Saudis or otherwise: Our fate is determined by genetics

America is considered one of the most racist countries in the world, especially in its western and southern states, such as Arizona, Missouri, and Mississippi. Racism in America is directed against Asians, Africans, Latin Americans, and, of course, Native Americans. Christopher Columbus described Native Americans as “cannibals” to justify killing them. Additionally, Albert Einstein, architect of the theory of relativity, held racist ideas, documented in writing in 1923, which included remarks about the people of China and Sri Lanka.

Racism is not always related to color or race. In Britain, for example, racism can include prejudice against other white and Western ethnicities, such as the French, Americans, Bulgarians, and people from the Caucasus region. Indians may be the most notable exception to this, perhaps due to Britain’s colonial history and its ancient wars. There are British jokes specific to ordinary British society, not politicians.

In South Africa, the situation shifted after apartheid, with racism being practiced by the black majority against the white minority. Racism also existed in prehistory against Neanderthals, leading to their extinction 300,000 years ago. Racism, according to some, began with the Devil when he refused to bow to Adam, claiming superiority in his creation, making him the origin of the first racist act.

The first social and legal system that legitimized racism was the Babylonian (Hammurabi) law, which favored the sons of notables and wealthy people, regardless of the crimes they committed. However, that law strictly enforced its punishments on the sons of lower-class individuals.

Then came “international racism,” which placed the Greek nation above others. According to Aristotle, the human race was divided into two groups. The first included the Greeks, who possessed reason and will, while the second comprised all non-Greeks, referred to as barbarians, who had only physical strength.

Plato also introduced class divisions in his “Utopia,” with the ruling class of wise philosophers at the top, followed by the class of warriors, and then the class of craftsmen and farmers. The lowest class, according to him, could not control their instincts and desires, so the upper classes had to intervene to control and discipline them. These lower classes were primarily composed of slaves and non-Greek nations.

There are international forms of racism, such as religious sectarianism (believer vs. unbeliever) and the racism between northern and southern Arabs, with each side trying to assert its superiority over the other.

Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the American Founding Fathers, taught his students at medical school that black skin was a genetic disorder, which he called “negrodism.” He also advised against interracial marriages between whites and blacks to prevent the inheritance of this so-called disease.

The Arab philosopher Al-Jahiz attributed dark skin to the sun, suggesting that moving away from it would result in lighter skin. However, this explanation was a simplistic analytical error, influenced by Al-Jahiz’s environment and personal experiences.

Racism in Germany did not begin with Adolf Hitler’s Nazism, which involved euthanasia and forced sterilization programs. It existed 30 years earlier when the German Empire under Kaiser Wilhelm II committed genocide against 75 percent of the Herero people in Namibia between 1904 and 1907. While Hitler may represent the most infamous embodiment of Western racism, it had earlier manifestations.

Even the American writer Mark Twain was not sympathetic toward Native Americans, believing that the only way to convince them of the supremacy of the white man was either through complete slaughter or by using education and soap. Twain thought that educating Native Americans and washing them with soap would ultimately destroy them and erase their identity.

Twain’s views evolved over time, as seen in a 1935 advertisement for Dove soap that glorified its exceptional formula, claiming it could turn black skin white. A similar message was reproduced in 2017, with only minor differences. Additionally, the Scottish philosopher David Hume, a professor of skepticism, wrote a book in 1754 titled “National Features,” in which he argued that black people and other races of color were naturally inferior to whites.

His argument is that white races were unique in civilization, arts, and sciences. However, he may have overlooked that during Europe’s Dark Ages, people of color, specifically Muslims, monopolized science, knowledge, and civilization.

In fact, Saudi society is not exempt from such divisions. There are racial binaries, such as tribal vs. urban, tribal vs. Khedari, civil vs. rural, Hilali vs. Nasrawi, ignorant vs. educated, well-off vs. low-income, fat vs. thin. These forms of discrimination, when expressed on social media, fall under the Third Article of the Saudi Cybercrime Law, with penalties reaching five years in prison and a fine of SR500,000 ($134,000).

Additionally, there are international forms of racism, such as religious sectarianism (believer vs. unbeliever) and the racism between northern and southern Arabs, with each side trying to assert its superiority over the other.

Surprisingly, the difference between all human ethnicities in the genome is, at best, no more than a quarter of a percent. Today, cultures, economies, and threats have become highly homogeneous, reinforcing the concept of a “common ideology” or “humanism,” especially since it has been scientifically proven that differences in physical features and skin colors are primarily due to climate and terrain.

I hope that no one will race against me or lead me into wrongdoing.

• Dr. Bader bin Saud is a columnist for Al-Riyadh newspaper, a media and knowledge management researcher, and the former deputy commander of the Special Forces for Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia. X: @BaderbinSaud