O People of Darfur, how long will the discord between you continue?! (1-3)

The rhetoric of some political activists from Darfur on media platforms is hateful and racist, inciting hostility and promoting ignorance. The language used is vulgar and obscene, barely leaving the space between the navel and the knee, what scholars refer to as “awrah” (private parts).

What baffles a sensible person is that they insult each other’s mothers with filthy language, accusing them of immorality, debauchery, and adultery, even calling their children “sons of strangers”! What is this degradation and foolishness, O people of Darfur, descendants of the Quran bearers? What is this obscenity?

Nations across the world respect mothers and elevate them to a high status. Why do you defy the universal wisdom of the people? Didn’t your mothers raise you as children? Didn’t they endure hardship and deprivation to provide you with a better life than they experienced? And is this how you repay them, by tarnishing their honor and attacking their dignity publicly on social media platforms? Shame on you!

Among these livestreamers, men and women alike, from different tribes, intellectual affiliations, political alignments, and educational levels, there is hardly one free from this disgraceful behavior, except for a few whom God has spared.

Do not think I am absolving the livestreamers from other regions of Sudan from this racial toxicity and vile language, but I claim they are less obscene and more moderate in their discourse compared to those from Darfur. The rhetoric of the Darfurians has delved deeper into regionalism and tribalism, echoing the pre-Islamic poet’s words:

“I am only a part of my tribe, if it goes astray, I go astray with it, and if it finds guidance, I find guidance.”

Their stubbornness and animosity in disputes often lead them to insult their own relatives, as another poet said:

“Sometimes we fight our own brother if we can’t find anyone else to fight.”

Many of these political activists, especially the Arabs among them, gather in opposition to the people of Northern and Central Sudan, denigrating them at every opportunity. They spare none, even those who know nothing about politics. They especially target the Danagla, Mahas, Ja’aliyin, and Shaiqiya tribes, giving them the largest share of their animosity. They use derogatory terms like “Jalaba,” “sons of the river,” or “Nile Strip people,” casting insults. These terms, in their original linguistic sense, do not carry the negative connotations they now attach to them.

They have also coined a new political term, “The State of 56,” claiming that this state has oppressed the Sudanese people for the past sixty years, controlled by a clique of Jalaba who still monopolize wealth and power, prioritizing development in their regions and reserving top jobs for their kin, leaving the rest of Sudan’s people to poverty, ignorance, hunger, and disease. These are accusations they repeat without regard for the damage it does to the unity of the country and its people. We shall see, God willing, after careful examination, if these claims are valid or merely delusions and empty rhetoric.

If you listen to their words, you’d think the North is a lush garden! But they fail to realize, may God forgive them, that the children of the North, just a stone’s throw from the capital Khartoum, run barefoot after trains, clothed in rags, begging travelers for a piece of bread, whether they are given some or not.

Some of those who harbor animosity towards the people of Northern and Central Sudan might otherwise be honorable and upright. However, for now, they deem it necessary to postpone holding Darfuri criminals accountable until after the war. They argue that the project to settle the West African Arabs (displaced Arabs) in Darfur is more dangerous than the ambitions of the Jalaba, so it’s wise to collaborate with them during this phase to counter that project, which threatens their stability and even their existence.

There are several issues I wish to address in this article, and some questions press heavily on my mind that I want to raise with these livestreamers from Darfur who openly express their hostility toward the Northerners, labeling them as oppressors, indulgent tyrants, killers of innocent civilians and infants, and eaters of ill-gotten gains. However, before I dive into these issues, I want to clarify a few concepts that seem to escape many people’s understanding. Perhaps they will guide us out of the dark tunnel of racism into the bright light of humanity:

First: Dividing people into races and claiming the superiority of one race over another is a myth. Scientific research has confirmed that all humans—whether black, red, white, or yellow—trace back to a single gene. Scientists have tracked human genes backward and found that they all converge into one. There is no genetic separation like that found in some animals. Therefore, racial superiority, which fills some with pride and arrogance, is not based on reality; it’s a figment of human imagination. The differences we see in skin color, nose shapes, and hair types are the result of climate. Early humans originated in Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia, i.e., in the Horn of Africa, and they did not exceed two thousand in number. Their skin was dark, but as they spread across the earth over long centuries, their colors and appearances changed due to climatic factors. Humans do not divide into races because there is only one gene, but they do divide into ethnicities and lineages. Religion, language, geography, and shared history are cultural differences, not racial ones. Muslims should be the first to accept this fact because their Prophet, peace be upon him, told them fourteen and a half centuries ago that humans all come from one father, and this father was created from clay. His color was the color of clay, which is why he was called Adam. Scientists have echoed this long after, but it seems that the message has yet to resonate!

Second: Some of the new chauvinists, especially leftists, claim that the Arabs of Northern and Central Sudan are not truly Arabs, citing their dark skin as evidence against their Arab identity. They mislead people into thinking that Arabs are light-skinned, as if these dark-skinned Sudanese couldn’t possibly be related to them! In reality, the dark complexion of these tribes is the strongest evidence of their Arabness. The Arabs, especially the Banu Hashim—the nobility of the Arabs—were known to have skin tones ranging from dark brown to black. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, was described as being “adam,” which means very dark. The fair skin you see among the Arabs of the Gulf and the Levant is the result of mixing with the Persians and Romans after Islam. Arabs used to take pride in their dark skin and considered fair or reddish complexions as foreign traits. If dark-skinned people today took pride in their skin tone as Arabs once did, they would force the world to respect them.

For those who want to delve deeper into this topic, feel free to contact me via email. I have an extensive research paper on this subject that I can share, though the matter should be clear without needing further evidence, except for those possessed by the disease of chauvinism. People are trusted with their lineage.

Third: Arabness, as indicated by tradition, is not based on race but on language. Anyone who speaks Arabic is considered Arab. This refutes the notion of race, which we’ve said is a myth, and instead, identifies Arabness as a cultural achievement accessible to anyone, unlike race, which is something you’re born into and cannot acquire.