Some Facts About Racism

Nationalism continued to play the killing role throughout the last century

Countries, which fought colonialism, fought it on the basis of nationalism learned from the colonial masters. The result is the perpetuation of tragedies based on this idealogy. Muslim countries also suffered through this phase of delayed nationalism.

Here there are several examples:

1. The destruction of the Ottoman Khilafa because of Arab and Turkish nationalism-1924

This fervent Turkish nationalism under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal came into power in Ankara (Turkey's capital today). The Ottoman empire's last Sultan, Mohammed VI, fled in 1922 after the Sultanate had been abolished. Every member of the Ottoman empire was expelled from the country two years later. Turkey was proclaimed a republic, with Ataturk as its first president.

Arab nationalism affected the fall of the Caliphate with the view that Arabs, not Turks should be rulers. This nationalism conveniently exploited by the Lawrence of Arabia, led to a push to wrest control from the Turks of the Ummah's leadership hence expediting the end of Khilafa for the first time in the 1300-year history of Islam.

2. India attacks and still controls Kashmir since 1947. One Indian soldier for every seven Kashmiris is used to further India's nationalist claim on Kashmir. More than a million refugees, three wars, and hundreds of thousands have been killed as a result.

3. Israel's Zionism expelled Palestinians from their land (1948). Palestinians still constitute the largest refugee population of the world.

4. Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan)-1971

Bangladesh was once East Pakistan, following partition from India in 1947. But after seething under a number of grievances against West Pakistan (which is the Pakistan today) war erupted and the fight for separation from West Pakistan began.

As many as 300,000 people were thought to have lost their lives in this civil war.

5. Iran-Iraq war of the 1980's was a nationalistic war which killed 1 million people.

6. 1992-1995-the genocide of Bosnians at the hands of Serb nationalism resulted in 200, 000 killed 2 million refugees.

7. 1997-1999- expulsion of approximately one million Albanian Kosovars from Kosova.

8. Chechnya is suffering right now through the fifth genocide by Russians in last one hundred years along with the Tatars.

9. Over a million Iraqis have been killed as a result of the 1991 Gulf war and the continuing US sanctions against Iraq reaching the genocidal proportions.