The Concept of The “Chosen Race”
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The Concept of The “Chosen Race”
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah . If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient.” (Surah Ali Imran: 3:110)
The West has long had an ideological perspective about their superiority and supremacy over any other race in the world. The series of imperialism since Alexander The Great stemmed from this strand of thought. For example, an ideology known as “Civitas” embraced by the ancient Greeks. According to this belief, only the Greeks has civilized lifestyle. Populaces other than that of the Greeks are Barbarians who cease to know nothing of a refined and quality “Civitas”.
No wonder the likes of Aristotle and his teacher Plato are in the belief that some humans are simply born to be “slaves”. They are the forefathers of the social class idea. Karl Popper, a modern philosopher has criticized the social class concept in his 1945 political philosophy work “The Open Society and Its Enemies”.
Like to civitas, subsequent to the European Enlightenment Period until now, eurocentrism (borrowed by Edward Said) advocates a similar theme. The belief says that it is the job of the civilized West to “develop” other races.
These concepts are organic elements in human life as every race and religion has their own respective ideological framework to elevate themselves superior and loftiest among human kind. On the basis of their self-proclaimed narcissistic superiority they are responsible “nurture” to others.
Hence, the series of wars and colonialism are stemmed from such an idea. The principles of Nazi and Fascism are the extreme and rotten extension of the “best human” idea. To make matters worse, Darwinism emerged to justify the paradigm through his infamous concept “survival of the fittest” scientifically vindicating proponents of “the chosen race” and “best human”.
According to the understanding of the etymology “Super Power”, which brings to “hegemony” and conquer. Whoever proclaims themselves as “Super Power” shall look down on others as “less powered”. As they picture themselves as super power, they shall feel more significant and accountable to enslave and control the less powered.
This is the sick value which has transformed the West making them feel they have the right to enslave the Barbarians; those other than them. This is the reason why the West give freedom and respect inalienable individual rights of those within their nation state boundaries but are free to infringe the rights of those outside their borders. In fact, they feel that it is a legitimacy for them to impinge on others if their nation state and Western civilization is challenged. What is currently happening in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan are obvious living examples.
Based on this thread of thought the West self-proclaims their rights to enforce others to follow their desires and their self- importance on the land of others.
Any threat to their importance on the soil of others shall legitimise the use of force and war on terror even though is prohibited to be done the same within their borders. This is all due to the ideology of super power.
The West shall exercise any means necessary to defend their importance and values. Any slightest effort to defy “values” will legitimise a counter assault from the West. An obvious representation is the denial of the victory of HAMAS in Palestine even though through democratic means promoted by the West to the world.
As if they are saying “Democracy is only applicable if it is in service of the importance of the West without any means to discredit the embraced Western values; if the importance and values are challenged thus democracy forbidden!”
If idea, paradigm and concept of chosen race are discussed in the perspective of geography, the same happened to religions.
- Hindu religion places the class of Brahma as the chosen race.
- Zoroaster places secrecy to the Persian race.
- The Jews places the Jews as “the race chosen by God.”
- Christianity places the teachings of Christianity as the extension of Jesus’s tongue in spreading the message of “salvation” to humanity.
The same happens to Islam, but the difference is that in Islam they are no “chosen race”, no “best race” and no word of superiority to legitimise slavery or imperialism. What is in Islam are only the concept of “Syuhada” to the moderate ummah (ummatan wasata) and the concept of “amar makruf nahi mungkar” for the best of ummah (khayra Ummah).
The question is now, how different is the idea of the “chosen race” in the religious frameworks of various religions and ideologies?
Note: Translated and edited from Dr Maszlee Malik’s “Risalah Pemuda Muslim” sub-article entitled “Konsep Bangsa Terpilih”.
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