Muslim theology and the hazards of history luckily inoculated Islam against the virus of racism. The solid dogma of the equality of all believers, the spread of Islam across black Africa, the frequent intermarriage with slaves and concubines—all these discouraged any Muslim belief in racial levels of humanity. For Muslims, who would not separate secular from religious life, the all-important distinction was between Believers and non-Believers. Mere variety of social custom, where it did not violate the Koran, seemed insignificant.
