Why are some of our Muslim societies so racist and why is it taboo to talk about it?

[abduljalil]

The Independent newspaper has just published an article by a Muslim scholar titled:
"Is Al-Jazeera TV complicit in the latest vilification of Libya’s Blacks?"
I recommend you read the full article/
Since the article has been published, the BBC and the UN (even al-Jazeerah) now admit that:
"The violence of the last fortnight in Libya has rekindled a deep-rooted racism between Arabs and black Africans."
One Turkish construction worker told the BBC: "We had 70-80 people from Chad working for our company. They were cut dead with pruning shears and axes, attackers saying: 'You are providing troops for Gaddafi.' The Sudanese were also massacred. We saw it for ourselves."
Why is it that racism is so deep-rooted in our Muslim societies when Islam and the Prophet came to fight and eradicate it? Why is it that when the topic comes up we all become defensive and recite the same slogan , "Islam is against racism brother", when in fact many among us are very racist? Why is it a taboo topic to openly discuss and challenge it? Why are most of our Ulama not discussing or openly shaming societies that do so? Is it because they have not been victims of racism themselves and therefore are not qualified to speak about or against it? Or do we only want to speak against the racism committed against us and not when we ourselves are guilty? Do we really have to wait for the United Nations statements against racism in our own society (like the UN statement against racism in Libya mentioned in The Independent article) or should we be proactive to speak openly about it? Or is it because we actually are not aware that there is strong racism in some of our societies? If this is the case then we have a serious problem because it means we are failing to understand what some of our brothers (victims of racism) are going through. Are we not like a single physical body?
May Allah guide us!

[Woodrow]

Racism is a human trait and has no place in Islam. Sadly not all who call themselves Muslim, follow Islam. It becomes even sadder when it pits one Muslim against another simply because there is a difference in skin color.

People all too often base the value of a man on the color of his skin and not upon what his heart looks like.

This is not an issue limited to Muslims, it is a cancer that spreads through all groups. All people are at risk of contracting the deadly disease of prejudice. The only cure is knowledge and for each of us who use the name of Muslim to understand there are no color boundaries in Islam. We are of one family and our individual colors are a sign of the beauty of diversity and should be a window to show that all people are welcome in our family. We should rejoice at the diversity within our family and seek to make our Ummah a beautiful rainbow, not a pale shadow on the ground.