Racism Or Extremism

Racism is the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. Racism is discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Although the term racism usually denotes race-based prejudice, violence, dislike, discrimination, or oppression, the term can also have varying and contested definitions. Racialism is a related term, sometimes intended to avoid these negative meanings.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, racism is a belief or ideology that all members of each racial group possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another racial group or racial groups.

The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines racism as a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority or inferiority of a particular racial group, and that it is also the prejudice based on such a belief.

The Macquarie Dictionary defines racism as: "the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others."

According to Charles V Hamilton and Kwame Ture (aka Stokely Carmichael) it (racism) is the predication of decisions & policies on considerations of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group (ethnicity) and maintaining control over that group.

Wikipedia explains racism as the belief that the genetic factors which constitute race are a primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Racism's effects are called "racial discrimination". In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or receive preferential treatment.

Racial discrimination typically points out taxonomic differences between different groups of people, although anyone may be discriminated against on an ethnic or cultural basis, independently of their somatic differences.

The UN does not define "racism", however it does define "racial discrimination": according to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,

the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life

This definition does not make any difference between discrimination based on ethnicity and race, in part because the distinction between the two remains debatable among anthropologists. Similarly, in British law the phrase racial group means "any group of people who are defined by reference to their race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin".

Therefore according to the United Nations conventions, there is no distinction between the term racial discrimination and ethnicity discrimination.

There is some evidence that the meaning of the term has changed over time, and that earlier definitions of racism involved the simple belief that human populations are divided into separate races. Many biologists, anthropologists, and sociologists reject this taxonomy in favour of more specific and/or empirically verifiable criteria, such as geography, ethnicity, or a history of endogamy.

In plain simple English, “extremism” means the condition or act of taking an extreme view, and the taking of extreme action(s).

According to Wikipedia, extremism describes the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political centre of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards. In democratic societies, individuals or groups that advocate the replacement of democracy with a authoritarian regime are usually branded extremists, in authoritarian societies the opposite applies.

The terms “extremism” or “extremist” are almost always exonymic — i.e. applied by others to a group rather than by a group labeling itself.

Rather than labeling themselves as extremist, those labeled as such might describe themselves as, for example, political radicals. There is no political party that calls itself "right-wing extremist" or "left-wing extremist", and there is no sect of any religion that calls itself "extremist" or which calls its doctrine "extremism".

The term extremist is used to describe groups and individuals who have become radicalized, in some way, even though the term radical originally meant to go to the root of a (social) problem. The term radical is one not normally regarded as pejorative and, unlike extremist, is sometimes used by groups in their description of themselves.

The term “extremist” is often used with reference to those who use or advocate violence against the will of society at large, but it is also used by some to describe those who advocate or use violence to enforce the will of the social body, such as a government or majority constituency. Those described as extremist would in general not accept that what they practice or advocate constitutes violence and would instead speak in terms of acts of "resistance" or militant action or the use of force. The word “violence” cannot be regarded as value-neutral. Ideology and methodology often become inextricably linked under the single term extremism.

The notion that there is a philosophy which can be described as extremism is considered by some to be suspect. Within sociology, several academics who track (and are critical of) extreme right-wing groups have objected to the term extremist, which was popularized by centrist sociologists in the 1960s and 1970s. As Jerome Himmelstein states the case: "At best this characterization tells us nothing substantive about the people it labels; at worst it paints a false picture." (Himmelstein, p. 7).

The act of labeling a person, group or action as extremist is sometimes claimed to be a technique to further a political goal — especially by governments seeking to defend the status quo, or political centrists. In any event, the term extremist — like the word violence— cannot be regarded as value-neutral.

The very word Islam, which means "surrender," is related to the Arabic salam, or peace. When the Prophet Muhammad pbuh brought the Quran to the Arabs in the early 7th century A.D., a major part of his mission was devoted precisely to bringing an end to the kind of mass slaughter we witness today.

Because the Quran was revealed in the context of an all-out war, several passages deal with the conduct of armed struggle. Warfare was a desperate business on the Arabian Peninsula. A chieftain was not expected to spare survivors after a battle, and some of the Quranic injunctions seem to share this spirit.

Muslims are commanded by God to "slay [enemies] wherever you find them!" (Quran 4: 89). Extremists like to quote such verses but do so selectively. They do not include the exhortations to peace, which in almost every case follow these more ferocious passages: "Thus, if they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer you peace, God does not allow you to harm them" (Quran 4: 90).

In the Quran, therefore, the only permissible war is one of self-defense. Muslims may not begin hostilities (Quran 2: 190). Warfare is always evil, but sometimes you have to fight in order to avoid the kind of persecution that Mecca inflicted on the Muslims (Quran 2: 191 and 2: 217) or to preserve decent values (Quran 4: 75 and 22: 40). The Quran quotes the Torah (Taurat), the Jewish scriptures, which permits people to retaliate eye for eye, tooth for tooth, but like the Gospels (Bibles), the Quran suggests that it is meritorious to forego revenge in a spirit of charity (Quran 5: 45). Hostilities must be brought to an end as quickly as possible and must cease the minute the enemy sues for peace (Quran 2: 192-3).

Islam is not addicted to war, and jihad is not one of its "pillars," or essential practices. The primary meaning of the word jihad is not "holy war" but "struggle." It refers to the difficult effort that is needed to put God's will into practice at every level, personal and social, as well as political. A very important and much quoted tradition has Muhammad pbuh telling his companions as they go home after a battle, "We are returning from the lesser jihad [the battle] to the greater jihad," the far more urgent and momentous task of extirpating wrongdoing from one's own society and one's own heart.

Islam did not impose itself by the sword. In a statement in which the Arabic is extremely emphatic, the Quran insists, "There must be no coercion in matters of faith!" (Quran 2: 256). Constantly Muslims are enjoined to respect Jews and Christians, the "People of the Book," who worship the same God (Quran 29: 46). In words quoted by Muhammad pbuh in one of his last public sermons, God tells all human beings, "O people! We have formed you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another" (Quran 49: 13), not to conquer, convert, subjugate, revile or slaughter but to reach out toward others with intelligence and understanding.

The Quran is full of stories and lessons from the history of humanity as a whole. The Gospels (Bibles) and the Torah (Taurat) are referred to; Jesus and Abraham are mentioned. In fact there is more mention in the Quran of the Prophet Moses than of any other. It acknowledges the coexistence of other faiths, and in doing so acknowledges that other cultures can live together in peace. "There is no compulsion in religion," it states, meaning that people should not be compelled to change their faith.

The Quran also states, "To you, your religion; to me mine." (Quran 109:6). Respect for religious values and justice is at the Koran's core. The Quranic history we teach provides ample examples of inter-religious and international relationships; of how to live together.

But some extremists take elements of the sacred scriptures out of context. They act as individuals, and when they cannot come together as part of a political structure or consultative process, you find these dissident factions creating their own rules, contrary to the spirit of the Quran - which demands that those recognised as being in charge of Muslims must consult together regarding society's affairs. There is a whole chapter in the Quran entitled “Consultation”; in Arabic the word for that is “Shura” (Quran, 42).

Communal well-being is central to human life, so there is a concept in Islam called Istihsan, which means "to look for the common good". Even though the Quran may lay down a diktat, scholars are also supposed to consider the circumstances prevalent at the time. Sometimes that means choosing the lesser of two evils or even suspending legislation if necessary.

Prophet Muhammad pbuh said, "Ruined are those who insist on hardship in faith," and, "A believer remains within the scope of his religion as long as he doesn't destroy (or kill) another person illegally." Such knowledge and words of guidance are desperately needed at this time, to separate fact from falsehood, to counter the elements of racism and/or extremism which undermines peace and social/religious cohesion, and to recognise the Last Prophet's own definition of that which makes a person representative, or otherwise, of the faith (religion) he lived and the one we are doing as best as we can to propagate and uphold.