I received an email that I would like to respond to on my blog.
Salaam Umm Adam,
Let me first say that I am happy that you are taking the time to answer my questions. No worry, you do not have to be an expert to answer my questions I just would like to know your opinions.Due conversations with acquaintances, friends and even family members who have worked in the Middle-East and my own brief experience in Dubai, I am now under the impression that many Arabs have negative if not very racist attitudes towards Africans (also South-Asians and Filipinos).
I have heard stories from Somali and Ethiopian refugees now living in the DC area of young Saudi kids insulting them or sometimes throwing rocks at them while walking on the streets.
Filipina domestics physically beaten, raped or going months without pay.
South-Asian workers not paid but still required to work under the burning sun.
Africans being constantly being called “abeed” by young and old.
My brother-in-law’s mother (Chadian) cannot count the number of times she was called “abeed” or “zurga” and was even deported because she complained about the fact that her employer had not paid her for several months.I used to think that the Saudis would be more tolerant because a significant part of the Saudi population appears to be African or at least of mixed-heritage. But I guess colorism amongst Saudis is probably as bad as it is amongst Indians.
As a black-American woman living in KSA, what’s your impression? Are you treated relatively well? What is your relation with Afro-Saudis? How do your kids interact with local kids?
Thanks for your thoughts.
BTW: Great blog!
Wow! This is a really heavy topic. I actually am not the best person to answer this question. My family has not personally experienced situations like those you have heard of. I have heard of similar stories, but not first hand accounts. Always people who know someone that had this happen to them. I don’t doubt it happens. Unfortunately, racism and nationalism are evils from their pre-Islamic lifestyles that remain in their culture to this day. You will find that the more religious try harder to treat everyone fairly and just.
My family has many Saudi acquaintances. That’s as close as it gets. It’s hard to consider them close companions even though they are very good to us. Saudis are tribal so you won’t get too close. They usually are only close with family, it’s not racist just reality.
It is true that Saudi has a large population of African descendants as well as mixed heritage nationals. I have seen blacks in very prominent positions here. They are given the same opportunities as anyone else. Here it is all about wasta (connections) and there are blacks with wasta too.
Colorism, is an issue here. This week I’ve gone to two walima’s (wedding parties). I don’t ordinarily mix with Afro-Saudis but this week I did. The first wedding was an all black wedding. There were a handful of non-black guest (mostly trashy Arabs) a disturbing amount of morbidly obese people, and a few non-black wives.
Last night’s walima was for a mixed heritage cousin from the same family. Marrying a white (that’s what they call them not me) Saudi. The venue and guest were very different than the previous. The hall was very elegant and posh. The guest were mostly mixed heritage and white. The women’s dresses and makeup were tasteful, they appeared healthier and in better shape. The black cousins from the previous walima were there. They self segregated themselves and took wall seats and remained fully veiled the entire night. I could not help to make this observation, because the night before they were flaunting their tackiness. It was obvious that they felt completely out of their element and also obvious that the majority mixed raced cousins were trying to distance themselves from the black side of the family as much as possible. I think Tariq Nelson does an excellent job explaining this phenomenal on his blog, The New ‘Passing’ .
I was once befriended by an Afro-Saudi family. They wanted me to find them white husbands. Their mixed cousins (Syrian mom/Afro-Saudi dad) came right out and told me that they wanted to lighten the family up. They were making progress and not going back. With their black father dead and out of the picture they blended in just fine. The oldest son took dad’s job at the oil company, the house was paid for upon his death, the government supported them, and the father’s/son’s boss married his white daughter to the son and since I couldn’t/wouldn’t find white husbands for the daughters they have all settled for white Saudis. There will be no trace of black in their family, and they want it that way.
I was hesitant to discuss this topic on my blog. I am asked it so much. I don’t think blacks are treated nearly as bad as other nationalities. African Americans are known to whip out their passports as soon as they detect a problem, so maybe we can not fully relate. Saudis are more nationalistic than racist. Even the blacks love their country. The hit song last night was called Ashsha Saudiyyah (Long Live Saudi). Once the the band played that everybody jumped up, many pulled out national flags, and even the people who were just sitting danced on that one.
[...] And you still deny it? For those that denied that “The New Passing” exists, check out this post [...]
Umm Adam
You haven’t done it intentionally, but your children will be able to successfully “pass” in Saudi society as well and do pretty well, Insha Allah
“There will be no trace of black in their family.” Aaah too bad it isn’t that simple, sooner or later the black gene will show up (we see African roots in our Arab, Middle Eastern, and SE Asians sisters & brothers all the time).
Volume 8, Book 82, Number 830:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
A bedouin came to Allah’s Apostle and said, “My wife has delivered a black child.” The Prophet said to him, “Have you camels?” He replied, “Yes.” The Prophet said, “What color are they?” He replied, “They are red.” The Prophet further asked, “Are any of them gray in color?” He replied, “Yes.” The Prophet asked him, “Whence did that grayness come?” He said, “I thing it descended from the camel’s ancestors.” Then the Prophet said (to him), “Therefore, this child of yours has most probably inherited the color from his ancestors.”
[...] in his blog entry,And you Still Deny it. His short entry directs us to Umm Adam’s blog entry Racism and Colorism in Saudi. Time and time again, we read about negative perceptions of African Americans. Dozens of African [...]
Assalamu ‘alaikum,
Stumbled upon your blog and been hooked ever since. I value your honesty and openness in tackling sensitive issues.
Black people and people of African descent have always had a hard time integrating especially when they find themselves in homogenous societies. In places like US, Canada, and UK it’s not much of a problem because of high population of black people. But in places like South east Asia, middle east, and the like it’s near impossible to be fully accepted as ‘one of us’.
I spent over a decade in Malaysia, spoke the language fluently and all, yet, wherever I went, it’s like the word ‘alien’ was tattooed on my forehead. It wasn’t easy growing up. In school the other children used to point and chant, “Negro, negro.” The adults, well, they just whispered to eachother whenever the family went out. All through my stay the foreigners all sort of stucked together… formed their own community. I’m back in my country now. Unfortunately I haven’t completely gotten rid of the ‘feeling of being watched’ feeling.
They were polite, don’t get me wrong. But from a distance. Just not welcoming enough in a here-marry-my-sister way.
I personally feel African Americans have a better choice than Africa Africans considering the socio economic situations in their countries. So unlike Africa Africans who would rather die or be second-class citizens than return to their home country, at least African Americans have a choice. And for that, they should be thankful. For instance I was once harassed by a security official in Dubai because I carried a Nigerian passport. I doubt I would have gone through the same scrutiny if I were carrying an American passport.
It’s all complicated, really. Even here in Africa in some societies light skinned women have more appeal.
Tariq, they couldn’t pass at the walima. Poor things are rhythmically challenged, but they got that from me. I know I’m a real disgrace.
Bint Will, good to see you! For a minute I thought you were gonna post that ‘other’ hadeeth. The one that explains why your kids look like you or dh…that one can be so embarrassing at times!
Bubbles, that is one of my mothers nicknames! true, its a big difference in being african and African American. For one most african’s don’t accept us. Last week I had some friends over at trhe swim pool. One was a Nigerian family and the other was an Arab. My Arab friend looked at the little boy and say, “He is so cute, reminds me of a little Toby?” I was like, “aysh?” She said, “you know the movie ROOTS?” I just smiled at her. Then he walked over to us and she said, “I found you Kunte Kinta!” and bust up laughing. I told her that I’m sure thet would not find that funny and would be offended, if they even knew who she was refering to. I then went on to explain to her how it’s one thing for us to joke amongsy our own people but for her to do it was unacceptable. She looked at me, laughed and said, “your own people. I don’t think so – look how light you are!”
I would love to read more about your stay in Malaysia.
assalamu alikeum
Umm Adam, how do you keep cool with the behaviour and attuides you’ve just described? When people think its okay to be racist, especially when they don’t see you as ‘black’? Do your kids experience or hear things like your conversation with the arab lady (more child version though), like kids being racist infront of your kids and thinking its ok because your kids are light skinned and it dont apply to them? Things like what you described is just another reminder for me why i’ll never live or raise any kids in the M.E (i did when i was younger but that was down to parents. Needless to say we got treated like shit and still would be had my parents stayed).
As for your claim that most africans dont accept you sis, i know they are some problems between AA’s and some africans in the disporia and some do fall into the trap of believing the sterotypes of AA’s but if you went to an african country and met africans living at home, i gurautee you would welcomed with open arms and loved. They’d be none of the issues that you find between AA’s and africans in the west. The arab north africans, mixed bunch- you’d find alot with same attuides as gulf arabs regarding black people, very colour struck etc.. but they’re overall alot better than arabs in the gulf or from the al shaam region. Saudi is a very short distance from the african contienent. Maybe you should come over sometime with the kids and explore the motherland of your forefathers
My children and even my nephew are teased for being American – not for being black. The white American’s actually get it worse than blacks. Blacks blend in here well until they open their mouths. Saudis don’t do difference well. Why do you think they all dress alike?
As far as ppl not considering me black. My husbands theory is that they prefer to call me wheat, because if they considered me black than they would be forced to accepot that most khaleeji arabs are black. Khallejis are mostly brown skin. If a Hindi and a Khalleji dressed the same and stood in a line up it would be har to tell them apart. However, the woman who made the comment was Labenese…white as snow in comparison. She’s a good friend and didn’t mean any harm. She thought it was cute. My husband actually says much worse. Question is how do I stay cool when he makes comments! Today, in the car I was telling him the story of a mixed man who mother was married to a white man (she’s white) and had an affair with a black man and lied and said that he was her white husbands child. he was raised thinking he was white with a skin disorder. My husband said, “you mean a mulatto? why don’t you just say mulatto”. I asked him why doesn’t he call his kids mulattos and he was like cuz I just call them my kids. I’m not sure, if he said anything wrong. it’s just that the only white ppl I hear saying mulatto are racist pigs and at the moment it sounded racist to me.
Wow. I have heard about the attitude of Khallijis and Saudis but never experienced it so I couldnt comment, but my stay in Egypt sure did open my eyes toward the view of Arabs to race. Light skin will get you real far, and being a dark skinned desi wont really though you could pass as as Masri, but there is a lot of racism. Once, I got into a confrontation with some youths who were throwing stones at this tall blue black dinka lady and then they proceeded to throw rocks at me. Man, I wish I kept a blog back then.
Salaams
as salaamu alaikum sister,
your blog posting along with br. Tariq’s post on the “new passing” (I know you two have different views on it) led me to wonder what affect this might have on the
future of African American literature since it seems like this will become one of the growing issues the community and its writers will have to address.
LOL, so I get the impression that along with lightening themselves up, the mixed raced members also managed to also cancel out the ‘ghetto-ness’ that inflicts the darker members of the family?
Is it just this family, or have you noticed a connection between darker saudis and tackiness and bad health in general? Or does it extend to the world at large maybe? I’m wondering what one of your daughter’s blog would look like? Hmmmm…..
Umm Adam, I’ve been around on the DL *SMILE*.
I’m not certain about that hadith anymore (re children looking like the father). I kid you not, all of my father’s grandchildren look EXACTLY like him, with the exception of one set, they look like their mother’s mother. Some of the grands are half Arab (brother’s wife is a Christian Arab, very beautiful family); half Domican; and half Italian. When alll of the children are together, it si very difficult to tell who belongs to whom. My eldest neice is 19, and we are often mistaken for one another.
I have a twin brother, he’s very pale like our father we look nothing alike. Ironically, one of my younger brothers and I could pass for twins.
Salaam Umm Adam,
Thanks again for answering my questions and maybe you have opened a can of worms. If your personal observations truly reflect reality then they paint a pretty bleak picture on how Afro-Saudis and Africans are perceived in the KSA.
You said:
“I have seen blacks in very prominent positions here. They are given the same opportunities as anyone else.” Even though I do not live in the KSA and I shall disagree with you on that one. Seeing a few Afro-Saudis in prominent positions does not mean that they are getting the same opportunities as their “lighter or non-African” countrymen.
We can use the USA as an example. Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell and C. Rice have or had prominent positions. The only Afro-Saudis I have often seen on TV or in the news in prominent roles are the former
US ambassador prince Bandar (I do not know if he considers himself black) and players of the national soccer team (I am a big soccer fan).
You said:
“I was once befriended by an Afro-Saudi family. They wanted me to find them white husbands. Their mixed cousins (Syrian mom/Afro-Saudi dad) came right out and told me that they wanted to lighten the family up.
They were making progress and not going back.”
Making progress!! This awful statement tells me that some Afro-Saudis think that the only way is to really make progress is not through getting an education, acquiring skills or through business but by “marrying white”. That sounds like the “slave mentality” that could be the result of “White or light-skinned Arab” supremacy in the KSA (I am speculating). Unfortunately, the same kind of thinking is present amongst some African-Americans and Latinos.
You said:
“It was obvious that they felt completely out of their element and also obvious that the majority mixed raced cousins were trying to distance themselves from the black side of the family as much as possible.”
Is this colorism or classism? Either way, it is pretty bad.
You said:
“Saudis are more nationalistic than racist. Even the blacks love their country.”
African-Americans fought in the first and second world war even though Jim Crow was alive and well. If Saudis were more nationalistic, they would treat all foreigners with suspicion or poorly. How do explain the fact that Saudis often treat “White Europeans” like “royalty” but Africans, South Asians and Filipinos are “almost like dirt”.
You said:
“My Arab friend looked at the little boy and say, “He is so cute, reminds me of a little Toby?” I was like, “aysh?” She said, “you know the movie ROOTS?” I just smiled at her. Then he walked over to us and she said, “I found you Kunte Kinta!” and bust up laughing.”
What?? I really and truly hope that this lady does not represent the general attitudes towards Blacks in Saudi society.
asiyasmom…I know u aint trippin…lol! Really I hope u didnt take that the wrong way. i gave the comparison cuz thats what i observed. It was like going aka’s vs sigma gamma rhos or wannabes vs jiggaboos. Again, no offensie intended…i’m just trying to paint a picture. I have not noticed tacky before this date. Like I said, they had weaves even hoodrats wouldn’t wear. Usually I see yawn weaved in the little girls hair and that is sad but permissable. But the cheap plastic hair was tacky and haram. I mentioned obesity cuz it correlated with Tariq’s post where his main point was the connection between higher ses and inter racial marriage. We all know poor ppl are more obese (another one of his blog entries.). I was tying in all in togther, but if you haven’t read his blog u woulnd’t get it. Not all black saudis are fat. Saudis in general have health issues. Its rare to see them just right. If you see a group first thing u will notice is that they are either grossly over weight or underweight.
my own daughters blog would be sad. her issues come stright from my house. my nephew hates her and tries to bring her down as low as he can. he teases her about being chubby, he tries to convince her that she is ugly, dumb and fat. he always ask me why did i marry a white man and have stupid white kids. so we got our ownissues we are dealing with. we don’t need outside pressure. only once did she lash out and make a racist statent and that was because he kept alling her white girl and saying how he hated white ppl..he wouldnt stop until she screamed she hated black ppl. then she broke down and cried andtold me it wasnt true she was just mad and she insisted she was black and white and loved all of allah’s creation. while i’, typing tjis and she doesnt know what i am typing…she whines and hands me a sheet of paper and says, “mommy look what [nephew] wrote about me]”. its a sheet of paper that has a picture of a miss piggy looking person he drew and on it has her name and says “i’m hungry! i always want food!” i was cleaning his room and found a sheet of paper undr his bed with duas and curses against everybody but me, him, and adam. he asked that allah give my daughtewr a painful and horrible death wa authoobillahi min thalik…so as u can see i got my hands full. i cant even go o the bathroom without locking my kids in my room or locking himin his room.
subhanaallah i digress
Subhanallah, my daughter is drawing a bad picture with my nephews name on it. I just told her, that just because he we nasty doesn’t mean that she has to be too. When will I start taking my own advice!
It gets worst! I tried to take the paper from her and she said, “mommy that’s not fair…I want to keep doing this until he says I’m sorry”. Wallahi, I did not teach that to her! Allahu Musta’aan.
Assalamu Alaykum
When I live\ed in saudi Arabia I didnt feel slighted because of my color. Maybe i was color blind myself back then but I never felt any discrimination from the saudi women because of my skin color.
They treated me like a sister/daughter/best friend. Maybe it depends where you reside in the mumlika because I was in Madeenah. Allahu Alim but I never felt any racism.
As for your issues with your childen. May Allah make that easy for you.
Your nephew is only a reflection of his upbringing..and forgive me sister..but you raised him. What did you do?…Or didnt you do to cause him to have such an angry attitude towards your husband and children? Your husband sounds rather ignorant. To me you seem like a strong woman of color. whether you are wheat, coco or ebony. What have you done to influence your husband? Maybe him seeing your husband say dubious things(mulatto??!) hasnt helped him. Maybe he feels like the ugly duckling because he is the only “black” family member. I mean if you “pass”.Your kids “pass” then what about him?
Dont be mad at me for pointing out what I see. I have three children. I call them my Benetton kids due to the advertising campaign of United Colors of Benetton. My three sons all vary in complexion. One is ‘red bone”..another a rich lovely chocolate. I have worked very hard to give each child self esteem as relates to themselves and their brothers. As a result I never hear my children tease eachother because of color.Now they tease eachother due to fat or bad haircuts but never ever complexion.
I also have a 2 yr old. He is bi-racial. He looks like his rather white skinned latino father. He takes after his father. One of my biggest worries was how would my children react to a child that was so obviously different. Alhamdulillah they have had No issues at all. They call him their little puertorican brother and thats cool with me. Spanish people think Im panamanian. They are surprised when i tell them i am jamaican with a cuban grandfather. My point? Its all down to you and what they see in their environment and you being the parent get to control that environment.
Last note..i was married to a white brother who was racist. I consider him racist because he referred to black people as monkeys. When I stepped to him about it…he said i was different. i was ‘alright”.
Suffice it to say i kicked him to the kerb and kept it moving….
MV
lol, we have light-skinned, green/grey-eyed people here in Nigeria and they are not mixed. There’s so much diversification. My Dad has soft curly hair, not the typical nappy head and he’s as dark as night. I read somewhere that there is more genetic diversification among Africans than there are between African’s and other races.
Anyway, as for Africans not liking African Americans, that would be an unfair generalization. Though I won’t doubt your own experiences. I’ll be outright honest with you in saying I haven’t liked (on a personal level) the African American’s I’ve come across either. Maybe I’m just unlucky, I don’t know. But one thing I observed is they look down on Africans. That puts me off. They see us as inferior. One AA woman was actually outraged my Dad beat her in scrabble! Lol, they take the loin-cloth-wearing, tree-swinging, living-in-huts thing too another extreme.
Muslim-gal is right. One thing I do know is that Africans are very accomodative of others. It’s not a sly politeness but a genuine openess, generousity and curiosity. It’s when Africans venture out they become something else. Perhaps it’s a coping mechanism, I don’t know.
Saudis and Gulf arabs generally dislike anyone NOT from the Gulf. And if you are Saudi, then the superiority complex extends to those Gulf arabs that aren’t saudi either. Non-Saudi/Gulf arabs experience tremendous racism in Saudi Arabia like others do, and in terms of the racist laws, it extends to them too. You’ll never see a Saudi being given justice if he harms a non-Saudi.
They have the worst and lowest reputation amongst all the arabs for their racist, arrogant behavior.
walakum as.sallam
Okay time out a bit
this is hilourious!
What is it with the exception of the few like me who aint prejudice ( I hate everyone) they always harp on about others hang ups. Especially colour and sex related issues. Funnily enough they miss their own rasicts/sexist same attitudes when they post replies or are in a conversation.
Like when black salafi brothers say a white arab brother can’t use the word nigga not cos its not an islamic thing to do but cos he aint “black”
LOL
when people can really say whats on their mind and not be shy of the fact that they are sexist or racist to some degree the quick we can get over this stuff. It is foriegn to Islam yes but Muslims are people and people have failings. I don’t think that the mjority of arabs or other muslims have sexism or racism issue that will drive them like in the west it drives people to do crazy things. MUSLIM WALHAMDUILLAH USUALLY HAVE SOME RESTRAINT DUE TO THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF ISLAM.
the stronger it is teh stronger their will is to avoid this type of behaviour.
however Arabs are tribal and continue to be and discriminate upon these grounds even today and yes in KSA between themselves.
Colour plays a factor too as does sex but that is teh world over
what is it that makes black salafi brothers and sisters spend so much time on these topics and make comments even regarding their Muslim brothers and Sisters which fall into back biting.
Grow up!Smell the coffee !!
Your trials are from Allah and you will be tested even though you said you believe. You will not answer for those others!!
Actually its smakcs of an old hang over that you have from Jahiliyyah
also the idea that people are called slave cos they are black in saudi to their face is a complete joke.
More worrying is when you see the AA or more laughable “africa africans” talkking about I would live in the Middle east because of the racism.
LOl I hate that they are always crap with time and worse with adminsitration but i came here as a matter of Deen. Would I let those frustration cause me to leave!!
Seems to me that many are just using the skin colour on both sides to divide themselves from the rest and set themselves up for special treatment
Affirmative Action anyone??
LOL
Please,
where on earth do you all find the time for all this stuff after your reversion to islam?
Assalamu Alaykum
I just realized something. A lot of people who comment on blogs are inane individuals with no sense of self. Using words and phrases that are unfamiliar to their native tongue in order to seem”with it”, The funny thing is they just sound dated.
I just wanted to say that as well as this.
What exactly is “nappy” hair? And what is wrong with having the kind of hair that would be described as nappy? can someone tell me because I don’t see why anyone would mention nappy in a negative sense and believe that they are able to comment on other blacks.
Nigerians that are light skinned and green eyed are the result of some genetic mixing down the line. If you think that its natural for a black person to have light skin and green eyes without some colonial brewing having gone it…then you are kidding yourself.
Nigerians are well known to be a nation of crooks. I saw it working in the criminal justice system in the Uk and I see it in the USA. The government are corrupt and a significant number of the people with the ability to do something productive tend to deal in fraud.How many letters have YOU received recently claiming to have millions of dollars in unclaimed funds. Maybe thats why African Americans look down on africans(Altho I must say this isn’t
true as I see it)
As for the N word.I dont care who uses it. Black , white or arab.Its a word that needs to have janazah prayed over it. Its NEVER ok to use.It was used as a slur on a black person and I dont buy into its use no matter who uses it.
I just wanted to add that to the mix.
Wsalaam
PS. Blog Umm A!
as.sallamulaykum
wow MV, you really go in on the nigerians, thats what I mean. when people can embrace, as you have here, that they are not faultless and prone to making sweeping judgements and prejudiced statements then we will have more real discussions.
It seems lost on others that having gone in on the brothers for using the word Nigga you make it something never to be done saying
”
Its NEVER ok to use.It was used as a slur on a black person and I dont buy into its use no matter who uses it.”
What about your previous slur on Nigerians that they are all out crooks!!
Talk about the kettle calling the pot a darker shade of white.
i am all for not using terms that Islam would deem as impermissible but most people do. I would desist as would most Salafis, when reminded of the bad Akhlaq of using such terms. However its painfull to respect a person who says that u can’t use it in an agreeable sense just because you don’t say it right ( meaning your colour is the wrong shade of brown.)
As for talking about nappy headedness, then what’s wrong with that if its meant to show that people with Afrro have bad hair days like everyone else. I however must say that in my experiance most Afro haired people tend to have better hair care and styles than the average bear, yogi.
It makes me cringe right now that black muslims are reading that and thinking that I am condesending. When will people start to realise that what was your hang up before you became a muslim should by now have been swopped for the hang up of ” Is it cos i IS muslim?”
I have a serious question to add…
Why is it that when the youth of America had a chance to totally debase all the ‘we had it bad for 400 years’ stuff and started to do so by “OWNING” the N word; showing the people that black doesn’t equate to being a ghetto jo or ho then everyone did a U turn and got all politically correct.
Snoop and others were making waves and I for one think that ( muslims aside) they should have been allowed to ride it to the beach instead of being pulled down by some middle class princeton intellectuals. They in my opinnion did more to raise the self worth and image of young Blacks in the states than any of your intellectual middle class clowns.
Final Word……
Tell it how its is!!
mock urself and those who mock with their own mockery!!
Be big enough to know that just as you are no more inferior than any other race you are no more superior or cooler.
Its only harmfull because we allow it to be. Take the sting out of those words by overusage and contextual changes so that over time what was once ‘bad’ comes to mean ‘good’
was.sallam
Sham(Your names way too long for me to retype)
Im not going to retract what I said. Heres the statement that I made before. Read it again.
“Nigerians are well known to be a nation of crooks. I saw it working in the criminal justice system in the Uk and I see it in the USA. The government are corrupt and a significant number of the people with the ability to do something productive tend to deal in fraud.How many letters have YOU received recently claiming to have millions of dollars in unclaimed funds. Maybe thats why African Americans look down on africans(Altho I must say this isn’t
true as I see it)”
1. Nigeria is one of the most corrupt nations in the world.Corruption is rampant from the floor up. I said a SIGNIFICANT number of the people TEND to deal in fraud. Therefore you can take it to mean that a SMALLER amount do not.This is well known. I knew LOADS of Nigerians and they were ALL up to no good. Only a small number werent. Thats MY experience and if Im lying then go to the Government of Nigeria and ask them how their anti-corruption efforts are going?
As for the N word. Its not ok.That old we claiming it back is such a crock.
We claiming it back so we can use it on each other. I heard that argument from a mexican guy that i know. He said the same thing and I told him the same thing I said here.Its never ok to use that word.With all the words in our language..why claim a word that was designed to hurt and degrade others.
Please dont even try with the nappy hair is about bad hair days.Its not about that. Nappy is a terms thats used in a degrading way when it comes to black hair. Nappy meaning that the kink is so strong and rough so to make it nappy.You coulda said kinky. That would have been more honest.
Wsalaam
as.sallamulaykum
what is it with people the net and having there say….
most of whati write is tongue in cheeky but you really go at it with the nigerians.
Just another form of prejudism and I say you’re right not to shy away from it and you would be only human to draw such conclusions on your experiance but why do you prevent others from doing teh same.
Like for example if I was to say that most western sisters don’t know how good they got it and could learn alot from teh non salafi sisters of say Africa in terms of running teh house and treating their man well in respect of the Marriage.
You will see a whole host of people talking a croq cos i said something which altough sweeping and slightly prejudiced is what my experiance leads me to in terms of opinion.
so no don’t take it back
but as for using the N word then I say
hey why not take it back. The more positives that come from negatives the better.
Also there is nothing better than thumbing your nose at old red necks by using the word which you say they invented for the purpose of denigrating a race.
think of their tiny minds and how mad they get when your using the word affectionately when they designed it to harm you.
its like when you stand in the playground and teh bully is like yo momma yo’ momma and you are like yeah so?? he gets so vex that its better than telling him that his momma wishes she was my momma!!
I never used the word nappy it was Amerson or whatever the crackers name is and boy did you guys make him pay for it.
LOL
I searched for the word on the site and it comes up in a post not related to this one so whats yo beef?
black people like whites arabs and others have bad hair days and people with bad hair styles. Do you deny that? so if everyone has it and we all love to comment on them don’t we, whats teh problem if we used a word for bad black hair just as we use words for bad arabs hair such as
it looks like she cut her fringe with a breakfast bowl. ect
its just that with black culture they managed to get it down in one word
nappy
so whats the problem??
As for using kinky then i wouldn’t due to the other use of the word. thats my Lexical choice.
whats yours People?
to shieke or not to sheike, that is the question!
( Well in M/E it is )
Reply Myopic Vision,
I was alluding to the ‘little Toby remark’ UmmAdam wrote about in her entry. My intention was to point out that there is so much diversity within the African community itself that certain stereotypes associated with the African nation does not apply to everyone. If you would have preffered to see the word kinky instead of nappy that’s your choice, not mine.
As for Nigeria being a nation of fraudsters congratulations on your discovery. Whatever helps you sleep better at night!
Ma Salam
The simple solution to anti-black or anti-african attitudes is to treat those the same.
That is justice and law of man. I am tired of this acknowledgement of the problem and no solutions.
If Africans became more anti-arab, you would see arabs changing their attitudes.
I DO NOT BELIEVE IN POLITICAL CORRECTNESS – I BELIEVE IN REALITY.
WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT ONLY HAVE THEMSELVES TO BLAME FOR SUCH TREATMENT!!
SALAAM
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:moQcROUKLZsJ:query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html%3Fres%3D950DE0DD1F39F930A35755C0A960958260+nigeria+most+corrupt+nation&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk&client=firefox-a
Nigeria tops the list of countries that international business people consider the most corrupt, according to a ranking published yesterday by a Berlin-based independent organization, Transparency International.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/gov_cor-government-corruption
latest statistics on above link.
Bubbles..When I was young and non-muslim..I knew an awful lof of nigerians. I guess thats where I got my love of fufu from.I love nigerian food and some elements of nigerian culture.Maybe its a left over from my jamaican upbringing..in that being called a nigerian was considered an insult. The running “joke” was why did nigerians wear socks with sandals. Kinda like the “jokes” that ask why jamaicans have 5 jobs.
I never really found those jokes funny. I guess the attitude I have about race was displayed at the age of 9 when I sat with my multicultural frineds at school lunch and said..if we all come from Adam and eve..then we are all in some way related..therefore we shouldnt hate on eachother.
That was at age 9. What about now?
Personally I could care less about nigerians or poles or chinese.i was just making a point. Do i sleep better as a result of My views? yea course I do. As long as I feel I am true to me..Insha Allah I sleep very well.
As for the word “nappy”..when Don Imus called the women of the Rutgers basketball teacm”Nappy Headed Hoes”..It craused an outcry for good reason.Both were used in a derogative sense. If nappy is used to describe a bad hair day then using the term nappy is supposed to mean that black people have permenantly bad hair days..right? Afrter all what word do we use when we have good hair days? A quote from a newspaper article says this, “Nappy, a historically derogatory term used to describe hair that is short and tightly coiled, “.
Does that seem like a term for a bad hair day?http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/04/12/why_nappy_is_offensive/
Im sorryy that black people try to justify the use of words that dont deserve a place in our lexicon.Im sorry that the terms “nappy” and “Nigga” are justified but thats not what I subscribe to.
Im not racist.I dont harbor nor teach racist views.I dont like any opf the racial slurs used by any race and every opportunity that i find..I lll be the first to say Not nice!
peace
@ Myopic Vision,
All I have to say is if my comment was offensive you only had to point it out and I would have apologized. You didn’t have to go about it tongue in cheek then throw in the factual dress down of corruption in my country! What are you telling me for, anyway? Anyone who needs such information can find loads of it on the net free of charge! I wonder what you would have used to rub on my face if I hadn’t mentioned what country I’m from.
This is my final response to you anyway because I don’t’ see anything positive coming out of our little exchange… let’s stop wasting each other’s time. Let’s both go and read the Qur’an and meditate on our weaknesses… or something!
Barka Jummah!
Assalamu Alaykum Bubbles
I could have said I was offended but I wasnt.How `am i going to be offended with straight up ignorance.
I guess the moral of the story is when you generalie about a group of people..be prepared to be generalised about right back….Just in a more sophisticated factual way.
I told you in order to have you see exactly what you have now seen. Objective reached.
My time wasnt wasted.Every minute in my day is accounted for insha Allah.Interacting with you took about 0.001% of my energy quiotent.Im good.
take care
Wsalaamu alaykum
Bubbles your first reply was best and you should have kept it at that. If someone is trying deliberately to offend you, why give them satisfaction? You are right, nothing positive will come from that particular exhange, so mashallah just move on. BTW, like your blog.
asiyasmom
Asiya–Im not trying to offend her. Why dont you fear Allah when you are accusing people of something thats not true. Thats called backbiting and slander. Read surah Al hujuraat for some understanding.
Wsalaam
@ Myopic Vision
As salaamu alaykum sister, Hey, her name’s not Asiya! That’s her daughter’s name, lol! Hence the screen name “asiyasmom”! Just wanted to clear that up since my name is Asiya and I’ve signed comments on this forum with my name before (as opposed to my blogname “cairowash” or my Kunya which I use now), plus I haven’t commented on this thread and didn’t actually plan on it.
Take care all!
LOL at all of you. Good post, but the fact of the matter is that Arabs did engage in african slave trade and africa has been the world’s punching bag for a long time.
Arabs value light skin and that’s the bottomline. This attitude is also very prevalent in places like pakistan and india. I wonder if it’s because they got their behinds handed to them by europeans?
Maybe women get along better with other women, because they’ve been haven’t been treated as equals for most of recorded history and thus have common ground.
But the men? It’s a wonder we have lasted as long as we have.
Anybody denying racism in the middle east, needs to look up from their newspaper and check out the conditions of asians and africans in the middle east…but most of you will turn the other way because “hey, life’s good for me”. PRetty Islamic.
And whoever said:
“I then went on to explain to her how it’s one thing for us to joke amongsy our own people but for her to do it was unacceptable.”
It may be unacceptable…but it’s also called double standard.
LOL at people living in Saudi and Dubai thinking they’re living this awesome Islamic life…in the most hypocritical place to practice Islam.
Further to my last. LOL at people allowing others to highjack the animal kingdom to create racist terms. Especially one as entertaining, thoughtprovoking, and cute as a monkey.
wa alaykum Assalam Umm Rahmah
I meant to write Umm Asiyah but I couldnt re-edit once it was sent.*smiles*
wow,
this is a great site! i myself am of southern sudanese descent (dinka) and am currently living in khartoum and this whole colour struck issue is dead on. i, am from the south and dark but not as dark as most dinkas and have straight hair (from some nubian and other tribe influence) and fine features and get treated a lot nicer than my 100 percent southern sudanese looking family. people so often forget about the complexities of race outside of europe and america. very interesting! please keep it up.
What’s wrong with saying mulatta?
I call myself that…
as salamu alaikum. in suratul hujaraat, Allah (SWT) says, “O you who believe! let not some men laugh at others; it may be that the latter are better than the former; NOR LET SOME WOMEN LAUGH AT OTHERS; it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by offensive nicknames…and those who do not desist are indeed doing wrong.” S 49:11 and our noble messenger, SAW, said in an authentic hadeeth, “The muslim is he from whose tongue and hand a muslim is safe, and a MUHAAJIR is he who gives up what Allah has prohibited for him.” and again, “He who truly believes in Allah and the last day should speak good or keep silent.” and finally our Lord (Azza wa Jalla) says in suratul al imran, “Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain Paradise.” so let us not forget why we left the USA in the first place, seeking the pleasure of Allah and begging Him to allow us and our families to come to a land of pure tauheed, and masaajid and ulema, and where we could practice our deen hassle free and raise our children upon the Quran and sunnah. and perhaps Allah will cause us to be deprived of such a blessing if we continue to post blogs that are displeasing to Him. being “salafi” means to adhere to the way of the salaf, the first 3 generations in belief, worship, behavior and in our dealings with each other, as sh al uthaymeen (rah) mentions in his fatawa. and a reminder benefits those who truly believe. let us seek sincere repentance during the last days of this blessed month. pray for me
Another interesting blog
wanna read everything
ill be back soon Inshallah
Most you arabs on here are small minded idiots. You hare on Nigerians. You hate on women. Go suck a dick!
les arabes sont des racistes. they are all racist period. they dont like blacks. stay away from arabs. most of them are racist
hello, peace be upon you.. iam a filipino liveing in saudi arabia for 10 years and i had experience racism many times. Despite that iam a muslim 90% of saudi nationals dont treat me as brother in Islam. What i have learn from tthis that arabs specially Saudi nationals are racist to south east asian and they dont follow Islam teachings. It is really true why other countries called these Saudi people “mok mafy” [no brain] and “calb” [dog] for they act as one.
As so many others here have admitted, I, too, have had some recent experiences with racism. I recently made hijrah, and currently live in Egypt. There is such intolerance here for and prejudice against darker-skinned people (even amongst the Egyptians). Unfortunately, if you happen to look anything other than Egyptian and have darker skin, they assume you are Somalian (which is considered a very negative thing here) or American (also considered as an insult). My children are not light nor dark. However, many of their companions happen to have darker complexions which unfortunately draws some unwelcomed attention from other Egyptian teens (and unfortunately some adults as well). One incident occurred while they were sitting in a food court and were approached by a group of young Egyptian males who candidly asked if they were American. After some of them responded in the affirmative, this group of young men had the blatant audacity to exclaim that they (the Egyptians) were better than them (yes, they actually said that). The unfortunate thing is, this is not an isolated incident. This sort of thing happens frequently, often occurring more with Somalian youth. Even the security (those who are supposed to protect) resort to insults thrown at the youth. Egyptian youth can run all over the grass and play soccer, which clearly destroys the grass; however, take the same number of African-American or Somalian youth, and they will disbanded in a heartbeat and probably insulted as well.
I come from an African-American father (about as dark as they come) and a European-American mother, so I have always had an awareness of race for as long as I can remember. My mother (whom I was raised by) always spoke candidly with me about the insecurities of other people with regard to other races. See, that’s just it. I have learned that people who react in such a manner towards other races are simply insecure with themselves. Those who are secure with themselves don’t find the need to ridicule or degrade others.
There is a sickness in people and a disease in their hearts. It truly saddens me that their is so much prejudice in Islaam, when the Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wassallam, clearly stated that the only difference among people lies in their emaan. Unfortunately, this type of attitude will likely persist until the end of time. I pray that Allaah protects us from the ignorance and hatred of others and that those of us who are tested in this manner reign VICTORIOUS!
Lets face reality here folks. Human society always had a hiarcy. It can be based on race, religion, income, education etc. The world today have a racial hiarcy due to the differences between the races when it comes to wealth, military strenght and knowledge (many more factors do exist ofcourse).
The arab countries have a deep and broad extent of racism, especially when it comes to social aspects of society. Different races might have similar rights on the paper but the reality is very different.
The Middle East is the wrong place for an african or an african-american to search for political correctness. People in the Middle East kill eachother over FAR less visible differences than skin colour, there is no such thing as political correctness over there.
The most obvious way to change this injustice is to harden up and improve your own situation in the world. No one in the Middle East is going to lift a finger to help anyone outside his familiy/tribe/people.