Omani thinker: Muslims should avoid ethnic and religious prejudice

The Omani thinker went on to say, “God Almighty says in holy Quan, “Truly, this, your Ummah is one, and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me.” Islam is religion of unity and monotheism. God is one, religion is one and path is one. God Almighty says, “Cooperate with one another in goodness and righteousness, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression.”
Al-Abri noted, “Based on this noble verse, as Muslim, we should have real Islamic cooperation with each other so as to activate common values, which are values in faith as well as religious, Shriah, Cultural, social, scientific and practical values. We should cooperate with each other and have synergy and not to invade each other. “
The most important component of such mutual cooperation is worshipping single God. The compassionate and the merciful God. God has asked human beings to be kind towards each other and be in solidarity. Muslims’ unity means that they have united wishes, hopes, pains and concerns, the stated.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, “The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.” Islam has always emphasized mutual cooperation through reliance on common values. Prayers is one of the common values. Prayers is pillar of faith. When saying prayers, Muslims stand in a single line. Foreheads of all, no matter poor or rich, boss or servant, touch the earth. All in prayers acknowledge that Allah is the Greatest.”
The thinker referred to Hajj, stating,” Hajj is another commonalty. When performing Hajj, Muslims get together irrespective of their differences in gender, color, language and their location. They put off their clothes and perform the Hajj rituals while wearing a special clothe so as to get rid of selfishness. In Hajj, Muslims are seen shoulder to shoulder, while being brothers and kind towards each other. “
Fasting is another commonalty of Muslims, Al-Abri noted and stressed, “Fasting marks depth of Islamic unity. When fasting, Muslims keep away of certain forbidden actions and even certain actions, that are neither forbidden nor recommended, so that they would not break their fast. Through hunger while fasting, they sympathize with the poor, while helping the poor and the needy. “
Zakat is another common value. Zakat is a right reserved for the poor and the needy in the assets of the well-to-do. The rich and wealthy people meet the right without considering the needy indebted. This way, Muslims showcase their kindness. Zakat is in fact obeying God’s orders. To consolidate and institutionalize common values, Muslims should avoid certain issues. If avoiding them, real common cooperation will be among Muslims. The first thing which should be avoided is ethnic and religious prejudice because prejudice causes rift among different faiths and clans, eventually bringing them into battle.

In this case, schools of faith will turn into a means for sowing seeds of discord as for the time being there are ideological schools of thought that reject Islamic ideology. Of course, the schools enjoy extensive financial resources. The second point which should be avoided is tribal, ethnic and racist prejudice, that is like a deadly disease in body of Islamic Ummah.
The thinker elsewhere went on to say, “When our master and lord, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) wished to establish Islamic government, blind prejudice was about to shake pillars of Islamic government. However, he foiled the prejudice. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, “O Muslims! Do you chant pre-Islamic age slogan, while I am among you?” Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, “He who summons others to party-spirit does not belong to us; and he who dies upholding party spirit does not belong to us.”

What said above is the stance, taken by Islam against prejudice, no matter ethnic prejudice or tribal or racial prejudice. We should never forget how Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) caused integrity in Islamic community to the extent that nobody felt differing with another person in terms of form, color and language. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made all brothers to the extent that rich and poor were beside each other. He prevented any blind prejudice and even called Muslims’ fighting due to prejudice as instance of prejudice.

At the end, he stressed that blind prejudice is enemy of Islamic cooperation and arch enemy of Islamic unity. Those striving in the path of unity and Islamic cooperation should set aside any prejudice, to be replaced by brotherhood of Muslims in faith.