On Monday, June 18, 2012 4:33:15 PM UTC-4, Fariduddien wrote:
> The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be with him) said:
>=20
> "All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-=
Ar
> ab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no s=
up
> eriority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white - exce=
pt
> by piety and good action." (Bukhari)
Agreed that "inner beauty" is important. More than piety we would like the =
inside to be filled with love because above piety is love perhaps for love =
is above faith and knowledge and everything else. We are not saying that pe=
ople who have been burned by sunlight cannot be good. We are saying that we=
do not want our people (or any people) suffering from the fate suffered by=
(and the crimes committed by) people who hail from the dark continent. If =
that is happening then there is cause for concern. There is a reason why th=
ere is a phenomenon called "white flight" in the developed and enlightened =
parts of the world. This has been the case throughout history ever since an=
cient times.
Perhaps inner beauty ought to go with exterior beauty. Appearances perhaps =
do matter because since ancient times some people have had their appearance=
s marked to differentiate loving people from hurtful people. This practice =
still goes on unfortunately in less enlightened parts of the world.
If we say that appearances do not matter then we would be lying to ourselve=
s. It is like saying poverty or wealth should not matter. We know that weal=
th drives people to virtue and poverty drives people towards sin (desperati=
on, privation drives people to steal, murder etc.) Similarly a poor appeara=
nce (or poverty of appearance) discourages social cohesion and sharing of l=
ove between peoples. We want our people and all people to be beautiful in a=
ppearance so they can more easily love one another. We would like everyone =
to have the right to be beautiful and to care for their appearance. This me=
ans that people who are already swarthy ought not to be encouraged to move =
to parts of the world which will cause their skin to get burned even more.=
=20
There is a lot of political correctness and fear in the west of saying what=
is true regarding race. This is not the case with the rest of the world. W=
e would like to keep it that way. We don't want to scare or intimidate peop=
le into becoming minority compliant. Our people (and all people) seem to pr=
efer what is fair and we ought to say it without fear of being accused of b=
eing racists. We don't want to hurt others' feelings but we also don't want=
to be forced to become less or accept less. We all find people of all geog=
raphic origins beautiful and attractive but this does not mean we should en=
courage self satisfaction in a people who hail from the most corrosive and =
hot / humid environments.=20
We (and all people) have the right to be fair from the inside and outside. =
We have the right to say that we want shelter from sun burn and we don't wa=
nt our people (or any people) to suffer the heat and infertile lands. We sh=
ould be helping the west in stressing what is wholesome and fair instead of=
imitating them in an insincerity or suffering from the falsehood that migh=
t prevail over there. We want kindness and help in becoming better NOT disc=
rimination or hatred. We also do not want to falsely sanction what is simpl=
y a rather rough and burned appearance.=20
Over all the western hemisphere (including Brazil) is doing fine and we wou=
ld like all to do better. We as Muslims may have cause for concern that our=
religion might discourage the people from loving each other. In Islamic co=
mmunities there is gender based segregation and veiling of women and men ca=
nnot even talk to women - this is a terrible state to be in. We don't want =
the west traumatized by such an outlook or even touched by this way.
If anything our Muslim communities should be embracing the religion and way=
s of the west (which Brazil might adhere to) which stresses loving the enem=
y and turning the other cheek. Love is greater than any pretense at righteo=
usness, piety and religiosity.