Question:
For nearly two weeks, the United States has been swept by protests that appear massive in some areas, punctuated by acts of violence, looting of shops, and the burning of police stations. Does the killing of a Black man in America normally ignite such protests? This has happened many times in the past few years without causing such unrest! Are there repercussions of these American protests on America's foreign policy?
Answer:
To clarify the answers to the above questions, we review the following:
1. The American police killed a man of African descent, George Floyd, in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020. It was a heinous crime during which the police officer applied the training he received in the police force—restraint by applying pressure to the carotid artery in the neck. The crime lasted nine minutes, during which Floyd cried out, "I can't breathe," until he passed away. All Americans witnessed this horrific crime and saw with their own eyes the brutality of the American police against Black people. Demonstrations broke out in the city immediately the next day, denouncing this degree of brutality in dealing with human beings. The demonstrations then began to spread to other American cities, with the painful video of the choking widely circulated via social media, until the demonstrations covered more than 80 American cities in multiple states. The authorities then announced a curfew to prevent the demonstrations, many of which were accompanied by acts of violence, killing, looting, and the burning of shops and police stations. The American police resorted to dealing harshly with the protesters, arresting more than 4,000 people in various cities; several deaths were announced, and the National Guard was called in to impose security and control the streets. Furthermore, the American army was summoned in a precedent that had not occurred before in America to impose security in the capital, Washington, and President Trump was rushed to a secure underground bunker for fear of protesters storming the White House.
2. The scenes of American protests shattered the image of internal stability that successive American governments had boasted about. The erupting fires, looted stores, and destroyed police stations on this significant scale warned Americans of the hell that their governments have long created for other countries. It threatened that the oppression and arrogance with which America has habitually dealt with the world is finding its way to dealing with the American people themselves. These were shocking scenes by all standards: a president warning and threatening peaceful protesters with "vicious dogs" around the White House and with the most lethal weapons in the world if they dared to breach the White House fences, which were surrounded by wire barriers and concrete walls. The president demanded that state governors respond harshly to protesters in their states, impose security by force, and offered them the assistance of the National Guard, putting the US military on high alert to intervene within 4 hours wherever necessary if the police and Guard failed to impose security. Indeed, the army was deployed in the capital, Washington, before this step was reversed following widespread criticism directed at the president for pitting the US military against the people. From another angle, angry crowds—unstoppable by police, the Guard, or the risks of the Coronavirus—included a peaceful segment demonstrating for civil rights, accountability for killers, and police reform; a second segment intentionally attacking government centers, especially the police, burning and destroying them (whom President Trump declared to be the "Leftist Antifa" movement, which is fiercely anti-capitalist); and a third segment engaged in looting, theft, and acts of sabotage.
3. The reality of the American police, of which the white element is the backbone, is that they have become accustomed to insulting the Black population. Many of them have been killed at the hands of police officers, and some of those incidents were documented and filmed, as in the recent incident of Floyd's death. These incidents were not rare occurrences but were frequent; racial discrimination in the United States is a tangible and striking phenomenon in their society.
However, there are reasons why the death of Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis expanded the scope of public anger against the policy of racial discrimination pursued by state apparatuses in America against Black people in particular. Some of these reasons are old and others are new, including:
a- The failure of the "melting pot" process in American society: The current American society emerged with a distinctively racist foundation. English immigrants in particular, and Europeans in general, colonized America over the bodies of millions of Native Americans, the original inhabitants. Due to the new colonies' need for labor, slaves were brought from Africa. Thus, Americans viewed everyone of African descent as slaves, and this was official for centuries, during which these Africans were subjected to racial segregation and forced labor in white plantations and industries. The Naturalization Act of 1790 granted American citizenship to whites only, while refusing to recognize Black people as citizens. Although Africans gained some rights, such as voting in the 1860s, racial discrimination remained an official policy in America even after the end of the Civil War. After the mid-twentieth century, a major movement called "Civil Rights" broke out, in which Martin Luther King became famous as a leader for Black people in America, resulting in the official recognition of their full rights as American citizens. Consequently, these Africans thought they had gained the civil rights their fathers and grandfathers lacked; however, this did not change much of the mentality of white Americans, whose inferior view toward these Africans continued, as did racist practices against them. Despite American leaders' rhetoric about the end of racism, various reports speak of the deep-seated racist view in America against those of African descent. Manifestations of racism against Black people in America include the clear increase in the number of Black prisoners compared to white Americans, high unemployment rates among them, the large and clear difference in average income between American families of African descent compared to white Americans, as well as the sharp deficiency in health services and other services between areas predominantly inhabited by Black citizens—called "Black neighborhoods"—and areas that are often considered upscale, where decent health services are available and housing rents are high, inhabited by white Americans.
b- The arrival of the racist Trump administration and its adoption of white supremacy advocates: The groups supporting President Trump believe in the superiority of the white race over others. These groups were elevated after Trump came to the White House, finding in him a nationalist leader. These groups mix with Evangelical Christians who add a religious tint to this superiority. Through President Trump’s public stance against Muslims and preventing some from obtaining visas to enter America, his anti-Mexican statements, his plans—part of which he implemented—to build a wall on the Mexican border, his trade war against China, his naming of the Coronavirus as the "Chinese virus," the emergence of a wave of hostility toward Chinese people within America, his tolerance of Neo-Nazi demonstrations in Virginia in 2017, the language not devoid of insult with which he speaks about minorities, as well as his comments on the death of the "Black" Floyd and the necessity of suppressing the protest movement supporting "Black" rights in America... as a result of all this, President Trump has become one of the largest factors inciting racial discrimination in America. Therefore, the pace of hostile acts against Black people, Muslims, Mexicans, and Chinese people in America has increased during his reign, and they are viewed more than before as intruders who came to steal Americans' job opportunities and loot America's wealth. Thus, racial discrimination has become prominent in many sectors of American society.
c- Repercussions of the Coronavirus within American society: Among the reasons that increased the heat of the protests over Floyd's death in America is that it coincided with the spread of the Coronavirus and the accompanying quarantine, which caused distress for Americans on one hand. On the other hand, it created large-scale unemployment, increasing Americans' anxiety about their future. Thirdly, Americans saw a dismal failure in their government's handling of the epidemic's spread in America, where there was a major shortage of medical supplies and equipment and a failure to prepare for the virus, even though the wave hit America after Europe and China, which should have provided a good opportunity to prepare that was not exploited. There was also the American administration's stumbling in dealing with the epidemic, resulting in another reason for division in the American political sphere regarding the Trump administration's method of handling the pandemic crisis. One of the deep and important internal issues is that American society's sense of the bad nature of the capitalist system has intensified; the process of wealth distribution in America is worsening at a frightening pace in favor of an extremely small class of capitalists, the owners of political influence lobbies. That policy moves toward exempting them further from taxes at a time when middle and limited-income earners bear the largest share of exhausting taxes. These American protests have highlighted the rising power of the anti-capitalist movement in America, "Antifa," which President Trump demanded be classified as terrorist. This is the same movement that called for the occupation of stock markets on "Wall Street" as a major symbol of capitalism after the 2008 financial crisis; this movement is increasing its followers and becoming more rooted in American society, calling for violence against capitalism, and is accused today of directing protesters to burn and destroy government facilities like police stations.
4. All of this had repercussions on America's foreign policy, which are influential for the following reasons:
a- The state of division in America: Since 2017, the Trump administration has shown that America is not united, and there are many policies over which Americans are divided, such as wars, international aid that America provides to its agents around the world, tax policy, dealing with minorities, immigration, and many other policies. But with the arrival of President Trump, he himself has become one of the most prominent reasons for division in America. His personality, with its features of excessive arrogance, attachment to power, excessive love of appearance, lack of wisdom, inclination to engage in internal conflicts, and showing euphoria in breaking opponents, has made America truly divided over President Trump—either with him or against him. Dismissals and resignations within his administration have increased on a scale never seen with any previous American president. The Coronavirus crisis and the verbal sparring between the president and some state governors have shown an exacerbation in the intensity of American division, and this division hits the American political and financial center, reflecting on society as a whole. The way the President and his administration handled the popular protest crisis has also become a substantial reason for feeding the division; Trump opposes the protest movement after Floyd's death and wants to impose security by force. He is opposed in this by the Democratic Party and state governors, and even by his Secretary of Defense, who apologized for the President's participation in a visit to a church near the White House after security personnel cleared protesters from around it, which was considered political propaganda for Trump. Among the latest examples of these conflicts and their intensity: (Former US defense secretaries and dozens of military officials—in a joint letter—accused President Trump of betraying his oath and the Constitution for considering deploying the army to confront protesters; among the signatories was former Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Al Jazeera Net, 07/06/2020). The matter was not limited to former defense secretaries but included the current one sharply; according to the same previous source (CNN quoted an official in the US Department of Defense, the "Pentagon", as saying that President Donald Trump requested the deployment of ten thousand soldiers in the capital, Washington, and other American cities to confront last week's protests, and that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley refused this request, amidst massive demonstrations in Washington and other American and European cities against racism and police violence. The New Yorker magazine reported that it learned from White House sources about a verbal altercation occurring between President Trump and General Mark Milley. The magazine reported that General Milley raised his voice at the President in objection to his request to deploy the army to the streets of American cities to end the protests, as Milley believes that the army's presence in the streets is contrary to the law).
b- The presidential election period: What added heat to this issue is that these protests broke out coinciding with the election campaigns for both candidates, Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Trump. While President Trump feels deeply concerned about his future as president and wants to be re-elected in November of this year—indeed, this is his number one priority—his main source of concern is the repercussions of the Coronavirus, its impact on the American economy, the loss of millions of Americans' jobs, and what is said about his poor handling of the virus crisis. He fears that this will be a factor his Democratic rival exploits against him in the election campaigns. Then comes today's wave of recent protests, in which President Trump wanted to highlight his personality as a strongman capable of maintaining security and protecting property, which increases his electoral chances. However, his rival Joe Biden, the Democratic Party, and other forces are working to portray this differently, showing him as a man working to entrench division in America and incapable of healing the wounds inflicted on American society after the Floyd incident and the demonstrations, holding him responsible for the violent and riotous nature of the demonstrations due to his fiery statements against the protesters.
c- State suppression of protests: The countries of the world witnessed the painful and brutal way the American government dealt with popular protests, the President's talk about imposing security by force, "vicious dogs," and the most lethal weapons. They saw thousands of detainees, batons, and tear gas in America, after it had been immune to such scenes for decades. All of this strips America of an argument it has long used against its opponents around the world under the titles of human rights, the right to expression, supporting the opposition, and so on. This has a direct impact, causing American foreign policy to lose one of its most famous international justifications. This is confirmed by what Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, that ("as of late May and early June 2020, the United States loses any right to direct any remarks to anyone on the globe regarding human rights issues." Zakharova added, commenting on the American authorities' handling of protesters participating in protests against racism and police violence in the United States: "It's over! From this moment on, they do not have this right." Youm7, 02/06/2020).
5. Thus, racial discrimination is endemic in the United States; it may fall silent for a while but it moves a lot. It is an intellectual disease at the core of the emergence of the American capitalist system; indeed, no man-made system is free from it because it is subject to the whims and desires of human beings who determine the distinction of white over brown, and red over yellow... even if this discrimination inflicts all harm on others, and even on themselves later!
It is only Islam that has removed, and removes, this racial discrimination. There is no preference in it among people based on color, status, or wealth; rather, they are all equal, and they do not excel over one another except by piety (taqwa). Allah (swt) says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوباً وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِير
"O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted." (Surah Al-Hujurat [49]: 13)
The Messenger ﷺ said, as narrated by Al-Bayhaqi (384 AH - 458 AH) from Abu Nadhrah, from Jabir bin Abdullah who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us in the middle of the days of Tashreeq during the Farewell Sermon, saying:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ وَاحِدٌ، وَإِنَّ أَبَاكُمْ وَاحِدٌ، أَلا لا فَضْلَ لِعَرَبِيٍّ عَلَى عَجَمِيٍّ، وَلا لِعَجَمِيٍّ عَلَى عَرَبِيٍّ، وَلا لأَحْمَرَ عَلَى أَسْوَدَ، وَلا أَسْوَدَ عَلَى أَحْمَرَ، إِلا بِالتَّقْوَى، إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ، أَلا هَلْ بَلَّغْتُ؟
"O people, indeed your Lord is One and your father is one. Verily, there is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, nor of a non-Arab over an Arab, nor of a red person over a black person, nor of a black person over a red person, except by piety (taqwa). Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Have I not conveyed the message?" (Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi). Al-Busiri (762 AH - 840 AH) narrated something similar, as did At-Tabarani (260 AH - 360 AH), who said in his narration:
وَلَا لِأَسْوَدَ عَلَى أَبْيَضَ وَلَا لِأَبْيَضَ عَلَى أَسْوَدَ
"And neither for a black person over a white person, nor for a white person over a black person."
So, Islam is the only thing that eliminates racial discrimination, for it is revealed from the Lord of the worlds, guides to the truth, and spreads goodness throughout the world.
أَفَمَنْ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ أَحَقُّ أَنْ يُتَّبَعَ أَمَّنْ لا يَهِدِّي إِلا أَنْ يُهْدَى فَمَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ
"Is He who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed or he who guides not unless he is guided? Then what is [wrong] with you - how do you judge?" (Surah Yunus [10]: 35)