“Its not the outside that matters, it’s the inside that counts”, so no matter what colour your skin may be, or what religion you are, as long as you are a good person inside, that is what should be most important!
There are many fights and arguments that happen which involve racism. A survey from 1997, in England, shows that 37% of all fights, which were handled by the police, were race related and I find this statistic astonishing. People should not be fighting because of their skin colour or beliefs and I also find this quite disturbing because as far as I am concerned, everyone is equal and should therefore be treated equally and given equal opportunities. Even though we all have different beliefs and are unique in our own individual ways, we are all part of one race and that is the human race.
A well-known case of a racist attack was during 1993, in South London, when Stephen Lawrence, who was standing at a bus stop, minding his own business, was brutally murdered. He was only eighteen years old when three white youths came up to him and stabbed him to death. His whole family were absolutely devastated, and thousands of people all over Britain were also shocked at the tragic murder of Stephen Lawrence. His family had made several appeals on television programmes such as the news and Crimewatch UK (a programme with footage and reconstruction’s of crimes committed by people) to help track down Stephen’s killers. Ten years later, the killers have not yet been caught. From this case, it was recognised that there is a sub-culture of obsessive violence, which is fuelled by racist prejudice and hatred against black people. I feel that it is highly unjust that people are being judged by their skin colour, beliefs or religion, as it seems as if they are not being given the right to live a normal life in peace and harmony, but are being made to live in constant fear of being attacked.
Another survey from 1993/94 shows that people of ethnic backgrounds are five times as likely to be searched by police in Brixton than people of non ethnic backgrounds. Government figures showed that a quarter of the 441,905 drivers stopped for no reason were from ethnic backgrounds. Even though people from non-ethnic backgrounds were also stopped, I feel that the police should only stop individuals if they know for sure that they have done something wrong. The police should not stop motorists who are of a different race and then assume that they are guilty without any proof, as this is prejudice.
A government survey from 1995/96 on unemployment shows that sixteen percent of women with ethnic backgrounds are qualified beyond A levels compared to the twelve percent of women from non-ethnic backgrounds. Yet nearly four in ten young black women were unemployed compared to just one in ten young white women. I am unaware of whether this was due to the fact that they did not want to find work, but it could also be that employers would not employ them due to their colour of skin or their beliefs. Young men of ethnic minorities are twice as likely to be unemployed compared with young men with no ethnic background. I again feel that this is highly unfair if they are unemployed due to their colour of skin or religion. People should not be discriminated against because they look different from other people as it shows inequality and unfairness.
Being a Muslim, the Qur’an is the holy book of the religion that I belong to. There are several quotes from the Qur’an telling us that in God’s eyes we are all equal. We are told that people must realise that God created all humans from one couple, therefore the entire human race is one large extended family. God says:
“O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord who created you from a single soul and from its mate; and from the two of them He spread abroad a multitude of men and women” (Qur'an 4:1)
We must understand that no race is superior to another. When we see a garden with many different flowers, we appreciate the beauty of the entire arrangement. We do not object to the colour of any flower as we realize that each different flower contributes to the beauty of the garden. In a similar way, we may see the world as a garden decorated with many people of different colours. We should learn to therefore appreciate that although each person is different, it is each person that contributes to the spice of life in this world. God says:
“O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that you may know each other. The noblest of you, in the sight of Allah , is the best in conduct” (Qur'an)
Racism is wrong and it is a form of prejudice. It is widespread and many wars have been started across the world as a result of there being several different religions. The government has made the effort to try and reduce racism by advertising its wrongness on many different, brightly coloured posters, but there are still many fights caused and people do get hurt, if not mentally then physically. I hope that in the future, all racists will realise that people who have different appearances from themselves, are still ordinary human beings and that they should not be discriminated against. I also hope that in the future, racism will no longer be an issue, as more and more people will realise that its wrong and it is not worth fighting about.
