“Islam teaches racism.”
Short answer
The Qur'an explicitly states human diversity of nations and tribes exists so people may know one another, not to establish racial hierarchy — and Muhammad's ﷺ farewell sermon directly declared no superiority of Arab over non-Arab, or of any race over another, except in righteousness.
The Qur’an states directly: “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 God is the most righteous of you” (49:13) — explicitly framing ethnic and tribal diversity as a basis for mutual recognition, not hierarchy.
Muhammad’s ﷺ farewell sermon, delivered shortly before his death, is widely reported to have stated that no Arab has superiority over a non-Arab, nor a white person over a black person, or vice versa, except by righteousness and good action.
As with any global community of nearly two billion people, individual Muslims and Muslim-majority cultures have not always lived up to this standard — racism exists in some Muslim societies, as it does everywhere. That is a failure to live up to the teaching, not evidence of the teaching itself.
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