The Dallas Shooting: The recent shooting of 12 police officers leaving 5 dead and the remaining injured in Dallas, USA at a #BlackLivesMatter protest has come as the latest shockwave in a series of horrific murders across the world all throughout the past month, which was the Holy Month of Ramadan. This comes after the reprehensible murders of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana in the past week. Both were African-American citizens and both were shot dead by white police officers on extremely dubious grounds.
The past few days have seen a large number of public figures, including politicians and celebrities taking to social media to condemn the killings and express solidarity with the victims as #DallasShooting, #BlackLivesMatter, #AllLivesMatter etc. were trending on Twitter.
REASONS FOR BLACK RAGE
At this point, there are quite a lot of things that need to be explained: mainly the cause of the Dallas shooting. It is necessary we condemn the killings of the police officers who laid down their lives for the safety of other citizens. Indeed all lives matter. But let us not forget that oppression will give rise to resistance. Figure this, police killed 102 unarmed black people in America in 2015 alone. Nearly 1 in 3 black people killed by police in 2015 was identified as unarmed, though the actual number is likely higher due to underreporting.
Thirty-seven per cent of unarmed people killed by police were black in 2015 despite black people being only 13% of the U.S. population. To top it all off, only 10 of the 102 cases in 2015 wherein an unarmed black person was killed by police resulted in officer(s) being charged with a crime, and only 2 of these deaths (Matthew Ajibade and Eric Harris) resulted in convictions of officers involved. Only 1 of 2 officers convicted for their involvement in Matthew Ajibade’s death received jail term. He was sentenced to 1 year in jail and allowed to serve this time exclusively on weekends. Does this justify the Dallas shootings? Not at all. As Martin Luther King said, darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Similarly, hatred cannot drive out hatred, only love can do that. The point is discrimination against blacks, rising from centuries-old racist ideologies, is still alive resulting in the horrifying incidents which have become the order of the day.
HISTORY OF BLACKS IN THE LAND OF THE FREE
Blacks, or African-Americans as they are now called, hold a very important place in world history. Their forefathers were brought to American colonies as slaves from Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the Emancipation Proclamation. The northern states won the Civil War and American slaves were free. The time after the Civil War became known as the Reconstruction. The American government sent soldiers to the southern states to protect the Blacks and their newly won freedom.
Although they were officially free, most of them still lived in poverty and in very bad conditions. In the South they worked as sharecroppers, farmers who cultivated land and could keep a share of what they grew for themselves. However, whites continued to discriminate against African Americans. Blacks were not allowed to attend the same schools or go to the same churches as whites. Segregation meant a complete separation of life between the two groups. Blacks were also kept from voting.
After World War II a new movement for civil rights began. African Americans started to have more confidence and believe more in themselves. They had served for their country with honour during the war and in the North many Blacks started living in better conditions. A new group came to life – the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People). It attracted many members and received support from both blacks and whites.
BLACK STRUGGLE AND THEIR STATUS IN AMERICA
The Civil Rights movement gained momentum in the 1950s. In 1954 the Supreme Court decided that segregation in schools was against the constitution. In 1955 a black woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama because she refused to let a white passenger take her seat. Blacks in the city started boycotting buses. This boycott was led by Martin Luther King, who became the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X, Cornel West, and Stokely Carmichael among many others were influential leaders during this time. Their epoch-making struggle and sacrifice for equality and freedom will forever be remembered and commemorated.
The movement reached its climax in 1963. Over a million people, blacks as well as whites took part in a protest demonstration in Washington D.C. In the following year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. This law banned discrimination in school, public places, jobs and many other fields. African Americans received the right to vote in 1967. Since the violent times of the 60s African Americans have made progress and improved their situation in every part of American life. Colin Powel, Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali etc. have contributed immensely to the empowerment of the African-American people as well as for their country at large.
Despite these advances, about 25% of African Americans live in poverty. Discrimination still exists in many areas and the standard of living lags behind that of the white population. Compared to other groups, average income is much lower and the rate of unemployment higher. More shockingly still, the oppression and violence against blacks has increased in the past few years. In fact, statistics shows that unarmed black people were killed at 5 times the rate of unarmed whites in 2015 alone. What an irony. All this taking place in America, the land which claims to be the “champion of liberty and justice” and the land which so aggressively accuses Islam for having ‘outdated concepts’ and ‘regressive thinking’. Discriminating against a fellow human being for the colour of his skin! Can there be any idea more regressive than this?
HOW ISLAM TACKLED THE PROBLEM OF RACISM?
On the contrary, Islam has from the very beginning itself demolished any and all stereotypes, prejudices and various forms of racism. Islamic history is full of touchingly beautiful examples of black empowerment, the most famous being that of Bilal ibn Rabaah (May Allah be pleased with him). He was one of the Noble Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), a freed Ethiopian slave. The Holy Prophet chose Bilal to become the first muaddhin (the one who delivers the azan or call to prayer) of Islam. Interesting to note, as he was not actually Arab, his pronunciation of Arabic was not flawless. Nevertheless the Holy Prophet gave him this honour on account of his piety and excellent character; thus proving that a person’s worth should be judged by his character and not by his racial lineage.
Once Abu Dharr, a Companion of the Holy Prophet, reproached Bilal about his mother, saying, “O son of a black woman!” Bilal went to the Messenger of Allah and he told him what Abu Dharr had said. The Prophet became angry and then Abu Dharr came, although he was unaware of what Bilal told him. The Prophet turned away from him and Abu Dharr asked, “O Messenger of Allah, have you turned away because of something you have been told?” The Prophet said, “Have you reproached Bilal about his mother? By the one who revealed the Book to Muhammad, none is more virtuous over another except by righteous deeds. You have none but an insignificant amount.”
And in his farewell sermon on the Mount of Arafah, the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said: “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.”
Each one of us dreams of living with safety in their country, without having to face hatred or menace from other member citizens. Islam, providing a comprehensive and beneficial solution, is the only way in which we can make this dream a reality.