Online ReporterFlora Teckie
Bahá’í Perspective
As the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today, it is important to reflect on whether global peace can become a reality while racism is allowed to continue.
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is commemorated every year on March 21.
One of the major challenges preventing humanity from living in a just and peaceful world is discrimination due to race.
The Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith, in its statement – titled “The Promise of World Peace”, and addressed “to the peoples of the world” – states: “Racism, one of the most baneful and persistent evils, is a major barrier to peace.
“Its practice perpetrates too outrageous a violation of the dignity of human beings to be countenanced under any pretext. Racism retards the unfoldment of the boundless potentialities of its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress.
“Recognition of the oneness of mankind, implemented by appropriate legal measures, must be universally upheld if this problem is to be overcome”.
One of the main causes of racial intolerance and discrimination is the erroneous idea that humanity is somehow composed of separate and distinct races, peoples, or castes, and that those sub-groups inherently possess varying intellectual, moral, and/or physical capacities, which in turn justify different forms of treatment.
The Bahá’í International Community says, “The reality is that there is only the one human race.
“We are a single people, inhabiting the planet Earth, one human family bound together in a common destiny, a single entity created from one same substance.”
We are all members of one interconnected family
According to a recent statement from the Bahá’í International Community, “Racism, rooted in ignorance and perpetuated by division, can ultimately only be overcome through a profound understanding of the inherent oneness of humanity.
“This understanding transcends the mere acknowledgment of our equal rights—it calls for a recognition that, regardless of our diverse origins, backgrounds, traditions, beliefs, or lived experiences, we are all members of a singular, interconnected family.
“It is precisely this diversity that enriches and beautifies the fabric of humanity”.
Without fully embracing the principle of the oneness of humanity, the current arbitrary and imaginary divisions in society will continue to exist, and will deepen further.
Measures that are purely punitive, though necessary, will not address the root cause of racism unless they also foster a deeper understanding of our collective identity. Efforts aimed at eradicating racism must be transformative, fostering a new understanding of who we are.
There is need for a collective effort at all levels – by individuals, communities and institutions – to eradicate racism.
There is also a need for a long-term, patient work of transforming society.
Racism continues to exist when people merely live side-by-side, without meaningful opportunities for interaction.
When such interactions are genuine and purposeful, people can encounter different perspectives, build connections, and gain a deeper understanding of each other’s lived experiences.
According to Bahá’í International Community, “For such engagement to be lasting, it often needs to centre around a shared initiative that addresses the community’s needs and contributes to its moral, intellectual, and material well-being.
“Institutions play a crucial role in fostering and shaping interactions at that level and at the same time must ensure that grassroots perspectives inform their policies”.
Spiritual solutions to social problems
There are spiritual principles by which solutions can be found for every social problem.
The solution to the problem of racism lies in a profound change of heart and mind, which religion can produce.
Any well-intentioned group can devise practical solutions to the problems facing humanity.
However, good intentions and practical knowledge are usually not enough.
A spiritual solution induces an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitates the discovery and implementation of practical measures.
The reality of human oneness is fully endorsed by science. Anthropology, physiology, psychology, sociology and genetics demonstrate that there is only one human species, although infinitely varied in the secondary aspects of life.
Recognition of this truth requires the abandonment of prejudice of every kind – race, class, colour, creed, nationality, gender – everything, which enables people to consider themselves superior to others.
The Bahá’í Writings State: “Every human creature is the servant of God. All have been created and reared by the power and favour of God; all have been blessed with the bounties of the same Sun of divine truth; all have quaffed from the fountain of the infinite mercy of God; and all in his estimation and love are equal as servants.
“He is beneficent and kind to all. Therefore, no one should glorify himself over another; no one should manifest pride or superiority toward another; no one should look upon another with scorn and contempt; and no one should deprive or oppress a fellow creature”.
Fostering a love for humanity must begin in the family, where children from the earliest age learn the principle of the oneness of humanity. They are trained accordingly, to rid themselves of all kinds of prejudice.
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