Dear Editor,

In the global discourse on racial and regional accountability, a critical and often unaddressed chapter of history remains largely unspoken. While the focus has often been on the crimes of “Christian” Europe and its white descendants, a parallel and equally devastating narrative — that of Arab racism, Pan-Arab conquest, and forced Arabisation — has been relegated to the shadows.

This oversight is a profound injustice, one that continues to fuel prejudice and exploitation, particularly towards people of African and Jewish descent. It is high time we confront this reality with the same rigour and demand for justice applied elsewhere.

The historical record is unambiguous. The Pan-Islamic/Pan-Arab conquests, from the Iberian Peninsula to East Africa, were not merely religious endeavours but acts of territorial expansion and cultural imposition. The history of Andalusia, a supposed golden age of coexistence, was also one of subjugation, where non-Arabs, including native Hispano-Romans and Visigoths, were made second-class citizens. The Arab/Islamic slave trade, a brutal and extensive enterprise, spanned centuries and resulted in the enslavement, castration, and exploitation of millions of Africans, an atrocity whose scale rivals and, in some estimations, surpasses the transatlantic slave trade. This historical violence created a lasting legacy of racial hierarchy that persists today.

However, the legacy of Pan-Arab supremacy extends beyond slavery. It includes the forced Arabisation of indigenous peoples across the Middle East and North Africa. Ancient peoples with their own distinct cultures, languages, and histories — such as the Copts of Egypt, the Assyrians and Chaldeans of Mesopotamia, the Kurds, and the indigenous peoples of Yemen — were often forcibly assimilated. Their languages were suppressed, their identities were eroded, and their lands were brought under Arab rule. This process, a form of cultural genocide, has left these communities marginalised and fighting for the preservation of their heritage.

The consequences of this legacy are visible in the contemporary experience. In the Middle East and among the Arab Diaspora, people of Afro-descent often face discrimination, marginalisation, and racial slurs that reflect a deeply ingrained prejudice. This is evident even in the Caribbean, where despite sharing a common religion, such as Christianity, intermarriage between some Arab families and people of African descent is rare, a testament to enduring racial attitudes. Similarly, people of Jewish descent have faced centuries of persecution, expulsion, and the denial of their historical presence and contributions. The denial of their indigeneity to the region and the erasure of their history is another form of Pan-Arab supremacy.

The enduring reality is that this historical trauma has been conveniently ignored, even within the frameworks of anti-racism and decolonisation. True accountability, however, requires a complete and honest reckoning with all parts of history. It is not enough to condemn European colonialism while remaining silent on Pan-Arab supremacy and its enduring effects. To move forward we must call for a two-fold process: acknowledgement and reparation.

First, there must be a widespread and honest acknowledgement of the historical and ongoing racism embedded within Arab societies and cultures. This requires educational reform that teaches the true history of the Arab/Islamic slave trade, conquests, and the marginalisation of non-Arabs and indigenous peoples. Second, and equally vital, is a discussion about reparation. Reparation is not just financial payments; it is a recognition of historical harm and an investment in healing and justice. It can take the form of historical accuracy in education, financial and developmental aid to communities historically impacted, and a commitment to dismantle systemic racism.

This call for accountability is not meant to condemn but to liberate — liberation from the shackles of a past that continues to haunt the present.

Francesca Tavares

francescatavares@yahoo.com