How should one deal with racism at work?

Racism is above all a moral problem. The best answer is to be a model of humanity oneself, because where people live by divine values, racism finds no soil to grow in.

Anyone held back at work because of their skin colour or origin is suffering a real injustice. Yet racism is not a problem of any particular profession. It is a moral problem in people's hearts, and it cannot be solved by workplace rules alone.

Often racism does not truly disappear. It is merely suppressed as long as outside circumstances demand it. When that pressure falls away, it comes back to the surface. At the same time, every society has people of noble character who are free of it and stay free of it, and many others who have never given it room.

The most effective answer is therefore to be a model of humanity oneself. Whoever meets others with kindness, honesty and helpfulness draws people closer. The third verse above describes this. Whoever answers evil with what is best can turn an opponent into a warm friend.

Islam removes the very ground of racism. The diversity of colours and languages is a sign of God, not a measure of rank. In the sight of God only righteousness counts. Where people take God as their standard and live out His attributes, such as justice and kindness, towards all people, racism finds no soil in which to grow.

In this way one is not ruled by bitterness. One shows by one's own example how people ought to treat each other, and that often achieves more than any quarrel.