Abdulaziz Al-Samary

Al-Jazirah

A Saudi woman of Nigerian origin has launched the first campaign of its kind against racial discrimination when someone called her "a slave girl" in a public place. She started a hashtag to draw attention to the matter without worrying about how the public will respond.



This incident can be linked to what is happening today in our stadiums. Many a time we have heard how fans use racist slurs against players of the opposing team.



To fight racism, we must acknowledge that most people who discriminate against others have picked up this habit from the people they are surrounded by, especially family members.



The Arabian Peninsula, especially Makkah and Madinah, has been the preferable land of migration since the time of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (peace be upon them). Over the past centuries, hundreds of thousands of people from Africa, India, Pakistan, East Asia and Arab countries have come to the Arabian Peninsula searching for work and a better life.



Before oil was discovered in the Kingdom, our ancestors used to travel to Arab and non-Arab countries in search of a decent living. So, what’s wrong if someone is from Nigeria, Senegal, Turkey, India or China? There is no shame in that.



What happened to the Saudi woman can only be described as disgraceful and despicable. All members of Saudi society should raise awareness about fighting racism and we should start with schools.



I am sure the authorities will do something about the increasing cases of racism and discrimination. If not, we will be breaching one of the tenets of human rights. Racism is dangerous and it does not exist in Islam. Arabs did not discriminate against other races, but when people of different ethnicities began settling down in the Arabian Peninsula, racism started rearing its ugly head.



Apparently, something else went wrong. That is why racism still exists today in our society. Something should be done to eradicate these practices before they spread like wildfire in society.