Comparative Digests Racism - Arab and European Compared By Chinweizu

White Euro-Christian Societies, Europe and Americas (1500-1950)

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Doctrines

Hume (1711-1776): “I am apt to suspect the Negroes . . . to be naturally inferior to the whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion than white, nor even any individual, eminent either in action or speculation. . . Not to mention our colonies, there are NEGROE slaves dispersed all over EUROPE, of which none ever discovered any symptom of ingenuity . . . In JAMAICA indeed they talk of one negroe as a man of parts and learning; but ‘tis likely he is admired for very slender accomplishments, like a parrot, who speaks a few words plainly.” [1741/42]


Montesquieu (1689-1755) in arguing for Negro inferiority said: “it is natural to look upon [white] color as the criterion of human nature. . . It is impossible for us to suppose these creatures to be men, because, allowing them to be men, a suspicion would follow that we ourselves are not Christians.”


Hegel (1770-1831) The Negro as already observed exhibits the natural man in his completely wild and untamed state . . . There is nothing harmonious with humanity to be found in this type of character.



Kant (1724-1804), in his Anthropology and allied works on race theory, argued: “The white race possesses all motivating forces and talents in itself” and skin color is evidence of “this difference in natural character” hence “this fellow was quite black from head to foot, a clear proof that what he said was stupid.”

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Sexual stereotypes


n Spanish America, some of the sexual stereotypes on the black slaves were:

The nigger stud lusting to rape white women;

The Negress who unleashes lust; the Mulata who kindles the drunken delirium of the senses; etc



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White Arab-Islamic Societies, From Spain & Morocco to Pakistan (ca.600-2000)



Doctrines

A Persian treatise on world geography, written in 982 AD says:



“As regards southern countries, all their inhabitants are black on account of the heat of their climate. Most of them go naked. . . . They are people distant from the standards of humanity.” And of the Zanj: “Their nature is that of wild animals. They are extremely black.”




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Sexual stereotypes

Immense potency and unbridled sexuality was ascribed to the black male; and incandescent sexuality was ascribed to the black woman e.g. in the poem

“How many a tender daughter of the Zanj walks about with a hotly burning oven as broad as a drinking bowl”--Farazdaq,


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As the table above shows, almost every key aspect of European racism has its Arab/Islamic counterpart—or worse! Unfortunately, Edward Blyden and Malcolm X endorsed the conventional but false picture that Islamic society was without racism. They, obviously, did not have the opportunity to adequately investigate the realities when they visited the Arab lands. In the light of the above evidence, Black Africans cannot use their authority to cling to the false picture.


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Chickenbones