the well known French sociologist, anthropologist & political leader: Jackes Soustelle to fight against all kinds of racism, this was followed by a paper by Shlomo Friedrich on "Pan-Arabism: A New Racist Menace?" who offered a sharp critique of Nasser's book The Philosophy of the Revolution, and it terms it a mere pale imitation of Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Ethnocentrism

According to Dr. Michael Penn:

Forms

Some of the persecuted victims of racism and discrimination in the Arab world include: Sub-Saharan Africans in Egypt, including on Eritreans, and oppressing Darfurian refugees, Algeria, Mauritania – fighting off racist policies in these countries, in Iraq where blacks face racism, Kurds in Syria and in Iraq, Copts, it worsened with the empowerment of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Al-Akhdam in Yemen, as well as slaves who fight the stigma of their status as 'slaves' in impoverished Yemen, Persians' historic struggle against the 'Arab supremacy,' Berbers in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya ), South Asians and Southeast Asians (migrant workers and maids in the Gulf Arab nations), Jews (see: Antisemitism in the Arab world, in a 2009 PEW poll, 90% of the Middle East were found to view Jews unfavorably). Although slavery was officially abolished in 1981, a 2012 CNN report suggested that 10% to 20% of the Mauritanian population was enslaved with a correlation with skin color – darker-skinned Mauritanians were often enslaved by lighter-skinned.

Anti-Black racism

Main article: Anti-Black racism in the Arab world}}{{Excerpt, Anti-Black racism in the Arab world

Xenophobia

Main article: Xenophobia and racism in the Middle East

Anti-Kurds racism

Main article: Anti-Kurdish sentiment

Antisemitism

Main article: Antisemitism in the Arab world

Accusations against specific Arab governments

Iraq

Main article: Racism in Iraq

According to a statement by Fred Halliday, the Ba'athists in Iraq were inspired by Sati' al-Husri and with rhetoric tinged with pan-Arabism and anti-Iranian sentiment. In the decade and a half after the Ba'ath party came to power, up to 200,000 Feyli Kurds were expelled from Iraq. In claiming to be "defenders of Arabism", Halliday asserts the Ba'ath promoted a myth of Persian migrants and communities in the Persian Gulf region to be comparable to "Zionists" settling Palestine.

Mauritania

According to Holly Burkhalter of Human Rights Watch, in a statement made in testimony before the Congress of the United States, "It is fair to say that the Mauritanian government practices undeclared apartheid and severely discriminates on the basis of race."

Sudan

Main article: Racism in Sudan, Slavery in Sudan, Darfur genocide (2003–2005), 1987 Dhein massacre

Beginning in 1991, elders of the Zaghawa people of Sudan complained that they were victims of an intensifying Arab apartheid campaign. Vukoni Lupa Lasaga has accused the Sudanese government of "deftly manipulat(ing) Arab solidarity" to carry out policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs in Darfur. Alan Dershowitz has pointed to Sudan as an example of a government that deserves the appellation "apartheid",Alan Dershowitz, The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace, John Wiley and Sons, 2009, p. 24. and former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler has also criticized Sudan in similar terms.

Egypt

Black Egyptian President Anwar Sadat faced insults of not looking "Egyptian enough" and "Nasser's black poodle". An Egyptian Nubian soccer player Shikabala stopped playing football for some time due to racist slurs by rival Egyptian fans during a game. A group was shouting out "Shikabala" while pointing a black dog wearing the number 10, which was Zamalek football shirt. Mona Eltahawy, the Egyptian journalist, found a deep-seated anti-black racism in her country, mainly against Sudanese, Nubian or other darker-skinned people.

According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Sub-Saharan immigrants to Egypt often face physical violence and verbal abuse at the hands of the general public and law enforcement officials. Refugees from Sudan are especially targeted, with racial slurs like "oonga boonga" and "samara" (meaning "black") constituting the most typical insults. The EIPR attributes the violence and abuse to both a lack of government efforts at disseminating information, raising awareness and dispelling myths with regard to the economic contributions made by the newcomers, and stereotyping on the part of the Egyptian media. Black women are also targets of sexual harassment. As a remedy, the EIPR recommends that the Egyptian government "should intensify and accelerate efforts to combat racist xenophobic views towards migrant workers, especially those of Sub-Saharan origin, and to promote awareness of their positive contribution to society. The government should train all personnel working in the field of criminal justice and law enforcement officials in the spirit of respect for human rights and non-discrimination on ethnic or racial grounds."

Many Egyptians distance themselves from African identity, aligning more with Arab and Middle Eastern identities. At the same time, Sub-Saharan Africans in Egypt report discrimination, and Egypt's internal groups (like Copts and secularists) use ancient heritage to resist Arab-Islamic associations.

Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mauritania)

In March 2011, officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confirmed allegations of discrimination by Tunisia against black Africans. Sub-Saharan Africans were reportedly targeted by rebel forces during the Libyan civil war in 2011.

References

References

1. (2025-02-08). "On Antizionism and Unlearning Arab Supremacy – Political Science at Haverford College".
2. (2014-12-12). "'For Sudan to find peace we must end the myth of Arab supremacy'". The Guardian.
3. (2017-04-18). "Letter from Africa: Sudanese fight for their African identity".
4. Zein, Rayya El. (2021). "Introduction: Cultural Constructions of Race and Racism in the Middle East and North Africa / Southwest Asia and North Africa". Lateral.
5. ''Middle East report'': Issues 234-235; Issues 237-241, Middle East Research & Information Project, 2005, p. 54, p 32
6. Ahmed, Kaamil. (2024-11-03). "'We will make you have Arab babies': fears of genocide amid rape and torture in Sudan's Darfur". The Observer.
7. Bernard Lewis. (1992). "Race and slavery in the Middle East: an historical enquiry". Oxford University Press.
8. Kevin Reilly. (2002-09-30). "Racism: A Global Reader". M.E. Sharpe.
9. El Hamel, Chouki. (2002). "'Race', slavery and Islam in Maghribi Mediterranean thought: the question of the Haratin in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies.
10. Yosef Ben-Jochannan. (1991). "African origins of the major "Western religions"". Black Classic Press.
11. (July 1998). "Medieval Sourcebook: Abû Ûthmân al-Jâhiz: From The Essays, c. 860 CE". Medieval Sourcebook.
12. Lewis, Bernard. (2002). "Race and Slavery in the Middle East". Oxford University Press.
13. ''The Confrontation: Winning the War Against Future Jihad'', p. 109, by W. Phares, Macmillan, 2009. {{ISBN
14. (November 18, 1991). "NEWS SUMMARY". The New York Times.
15. ''The New World of Islam'' by Lothrop Stoddard, 2009, History, p. 201 [https://books.google.com/books?id=IDAnAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA201], ''The Middle East, abstracts and index,'' Part 4 about "Jihadi Movements Worldwide: Abstracts & Documents", p. 1111, from Library Information and Research Service Published by Northumberland Press, 2004
16. ''Out of step: life-story of a politician : politics and religion in a world at war'' by Jack Brian Bloom, Indiana University, p. 112
17. Africa events, Volume 7, published by Dar es Salaam Ltd., 1991, p. 21
18. (26 September 1990). "Radical Islam: medieval theology and ... - Google Books". Yale University Press.
19. Arab-Iranian relations By Khair el-Din Haseeb, K. Haseeb, Markaz Dirāsāt al-Waḥdah al-Arabīyah, Beirut, Lebanon, published by Centre for Arab Unity Studies, 1998, p. 368 [https://books.google.com/books?id=UaptAAAAMAAJ&q=superiority]
20. Ali A. Allawi, ''The occupation of Iraq: winning the war, losing the peace'' p. 438 [https://books.google.com/books?id=Cwc3_TTqYhsC&pg=PA438]
21. (1989). "The myth of the Jewish race - Google Books". Wayne State University Press.
22. (5 June 2015). "Envisioning Islam: Syriac Christians and the Early Muslim World". University of Pennsylvania Press.
23. Racism The Arab world's dirty secret, Mona Eltahawy, [[New_York_Times]], December 10, 2008 [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/opinion/10iht-edeltahawy.1.18556273.html]
24. "Egypt crackdown on African migrants hits Eritreans". Sudan Tribune.
25. (2008-08-06). "Egyptian troops execute another Darfur refugee". israel today.
26. ''The Journal of international studies'', Volumes 30-31 By Sophia University. Institute of International Relations p. 31
27. ''Africa insight'', Volumes 23-24, 1993, p. 45
28. Daoud, Kamel. (May 2, 2016). "Opinion | Black in Algeria? Then You'd Better Be Muslim". The New York Times.
29. (2008-08-14). "IRAQ: Black Iraqis hoping for a Barack Obama win". Los Angeles Times.
30. (3 December 2008). "Black Iraqis In Basra Face Racism". NPR.
31. ''Autonomy, sovereignty, and self-determination: the accommodation of conflicting rights,'' Hurst Hannum – 1996, p. 198 [https://books.google.com/books?id=gOq52_guRUoC&pg=PA198]
32. ''Geographical abstracts: Human geography,'' Volume 14, Issues 5-8, published by Elsevier/Geo Abstracts 2002, p. 852
33. (28 October 2009). "Syria's Kurds Struggle for Rights".
34. (2008-06-20). "Kurdistan issues in press interviews: Dr Fuad Omar". Ekurd.net.
35. ''Minorities in the Middle East: a history of struggle and self-expression'' by Mordechai Nisan, pp 143–144 [https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA144]
36. (1997-02-12). "A Test of Faith". Orderofmaltacolombia.org.
37. "A Struggle Against Intolerance Embattled Coptic". Netanyahu.org.
38. ''Social exclusion: rhetoric, reality, responses'', Gerry Rodgers, Charles G. Gore, José B. Figueiredo, International Institute for Labour Studies, United Nations Development Programme – Business & Economics, p. 181
39. . (2010-07-21). ["Slaves in impoverished Yemen dream of freedom"](http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/07/21/114451.html). *Alarabiya.net*.
40. ''Race and slavery in the Middle East: an historical enquiry'' by Bernard Lewis p. 32 https://books.google.com/books?id=WdjvedBeMHYC&pg=PA32
41. (1999-04-01). "Press kit: Issues - Racism against Indigenous peoples - World Conference Against Racism". Un.org.
42. (2005-01-05). "The Maghreb in Black and White - By Brian T. Edwards". Foreign Policy.
43. "Berbers: The Proud Raiders | BBC World Service". Bbc.co.uk.
44. "kalebeul » Berbers attack Moroccan state racism".
45. "Berber Leader Belkacem Lounes_ 'There Is No Worse Colonialism Than That of the Pan-Arabist Clan that Wants to Dominate Our People' - CIJR Databank".
46. (21 April 1992). "''Race, Culture and Difference'' by James Donald, Ali Rattansi p 27". SAGE Publications.
47. (10 October 2004). "Asian maids in Gulf face maltreatment". Middle East Online.
48. Rabiya Parekh. (2006-04-04). "World Service - World Have Your Say: South Asian workers in Saudi". BBC.
49. (2003-04-07). "Saudi Arabia: Asian immigrant forced to clean mosques for 'skipping prayers' - Adnkronos Religion". Adnkronos.com.
50. Prusher, Ilene. (2009-06-16). ["Poll: 90% of ME views ews unfavorably". Jpost.com.
51. Sutter, John D.. (March 2012). "Slavery's last stronghold". [[CNN]].
52. Halliday, Fred. (2000). "Nation and Religion in the Middle East". Lynne Rienner.
53. M. GIELING, SASKIA. "IRAQ vii. IRAN-IRAQ WAR".
54. Yambo Ouologuem: postcolonial writer, Islamic militant, Christopher Wise, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999, p. 4.
55. Hilde F. Johnson, Waging Peace in Sudan: The Inside Story of the Negotiations That Ended, Trans Pacific Press, 2011, p. 38.
56. Vukoni Lupa Lasaga [http://www.afrika.no/Detailed/12818.html] {{webarchive. link. (2014-09-01 "The slow, violent death of '''apartheid''' in Sudan," 19 September 2006, Norwegian Council for Africa.)
57. Hubert Bauch [http://www.canada.com/news/minister+speaks+against+Sudan+Bashir/1362904/story.html] "Ex-minister speaks out against Sudan's al-Bashir" Montreal Gazette, march 6, 2009.
58. Khalid, Sunni M.. (February 7, 2011). "The Root: Race And Racism Divide Egypt". npr.org.
59. (Dec 31, 2010). "Shikabala ends Egypt career over racist taunts". usatoday.com.
60. (November 30, 2020). "Egypt arrests 14 for racism against top Zamalek footballer, Shikabala". The New Arab.
61. Eltahawy, Mona. (2021-10-28). "'Black Panther' and the anti-black racism of Egyptians". Washington Post.
62. "III. Racist attitudes and Racially-Motivated Identity Checks and Detentions".
63. Dagres, Holly. (2023-06-29). "Egyptians aren't racist. They're frustrated with Western appropriation of their ancient history.".
64. Saunders, Doug. (1 March 2011). "At a Tense Border Crossing, a Systematic Effort To Keep Black Africans Out". The Globe and Mail.
65. (25 August 2011). "UNHCR concerned as sub-Saharan Africans targeted in Libya". UNHCR.
66. Sengupta, Kim. (27 August 2011). "Rebels settle scores in Libyan capital". The Independent.
67. (31 August 2011). "Gadhafi Loyalists?". CNN}}{{dead link.