Meaning of Ahmar/Humra:
[ حُمرةRedness;] a well-known colour; (Msb, K;) the colour of that which is
termed .… أحمرBut when relating to complexion, whiteness; (Book I, p.640
W.E.Lanes Arabic Lexicon)
The Black Arabs referred to anyone not as dark as themselves (and they were
indeed very dark) as ‘red skinned’. This and other key descriptive terms will be
addressed in more detail in the conclusion to this three part series of articles
where it’s usage will be highlighted and detailed using classical Arabic
text/literature sources.
The Indo-European converts made allegiance to the Black Arab tribes and once
they had the chance, they took everything for grabs. By the end of the 9th
Century the racial composition of Arabia had changed from predominantly
Black to either mixed race or near white( Indo-European ) .
The dominant face of Islam went from black to white. By the 11th century, as
Robert Goldstone (1979: 87) observes:
“although both Abbasid and Fatimid caliphs continued to maintain their titles,
between the Mamelukes in Egypt and the Seljuk’s in the East real power in the
Arab world (except North Africa and Spain, where the Seljuk’s never penetrated)
had passed into Turkish hands. There it was to remain until our own day. And
what of the original Arabs, those lords of the desert who had formed the
vanguard of Islam and presided over its golden age? Almost all had long since