CAIRO - A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood has made it plain that institutional racism is deeply rooted in this fundamentalist organisation. Sobhi Saleh, who sat on the ad hoc committee that recommended the constitutional amendments prior to the March 19 referendum, advises the organisation's young men to marry young women whose parents are faithful to the Muslim Brotherhood, ignoring the blandishments of pretty girls, whose families are not connected with the organisation. In his outrageous racist remarks that appear on a videoclip, Saleh, who is a legal adviser and former MP, promises young men, who accept his advice, a lasting, happy marriages to wives who will bear them well-bred children, who are better than those from other wombs. He implies that the children of parents belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood will have children with pure ‘fundamentalist' genes, inherited down the generations, since the group's founding over 80 years ago. Saleh rebukes young men who fall for the charms of ‘disrespectful female strangers'. His remarks, which must be hurtful to girls from moderate Muslim families, surely shame the Brotherhood, making it look as if they are controlled by chauvinists, xenophobes and racists. More upsetting and even surprising is that this attitude, condemned by Islam, seems to be stronger among the organisation's rank and file than among the Salafists (Muslim hard-liners, who doggedly refuse to reconcile Islam with modern-day realities). One wonders what Saleh thinks about the daughters of non-Muslim parents, if he urges young Muslim Brothers to keep away from girls from moderate Muslim families. Presumably, according to him (I admit that I'm being a bit cynical), non-Muslim girls are much worse than Muslim girls. So what if a young Muslim man falls in love with a Christian girl? What if he lives overseas, happily married to a Christian woman? Should we write off these Muslims for having married women lacking the qualities that only Muslim women possess? Saleh's outrageous remarks seem to contradict one of the basic tenets of Islam: that all humans are equal, regardless of their colour, beauty or anything else. The Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) reminded Muslims that God looks at the heart of His people, not their faces. Like many statements given by voluble Muslim fundamentalists, Saleh's remarks should reveal the pathetic manipulation of the Muslim psyche and mind. For example, there were big demonstrations in different Muslim countries, including Egypt, when France banned the wearing of the hijab (headscarf) in public. The French Government was condemned for abusing Muslims' rights. The French people were said to be full of hatred for Islam. Similarly, the Swiss government was repudiated across the Muslim world for banning the construction of mosque minarets. The Swiss were accused (in Muslim countries) of being uncomfortable with the growing popularity of Islam. But those same Egyptian fundamentalists who protested against the French banning the hijab mobilised their stooges and other violent elements to attack churches and release two women, allegedly being held there against their consent. These fundamentalists, collaborating with Salafists, wanted to lay their hands on these two women, before the administrative court could hear their cases. Two churches were torched in the controversy. Another attack on the rights and freedom of expression of non-Muslims had previously happened when fundamentalists attacked the homes of Baha'is in an Upper Egyptian village, telling them to convert to Islam or get out. Like non-Muslims, moderate Muslims, who shun fundamentalist groups, are the victims of the strange polarities manipulating the Muslim psyche.
