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Black Muslims and the Sudan

By Salim Muwakkil

It has taken a genocide in Darfur, where hundreds of thousands have been killed in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and countless more continue to die in disease-ridden refugee camps, to force influential segments of the black activist community to put aside their differences and acknowledge a long history of ongoing atrocities in the Sudan. For years, some black… return to article

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    Page 1 of 1 pages

    i think that this “war” is stupid
    it is inhuman and unethical on how they are going about on killing thousands of innocent people!
    i am only 14 years old and i even understand what is right and wrong and this is beyond wrong…

    United States Posted by Essia on Sep 14, 2004 at 8:46 AM

    The war between Black and Arab culture is not new.  It’s no secret that Arabs hate Black people and if they can’t pimp us then they want to eliminate us.  Just go to any Black neighborhood and visit one of the Arab owned greasy spoon fast food stands, or corner grocery, liquor or dollar stores and observe how hateful and disrespectful they are to their patrons (especially the women).  You’ll also find that the vast majority of their patrons are low income Blacks, steet people, gangbangers and “get-over” ghetto Black folks trading LINK and WIC benefits for cash.  Working/middle class Black folks avoid Arabs and patronize places that actually hire Black people.  The differences in those who patronize their businesses and those that don’t illustrate the division in many inner city communities that keep them from forming the cohesiveness needed to demand government services from City Hall needed to improve quality of life.  Arabs are running interference to keep any kind Black unity from being established and are forming an alliance with vulnerable Black folks who would do their bidding against Blacks that see Arabs for who they really are.

    United States Posted by theloneous on Sep 14, 2004 at 9:34 AM

    This is an interesting and necesary article. As an as Afro-American let me urge to inform our people about the situation in Mauretania. The arabs there do quite similar things to the blacks.In fact a slightly veiled slavery still exists there. However, it receives no coverage.In about 1992 after a failed coup blacks were driven across the Senegal river into Senegal despite their Mauretanian citizenship. Hopefully,we will become a little more honest in the future.

    Mexico Posted by wallace nixon on Sep 14, 2004 at 10:35 AM

    Wow. theloneous, you spout racism big time! Arabs hate negros? Is that all Arabs, or only the ones that have to deal with the “gang bangers” - who probably deserve whatever diss’ing they get? It must be a good time to be so racist against this group now, they are rather unpopular, kinda like the negros in the 50’s in the US.

    Funny, but where i live people are still individuals. Here we consider each of them by their merits - not their ethnic group. But there is a huge downside to this - it requires one to think. .  .

    United States Posted by Ahab the Arab on Sep 14, 2004 at 12:24 PM

    Yes, Theloneous.. that was pretty ass-backwards of you.

    United States Posted by g-love on Sep 14, 2004 at 2:19 PM

    Felonious is what I call you. The Arab merchants
    have my total sympathy, they have taken the place
    of the Jews and the Koreans as the new scapegoats
    for black sociopathology.
    What about the estimated 3-4 million blacks in the
    Congo killed by their beautiful fellow blacks in
    the past few years ??? All the blackophile nutcases are silent about this.

    United States Posted by Michael Hardesty on Sep 15, 2004 at 10:59 AM

    When I post my opinion its in response to Salims’ very insightful and informative columns.  The posting is to give feedback, not to elicit responses to my postings.  In the future, if you don’t agree with my opinions, agree to disagree to yourself.  Respond to the columns not to my opinions.

    United States Posted by theloneous on Sep 15, 2004 at 11:28 AM

    Theloneous, if that’s yer attitude, please feel free to keep your “opinions” TO YOURSELF!! Thanks, have a great day!

    United States Posted by g-love on Sep 15, 2004 at 12:43 PM

    g-love:

    What are your comments on Mr. Muwakkils’ column, “Black Muslims and the Sudan”?

    United States Posted by theloneous on Sep 15, 2004 at 2:05 PM

    I don’t understand why we cannot respond to postings on this board. Everyone is free to
    post their views but surely people have a right
    to take issue with same.

    United States Posted by Michael Hardesty on Sep 15, 2004 at 3:49 PM

    Theloneous: my comments? On the article?

    Business as usual. Unless there’s oil involved, the U.S. (and others) don’t pay much attention, eh?

    What does that have to do with your backwards-ass racist, ignorant remarks and pussy comments on people not responding to your post(s)?

    Just curious…

    United States Posted by g-love on Sep 15, 2004 at 10:11 PM

    Salam,

    It has nothing to do directly with racism, because Sudan has been a dump for armament sellers ( China, Russia, the West, Lybia, ...).
    In fact those Blacks were in the past allied with arabs against others arabs, then again blacks, then, then....

    It is also a good ally of China and the West want to diminish Chinese influence in Africa. chian helps Sudan in developing its defence and for OIL projects.

    That is a long strategy developped by occidental nations : when you have a rich country (oil, uranium, gold, ... ) you have to make it in a constant state of ware, see Congo.

    They armed people then they come complain about ‘genocide’.

    Belgium Posted by Abdel on Sep 16, 2004 at 1:21 AM

    Nate Clay is definitely a misinformed brother. Minister Farrakhan and the Nation Of Islam have never benefited or taken a penny from Arabs. He has stated many times from the early 80’s up till now that he has been offered millions to change his stance in defending the teachings of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and he has declined time and time again. The controlling Muslim scholars in the East even went as far as offering Farrakhan the title of Messiah if he would change his teachings and go along with the so-called orthodoxy. To even imply that Farrakhan has taken a side based on religion is foolish at best. And it’s a shame Negroes such as Clay can make a wild accusation without providing facts. I wonder if Clay has went to the Sudan and investigated the situation himself? Farrakhan has and has made repeated speeches that can be obtained speaking to what he saw and the conflict between the Islamic north and Christian/traditional religion-led south.
    It’s a shame when Caucasians try to annihilate our leaders in the media, but it’s a shame when we get hoodwinked and bamboozled by our own kind in the guise of Pan Afrikanist thought. Clay.....please come back home Black man!!!!!!

    United States Posted by Damon X on Sep 16, 2004 at 4:42 PM

    Are all black people supposed to tote the same line ? Come home ? What does that mean ?

    United States Posted by Michael Hardesty on Sep 17, 2004 at 9:46 AM

    Salim is just off base as most blacks in the US who get all their news from the pro-Israeli media--Times, WP, Wall Street journal, CNN, etc.

    The term “Arab” like the fake construction “Hispanic” doesn’t mean anything. “Arabs” can be BLACK(Sudan and parts of North Africa), BROWN(biracial features as most of North Africa) or West Asian types(like In Syria, Iraq, Lebanon,etc.)
    I have seen Arabs in the Sudan and they are much blacker than Salim Muwakkil so how can the Darfur conflict be a racial one? Or maybe he is naively sucked in by the pro-Israeli magazine he works for.

    United States Posted by dian Souare on Sep 17, 2004 at 11:25 AM

    I really agree with you dian Souare. The caucasion media is trying to portray this conflict as a racial one and many ignorant people are believing this. This conflict is not a racial one. It is a cultural one. It is too bad that many uneducated and uninformed americans can’t get above “race”.

    United States Posted by Tim on Sep 17, 2004 at 4:31 PM

    The tragedy of the Dafur, Sudan attrocities is the failure of the world in general and Africa in particular, to see it as part of a long series of genocidal and ethnic cleansing activities that the Arabs have been committing against indegenious Africans ever since our encounter thousands of fears ago. Just Look at the northern part of Africa, i.e.Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Morroco, Libya, Egypt, Sudan etc. See how they are now Arab. What happened to the African population and how did we become not only the minoritiesbut second class citizens? read Chancellor Williams’ “Destruction Of Black Civilizaion” and the many books written about our history from time immemorial.
    We can’t even claim the pyramids as African glory. If Abraham is the ancestral patriach of Arabs and Jews through Ishmael and Isaac, then these two races did not exist when he and his barren wife Sarah came to Africa to seek their fortunes ust as immigrants come the USA today for grener pasture.
    Back to Dafur. Why is Muslim Afria not calling an emergency meeting of the Islamic world to confront the Arabs’ nefarious deeds against indegeneous Africa? I was born a Muslim.I am very much concerned that there is no categorical commandment against slavery. There edits against adultery, eating pork, drinking wine etc. The Bible talks about counting your slaves since they are among your properties (Exodus 21:21), the inequality if the races,(Deuteronomy 7:3)thus prohibiting intermarriage. It is equally the same with Quran which states the conditions of freeing a slave: when a man states to his wife that he would not have sex with her and that having sex with her would be like having sex with his mother, he should free a slave before he can have sex with her. The principal beneficiary of this act is the slave owner who wants his wife. The slave is just a tangetial beneficiary. It also states how and when to accept a slave’s request to work and buy his freedom.
    To recapitulate:

    Dafur should be seen as part of a long series of ethnic cleansing Arab activities.

    Muslim Africa should meet with the Muslim Ummah and talk about theviolations of Africans despite the fact that the religion does not categorically condemn it.

    African People should start having a very intellectual and academic approach to all religious (particularly the Abrahamic ones) books via-a-vis slavery and freedom.

    United States Posted by ESC on Sep 18, 2004 at 2:30 PM

    Western media has intentionally created much confusion surrounding the issue of Darfur.  First of all the term, “Arab”, invokes a vision in most of a light, near white, Middle Easterner and this is not the case in Sudan.  The Western media is not showing many pictures of the leadership of Sudan nor of the various factions because we would clearly see that they all are Black African people.  All of the fighting is taking place between Black Muslims in the Darfur area and is not the simplistic Muslim vs Black Christian battle that the western media would have us believe.  The black Muslims in the north speak Arabic and so consider themselves Arabic, however they are indigenous Sudanese people.  The issue is not race, but a battle over natural resources.  We should be much more cautious when reading the Western reporting on issues pertaining to African countries.  When an unrighteous person (read liar) brings you news, look carefully into it, lest you harm someone and be sorry for what you have done.  I do not see where Brother Muwakkil is quoting from anyone of our brothers and sisters who actually visited the area and interviewed people from both sides of the conflict.

    United States Posted by Brian Dameron on Sep 18, 2004 at 5:37 PM

    How reliable is the Chancellor Wiliams book ?
    I have a hard time swallowing the Black Athena
    thesis of Bernal and I find it difficult to believe that the real Arabs were actually blacks,
    much less the ancient Greeks or Christ & his associates. Isn’t this just a version of the
    discredited Elijah Muhammad Black Muslim version
    of history ?

    United States Posted by Michael Hardesty on Sep 20, 2004 at 11:10 AM

    Michael Hardesty is easy for you to swallow the truth because A. You are a Caucasian who has been indoctrinated into the belief systems of White World Supremacy aka racism or B. You are a so-called Negro who has also been indoctrinated into the White superiority complex of White World Supremacy, but I believe that you are Caucasian and it’s hard for many Caucasians to realize that if it wasn’t for Africans, Caucasians wouldn’t exist (yes we are your fathers and mothers, to whom you must honor). It’s hard to realize that when we were basking in advanced sciences, Caucasians were in caves committing acts of beastiality and living a savage existence. It’s hard for Caucasians to accept that Blacks have dominant genes and Caucasians have recessive ones. I mean I can go on and on and on, which has been documented by your own Caucasian scholars. I suggest you read a book by a noted Canadian anthropologist (I believe_, his book is called “The Iceman Cometh” a very interesting look at the history of Caucasians from the caves till now. And if you are a so-called Negro, hopefully you will get from the yolk of worshipping something less than you, but since I believe you are a Caucasian do some research and you’ll find what Elijah Muhammad’s “version” of history is actual facts. And the ancient Greeks were Caucasians who learned from the Egyptian Mystery Systems of old. And yes Isa (Jesus) was a Black man of African ancestory, much like Mary, Joseph, and his apostles. Read your bible and use common sense.

    United States Posted by Damon X on Sep 20, 2004 at 8:31 PM

    Dear Damon,

    Thanks for your information and reading suggestions. I am Caucasian but my understanding
    is that much of the recent Afrocentric history
    is questionable. I’m open to new views however,
    and did read some of Martin Bernal’s Black Athena
    some years ago.
    I’m an atheist but have read the bible for literary reasons. Personally I would not be
    too upset if my ancestors were cave men because
    I do not believe that it would reflect on me
    anymore than I could take credit for whatever
    accomplishments they had. No offense intended
    but I wonder if you are reversing the old coin
    here that the white rightwing racists used for
    so many years. They seemed to enjoy putting whole groups of other people down. And I didn’t like
    that either.
    I may be a hopelessly old fashioned liberal out
    of touch with the times.
    I thought Jesus was a Palestinian Jew. I know
    Arabs come in a variety of races but most (not all) Jews are white.
    Again, thanks for your feedback.

    United States Posted by Michael Hardesty on Sep 27, 2004 at 1:15 PM

    Those “Arabs” in Sudan look Black to me.
    The West is now coming up with this “Arab genocide of the Blacks”, as if they have no blood on their hands. This issue of Sudan is systematically created into a “Arab” “Black” conflict. It’s not that. It is simply an act of brutality committed by a government for political reasons. The Sudanese government suspected that the people in Darfur were supporting anti-government groups. So they decided to punish them. It is exactly what Saddam did to Southern Iraq after the first Gulf War. He killed the Shia’s in the South for rebelling against him.
    So, please lets not keep our discussion to the parameters that the “Powers To Be” has set for us.

    United States Posted by anwar on Oct 1, 2004 at 12:05 PM

    Its the Jew MEdia that is bias and is throwing in bad images of mulims to th public. I say mulims become smart and learn about meadia nad then work in it to balance out justice.

    United States Posted by Omar on Oct 1, 2004 at 1:30 PM

    Good point, it looks like Blacks killing Blacks
    in the Sudan, which is not uncommon in Africa,
    see Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe,
    Chad, Kenya, Central African Republic, Ethiopia
    and almost every other “country” in Africa.

    United States Posted by Michael Hardesty on Oct 4, 2004 at 12:39 PM

    I think that this conflict in Sudan is very tragic. But in no way should Muslims be blamed. Muslims are those who practise the teachings of Islam which is based on the Quraan and Sunnah. Righteous Muslims would never be racist. One notable factor is that Islam sees no race, gender or nationality.For God created all of mankind and the universe. All are equal in the sight of God, however all have different responsibilities and jobs. The prophet Muhammad *Peace be Upon him* said that, “A white man is not better than a Black man, nor a black man better than a white man, all are equal in the sight of God, and only those who have higher faith (Imaan) are better. The prophet also said, once to his companions, “Even if a black man became your Caliph (leader) obey him” The prophet wanted to show his companions that in Islam one was not to be changed by the colour of his skin, but by his character and actions.

    We must all pray for our brothers and sisters in Sudan and worldwide. May God guide them all to the straight path.

    Some good sites about Islam I would suggest :

    www.discoverislam.com
    www.beconvinced.com
    www.islamqa.com

    The one you see alot of Islamic links:

    www.sultan.org

    New Zealand (Aotearoa) Posted by Marwa on Oct 8, 2004 at 1:21 AM

    The situation in Sudan is very sad. Its important for people to understand that this is a war for resources and not a racial conflict (although still a very bad thing). what Brian Dameron wrote is so correct.  In the United States, if an Arab Sudani were to walk the street, he would look no different then the average African American.

    United States Posted by Abu Fulan on Oct 11, 2004 at 10:18 AM

    A report from Darfur

    Updated Sep 23, 2004, 08:04 am

    1. KHARTOUM, Sudan (FinalCall.com) - The Arab/African identity is the term constructed around the language the people speak—not their race. All of them speak Arabic, so they all considered themselves Arabs. However, to further distinguish those tribes who retain their local and Arabic language, those tribes are called African. The conflict is not ethnic—they are one people.

    2. The recent conflict was instigated by a rebel movement that began attacking police and government officials in Darfur around the same time that the ceasefire was being signed to end the civil war between the north and the south. In one of the earlier clashes, the rebels attacked Elfasher Airport, killing 75 policemen and taking an air commander hostage with them.

    3. The Darfur region is abundantly rich in natural resources such as gold, iron and copper. Also, the region is an immense source of oil and underground water that has yet to be tapped for usage.

    4. The recent fighting is rooted in historical clashes between tribes that have been going on for the past 400 years between nomads and farmers who compete for water and land resources. This is not a new conflict.

    5. The so-called “janjaweed,” to which news reports refer, are a renegade element of the Popular Defense Force (PDF). The PDF, which is comprised of both Arab and African tribes, is a long-standing program where the government recruits local tribal members who assist the military in resolving conflicts—a common practice in many other countries. The PDF has taken advantage of the chaos, seeking self-interest in attacking civilians in order to gain property.

    6. ALL OF THE TRIBES FIGHTING IN THE DARFUR REGION ARE MUSLIMS, WHICH DISPELS THE NOTION PUT FORTH BY WESTERN MEDIA THAT THE CONFLICT IS DRIVEN BY ISLAMIC AGGRESSION. THERE ARE NO RELIGIOUS UNDERTONES IN THIS FIGHTING. IT IS A FIGHT OVER THE ABUNDANT RESOURCES WITHIN THE REGION.

    7. The word janjaweed is a new term, not found in a dictionary, which is generally applied to outlaws traveling on horseback to rob and attack people. It is not the formal name of an isolated Arab militia newly formed by the government to specifically kill Black Africans.

    8. The United States of America has had sanctions on The Sudan since the early 1990s, restricting U.S. firms from doing business and trading with the country.

    9. Many news reports in Western media do not show pictures of Sudanese leadership. Because the president and vice president look like Black people in America, their images would contradict the media’s emphasis that the Khartoum government is led by light-skinned Arabs who are against Black people. This media black-hole conjures up images of Arab shop-keepers in Black communities who often resemble White-looking Arabs.

    Nine things that we were told

    1. When news reports condemned the Khartoum government for refusing humanitarian aid, we were told by a Sudanese official that they in fact had rejected Genetically Modified (GM) food because of its potential harmful effects on future agriculture. The humanitarian aid groups told the government that the GM food was safe, but would not produce a certificate confirming its safety. However, after overwhelming pressure, the Sudanese government gave in and accepted the GM food.

    2. Although news reports highlight the janjaweed riding on horseback reeking havoc, they fail to note that the rebels are driving humvees and are fighting the military using weaponry much more sophisticated than those used by the military, one Sudanese military official told us.

    3. The central government in Khartoum, the capital of The Sudan, is diverse, made up of both African and Arab tribes on all levels of national, regional and local leadership. Local leaders in Darfur told us that there are inequalities and feel that the central government does not give enough attention to the problems of development within the Darfur region.

    4. Instead of picking up guns to fight the central government, these local leaders (which we met with) have formed a political lobby to press the central government for greater equalities. They positively believe that the rebels and janjaweed cannot be disarmed without their help.

    5. One Sudanese government official told us that the administration rejects peacekeeping troops because he said “This is an African problem that should be and can be solved by Africans.” They acknowledge that they need help with communication and transportation supplies and materials, and welcome the help of the African Union to mediate, but they will not compromise the sovereignty of their country to Western and Zionist interests.

    6. Although the Khartoum government sustained criticisms for the difficulties international groups had entering with humanitarian aid, part of the problem is the defunct railway system due to the lack of spare parts needed to fix it. These parts cannot be brought into the country for they are manufactured by the Unites States-based company General Motors, and current sanctions prohibit such transactions. While the Sudanese government suspended their customs, immigration, road weights and port laws to give these humanitarian aid groups 100 percent access, the United States government has not been willing to lift existing sanctions which would facilitate their travel in the country. The lifting of the sanctions will bring much needed spare parts to fix the railway system—they are now relying on goods being transported by airplane and limited roads.

    7. The Sudanese government refused claims that 50,000 people had been killed in the Darfur conflict and maintain that approximately 5,000 people have been killed.

    8. The Sudanese government estimates about 1 million people out of the 6 million that live in Darfur are internally displaced as a result of the conflict—not the 1.5 million reported by international groups. They also said that there are no more than 150,000 refugees in Chad—not the 250,000 to 300,000 being reported. The Sudan is the largest country on the African continent and Darfur is the size of France.

    9. Even though the government has been charged with not working to resettle the displaced people back in their villages, a government official told us that during a meeting with several international aid groups, they were told that they do not have the funds to give the Sudanese government to implement the resettlement plan. What the donors have given them thus far has only been able to take care of 20 percent of the needs of the displace people—food, shelter, clothing and medicine.

    The Sudan needs help, not sanctions!

    http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_1581.shtml

    United States Posted by John B on Nov 2, 2004 at 8:24 AM

    This conflict is not how the media is portraying it. It appears that this conflict is between light skinned blacks and dark skinned blacks. The media is trying to portray this conflict as a “race issue” because of two reasons. One reason is that the reputation of arabs is not that good. The other reason is that the media want to defuse the tension between whites and blacks and turned into “blacks vs. arabs”. It is too bad that many people are believing this without looking at the facts themselves.

    United States Posted by tim on Nov 20, 2004 at 11:10 PM

    I think and according to the UN Secretary while officiating the first conference on the security council in Nairobi Kenya said that the African problems are to be solved by the Africans before going out for the international help.

    I see this as a good focussed point more so when the problem has been engineered by the Sudanese themselves. There is a lot of suffering in that Sudanese base. A call to the goverment of Sudan is that they have to sort out their own problems before engaging and they should know that the world wont wait any longer for the deaths to supercede the already existing numbers.

    Somoni Birundu
    Journalist Nairobi Kenya

    United States Posted by SOMONI BIRUNDU on Nov 29, 2004 at 3:00 AM

    The conflict in sudan is a race issue. If “light skin blacks” have lost there culture, and identify themselfs as none africans. It becomes a race issue. If I went out and killed people that are all darkskin people am I not discriminating according to race. Wake up people… We need to show support to the victims and let the guilty know that we do not and will not support the murdering of over 2 million black people.

    United States Posted by neal on Jan 4, 2005 at 9:42 PM

    According to Neal, then the African Americans are not black either. They have also lost their culture and language. Then why are they still called black.

    United States Posted by Tim on Jan 8, 2005 at 3:12 PM

    yes.. technically and technically no. we are yellow, red, brown and yes black. but above all we an are africans who happend to be in america… if you studied the willie lynch letters titled “how to make a slave” written in 1712 you will know and understand the scope of the problem. The late Malcolm-X said “ you can not hate the root of the tree with hating your self.” If you hate Africa you are hating your self. If you of African decent or African and say you hate Africa then you are hating your self. There are many brain washed people in the world that thinks it is a curse to be called Africans… beware.. all yourself to be tricked and you allow your self to be enslaved again… We can forgive but we will never forget!!!!

    United States Posted by neal kelley on Jan 9, 2005 at 8:16 AM

    African Americans have been defined as black because of the American system if racial classification. Study and come to this understanding… We are an African people.. which comprise of black brown red and yellow. Are you to tell me that what we call light skin.. is Black. Then why do we call them “high yellow” or “Red Bone”. It is a myth that is propetuated by the raceist american system that all very dark people are Africans and everyone else is not.

    United States Posted by neal kelley on Jan 9, 2005 at 8:23 AM

    To suggest that this is strictly an Arab/African conflict is very misleading. Clearly, the overriding factor has been control of the resources; and yes, the leaders of the Sudanese gov’t do ‘look’ black.  However, one should not forget the history that Arabs(When I say Arab I mean of Persian decent) have had with Black Africa. Arabs have been historically the most brutal slave-traders of Black Africans in history, and in fact they have done everything in their power to rid blacks of their history..i.e. Egypt! Not only that, but Arabs, much like the White Europeans have also brought with them a religion meant to ‘arabicize’ the barbarians of Africa! African’s have had their own sense of spirituality and history tells us that of the remaining semitic languages of the world, most of them are confined to Africa! So yes, what this suggests is that the language used in the old testament has origins in Black Africa. If u don’t believe me read “Jarred Diamond: Guns, Germs, and Steel”! Why then do the Arabs feel the need to continue to ‘oppress’ blacks...or in their words ‘civilize’ black Africans! Islam is an Arab religion and has brought to Africa nothing but ‘jihads’that have killed off many of our people! When will black people realize this? Like ‘christianity’, Islam has done nothing but created a ‘burden’ for the black man..as evidenced by the North-South divisions in many african countries! If christianity and Islam were not there, we could truly unite!

    Canada Posted by kofi on Feb 9, 2005 at 8:26 PM

    I agree with you 200 percent.

    France Posted by neal kelley on Feb 10, 2005 at 7:17 AM

    kofi:

    Thanks for confirming my observations of Black/Arab relations from an historical perspective.  My post in response to this article (9-14-04)explained the current Black/Arab experience in many of our communities and your post backs it up perfectly.

    United States Posted by theloneous on Feb 10, 2005 at 8:52 AM

    This post is in response to Kofi. What is “Persian” decent. Persian and Arab are completely different things. Persian refers to the people of Babylonian empire, which now is Iran. Arabs are semitic people but the Persian belong to completely different family. Arab refers to culture and language not “race”. Islam is for all types of people. That was the reason that Muslims are everywhere from Morrocco in the west to Indonesia in the East. Who said Islam is a Arab religion? It is true that it started in Middle East. But didn’t christianity and Judaism also started in Middle East.

    United States Posted by Tim on Feb 27, 2005 at 12:25 AM

    The Arab sudanese are also black. Just because they speak Arabic and identify with Arabic culture does not make them less “black”. The African Americans in America speak English but they are still black. If tomorrow an African American were to kill somebody from Africa, we will not say that an English has killed a black person. It is amazing how ignorance and lack of knowlege among many people has turned this situation into “racial conflict”. Race is an European construct. It applies to people who are originally from Africa and have so called “black features”. Clearly the Arab Sudanese meet both of these conditions. It works well when we use it in U.S. But the issue of race becomes very muddy when we apply it to non-western places. It is funny that African Americans often refer to Egypt as a black civilization even though the ancient Egyptions looked like the present day “black Arabs”. IF the Sudanese are not black, then the ancient Egyptions were not black either.

    United States Posted by Tim on Feb 27, 2005 at 7:21 PM

    I can’t say that Arabs are apprehensive towards Blacks.  I just came back from Iraq where they embraced Blacks as brothers.  They were more apprehensive towards the whites because the whites were the ones mistreating them.  I have also had contact with Arabs elsewhere and have been treated as a friend rather than an enemy.  Even in the ghetto where I was born and raised, I was treated as a friend rather than an enemy.  Maybe it was because I treated them as equals and not as a race that was beneath me.  Maybe if everyone treated each other better, we wouldn’t have these “problems”.  Or maybe, I just came in contact with the right people.  Who knows?

    As for the situation that is taking place in Sudan, I would like to say that it is a tragedy.  Enslavement is bull**** no matter who does it.  Mistreament because of color is bull****, no matter how you slice it.  I condemn the people who are in support of this.  May the hand of Allah (God) smite them for their wicked ways!

    Love one another…

    United States Posted by Matt Herring on Mar 5, 2005 at 1:34 PM
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