Racism, Sexism, Homophobia and Religion - Part 1

The other day I read a post from a friend's blog that I found rather thought provoking, and therefore felt the need to offer my one and a half cents. The following 4-part series of posts' titles parrot the four topics she listed as things that she has a passion for and I will attempt to articulate my take on each of them.

Racism:
Stated plainly, I believe racism of any kind has no place in society. In the study she cited Muslims were the race under consideration. However, it should be noted that adherents of Islam, like those of Christianity, span all races. If you have never read the Autobiography of Malcolm X, you should. His involvement in Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam and their race-based hate was shattered by his participation in the Muslim Hajj. He experienced, as he wrote in his "Letter From Mecca", that,

"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue eyed blonds to black skin Africans.But we were all participating in the same rituals, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had lead me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white."

Now his belief that Islam was the answer to the race problem is something with which I wholeheartedly disagree, but my disagreement with Islam cannot, in any way, shape or form, be construed as racism, unless we expand its definition. Malcolm's epiphany, however, should be a beacon for race relations (I dislike even using the phrase "race relations"). We are all brothers and sisters on this Earth, or in the Christian parlance "sons and daughters of the same God" and we should treat each other accordingly. All that said, simply put: racism, of any kind, is intolerable.


NEXT - Sexism.