Here’s what Arabic twitter has to say about racial tensions in the US

Published July 12th, 2016 - 01:44 GMT
A protester holds a sign at a Black Lives Matter protest in the USA (AFP)
A protester holds a sign at a Black Lives Matter protest in the USA (AFP)

The last few weeks have not been positive for America’s image internationally, nor for its domestic race relations. In the span of a week two controversial police shootings led to the deaths of Philando Castille in Louisana and Alton Brown in Minnesota, and retaliatory violence killed 5 police officers in Dallas, Texas – the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A reignited “Black Lives Matter” movement has organized mass demonstrations for racial equality across the United States and set into motion a vibrant dialogue on race that has left much of the country divided.

That vibrant dialogue has made its way to the Middle East, where Arabic twitter users have been commenting on the racial dichotomy across the Atlantic with the hashtags #العنصريه_في_امريكا (#Racism_In_America), #اخي_الاسود_انا_احبك (#I_Love_You_My_Black_Brother), and #دالاس (#Dallas).

Many users have expressed their anti-racist views in light of the recent violence in the US:

“The color of humans is from God, and everything he creates is beautiful”



“White or black or red, if you’re nice to me I’ll be nice to you. If you’re rude to me I’ll be rude just like you”

 

Some found the persistence of racism in the U.S. confusing:

 

 

“America is such a weird country. There’s racism against black people while the President himself is Black.”

Well-known Saudi Sheikh Ali al-Qarni even chipped in with some harsh words of his own.

 “They kill their citizens in the street for no credible reason while demanding human rights from others… By God they’re disgusting.

 

Some actually encouraged the violence – hoping that it might weaken the West’s grip on the Middle East:

“May God pit the oppressors against other oppressors and get us away from them safely.”

 

Many, especially in Saudi Arabia, pegged racism in the US as a religious problem.

“Islam doesn’t have racism nor tribalism. The Islamic nation is one nation. Belal Bin Ribaah was ethiopian and Saladin was Kurdish."

 

 

“Thank God for the mercy of Islam”

“Killing and shooting! Thank god Islam doesn’t have racism.”

 

While other pointed out the hypocrisy of Arabs condemning racism abroad but not in their own backyards:

 

 

 

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