Islam's main principal is that of equality of man and hence the black slave Bilal (RA) is still regarded to be among the best person of all time with the highest level of piety and he is reported by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to be the first person to enter paraside (by holding the rein of prophet's ride) before any other person who ever lived on this earth would. No wonder that Islam is so popular among African American. Some of the popular names among them are of Muhammad Ali (Cases Clay) and Malcolm X who had following to say about Islam.
"(The Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca) was an exhilarating experience to see people belonging to different colours, races and nationalities, kings, heads of states and ordinary men from very poor countries all clad in two simple white sheets praying to God without any sense of either pride or inferiority. It was a practical manifestation of the concept of equally in Islam."
Cassius Clay, now Muhammed Ali.
"Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and the overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practised by people of all colours and races here in this ancient Holy Land, the home of Abraham, Muhammed, and all the other prophets of the Holy Scriptures. For the past week, I have been utterly speechless and spellbound by the graciousness I see displayed all around me by people of all colors."
Malcolm X
And further more:
"The Europeans in South Africa dread the advent of Islam, as they( Muslims) claim equality with the white races. They may well dread it. If brotherhood is a sin, if it is equality of the coloured races that they dread, then their dread is well-founded."
Mohandas K. Ghandi
"I have been struck over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes a man instinctively a brother. When you meet an Egyptian, an Algerian, an Indian and a Turk in London, what matters is that Egypt is the motherland of one and India is the motherland of another."
Sarojini Naidu
"The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue."
Professor A.J. Toynbee in New York 1948
"I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of the Quran which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness."
Napoleon Bonaparte
Quran's message is loud and clear about its sense of equality:
"O Mankind! Most certainly, it is We( God almighty) who have Created you all From a single (pair) Of a male and a female, And it is we who Have made you into Nations and tribes, That ye may recognise each other (Not that ye may despise each other). Verily, the noblest of you In the sight of Allah Is (he who is) the most Righteous of you." Holy Quran 49:13
"And mankind is naught but a single nation." Holy Quran 2:213
And according to authentic hadeeth of prophet during his address of the last hajj of his life:
"…O people, surely your Lord is One, and your father is one. You all belong to Adam, and Adam was created of clay. No Arab is superior to a non-Arab or vice versa, and no white man is superior to a black man and vice versa. God has said ‘Surely the noblest amongst you are those who are the most God conscious amongst you.’"
