In Year 8, students regularly write a reflective piece in their journals about various topics. Last week鈥檚 topic was Racism.
I was very proud to read the various responses. Zahoor Leghari, Ahmed Abdalla and Sharaf Sardar in particular have written excellent pieces which you can read below. Keep up the good work Yr 8B!
Furthermore, Maryam Arain from Year 12A has written a beautiful poem for her English Context: Encountering Conflict. The poem responds to the prompt: "The search for truth and justice is vital in resolving conflict". I am certain you will enjoy reading it below.
Ms Emel
Head of English
Racism
Racism is treating someone differently because of their race. This can mean discrimination, prejudice, and antagonism. A racist person has no right whatsoever to discriminate someone else upon their race or background. Like everyone else, the person being discriminated had no choice to choose which family or race they came from. I personally am really against this. I have experienced being the person being bullied about their race. I am thankful it was only minor but it felt really bad. When I see someone being racist to another person, I try opposing the offensive comments and try to change their mind about another race.
Racism was a major problem in the world before. People with light coloured skin thought themselves to be superior to people with dark skin. People with dark skin were not thought to be normal humans and were really mistreated. It wasn't their fault but others were too arrogant to accept them as normal humans or at the same level. The thought and act of racism is a wrong thing. It is in the hands of God alone to choose and noone else has the right to discriminate another person over their race.
By Zahoor Leghari from Year 8B
"Journal of Racism"
In my opinion, racism is just wrongful and disrespectful behaviour. Since I haven't encountered racism at any stage of my life, I can't really tell about my personal experience about it but I can however tell about how racism is used today in this so call 鈥渕odern world鈥.
We hear it almost all the time about Muslims or terrorist or Africans and other people, it just keeps happening all the time. Some people have actually committed suicide from what I know because of racism.
Allah (SWT) Says in Surah al Isra
賷賻丕 兀賻賷購賾賴賻丕 丕賱賳賻賾丕爻購 兀賻賱賻丕 廿賽賳賻賾 乇賻亘賻賾賰購賲賿 賵賻丕丨賽丿賹 賵賻廿賽賳賻賾 兀賻亘賻丕賰購賲賿 賵賻丕丨賽丿賹 兀賻賱賻丕 賱賻丕 賮賻囟賿賱賻 賱賽毓賻乇賻亘賽賷賺賾 毓賻賱賻賶 兀賻毓賿噩賻賲賽賷賺賾 賵賻賱賻丕 賱賽毓賻噩賻賲賽賷賺賾 毓賻賱賻賶 毓賻乇賻亘賽賷賺賾 賵賻賱賻丕 賱賽兀賻丨賿賲賻乇賻 毓賻賱賻賶 兀賻爻賿賵賻丿賻 賵賻賱賻丕 兀賻爻賿賵賻丿賻 毓賻賱賻賶 兀賻丨賿賲賻乇賻 廿賽賱賻賾丕 亘賽丕賱鬲賻賾賯賿賵賻賶 兀賻亘賻賱賻賾睾賿鬲購
O people, your Lord is one and your father Adam is one. There is no favouritism of an Arab over a foreigner, nor a foreigner over an Arab, and neither red skin over black skin, nor black skin over red skin, except through righteousness. Have I not conveyed the message?
Also another ayah from the same Surah
賷賻丕 兀賻賷購賾賴賻丕 丕賱賳賻賾丕爻購 廿賽賳賻賾丕 禺賻賱賻賯賿賳賻丕賰購賲 賲賽賾賳 匕賻賰賻乇賺 賵賻兀購賳孬賻賶侔 賵賻噩賻毓賻賱賿賳賻丕賰購賲賿 卮購毓購賵亘賸丕 賵賻賯賻亘賻丕卅賽賱賻 賱賽鬲賻毓賻丕乇賻賮購賵丕 廿賽賳賻賾 兀賻賰賿乇賻賲賻賰購賲賿 毓賽賳丿賻 丕賱賱賻賾賴賽 兀賻鬲賿賯賻丕賰購賲賿 廿賽賳賻賾 丕賱賱賻賾賴賻 毓賻賱賽賷賲賹 禺賻亘賽賷乇賹
O mankind, We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Verily, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Verily, Allah is knowing and aware.
So Allah does not like racism. We are all brothers and sisters of Islam, so we should try to respect that Allah is watching us and Allah chose Muslims to teach mankind what鈥檚 right and what鈥檚 wrong but today due to the amount of racism it isn't working too well.
Link for evidence: http://www.faithinallah.org/islam-is-against-racism-and-bigotry/
By Sharaf Sardar from Year 8B
"Racism"
Racism is something we've all witnessed. Many people fail to believe that race isn't a biological category, but an artificial classification of people with no scientifically variable facts. What is racism? Racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities or qualities specific to that race, which means they treat each other differently. Especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race(s).
In my opinion, racism is a disgusting thing it鈥檚 pathetic! People should absolutely not treat others differently because in the end, we're all the same! Who cares if he鈥檚 black or he鈥檚 white it鈥檚 pitiful! In the end, pain is what allows us to truly understand one another and also cooperate with them. We all go through the same pain in growing up. If you've been through the same person as one another, you will truly understand them.
Take a good look at Islam. It is an incredibly wonderful religion where everyone cooperates with each other. It is like they can't see if they're black or white, they all respect and treat each other equally, everyone is the same.
Racism has made an unbelievable affect in our society, instead of trying to better our lives on our nation, we are spending time fighting a constant battle between races. We've become diverse and split apart.
Racism is the cause of intense fights, people even go that far to killing! We are just ordinary people driven to revenge in the name in justice, but if that revenge is called justice, that justice breeds and binds together which becomes a constant chain of hatred! People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That鈥檚 how they define reality. But what does it mean to be correct and true? Merely vague concepts... Their reality may be all a mirage. Can we consider them to simple be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs? Absolutely not!
In general, I would love to see people cooperate with each other and fight of racism! It鈥檚 sad to see people still desperately hate others based on their appearance. Racism has been going on for far too long, it is time for an end to racism! I believe that a day will come where everyone will respect and treat others equally, just like we Muslims do. Even for them, it is possible for them to inherit our will, yes they will have a heart strong enough to overpower the racism and they will treat different races equally, they won't look at them with their eyes, they will look at them with their heart!
By Ahmed Abdalla from Year 8B