Up until a few years ago I regularly heard people in saying unequivocally that there was no problem with racism in Scotland and I always pointed out that one of the reasons for this was that you hardly saw a black man on the streets here. Of course, if you talked to the Asian community you heard a very different story, but perhaps because they aren't black the locals didn't think that counted. After all, they eat more curry in Glasgow than anywhere outside of South Asia. Perhaps that counts as racial tolerance?

When he announced the Scottish Executive’s plans to tackle racism yesterday, Jim Wallace pointed out that for far too long we have been complacent, taking pride in our tolerance while conveniently ignoring the fears of our minorities.

Perhaps we always assumed that our traditional religious bigotries left no room for other forms of intolerance concerning colour or ethnic heritage - apart from the English, it goes without saying. But as the CRE figures for ‘97 to ‘98 show, you are three times more likely to suffer from racism in Scotland than in England and Wales, and in Central Scotland, the rate of racist incidents was fifteen times as high as London.

Of course, we all tend to have a preference for the culture of our upbringing, finding the unfamiliar tastes and habits of others sometimes exotic and attractive, but often disturbing and repugnant. And a skin of a different colour is an obvious focus for our fears of ‘the other’, the alien intruding into our familiar and unquestioned world.

It goes on in every culture. Humans always find it harder to define who they are than to rage against the supposed failings of those they aren’t. But each year, during the Pilgrimage, when muslims gather from around the world, they are reminded that a man’s true worth is unrelated to his race or birthplace.

This realisation can transform people, just as when, after years of racial hatred, Malcolm X finally travelled to Makkah for the Hajj. "There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world.” he wrote, “They were of all colours, from blue eyed blondes to black skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe could never exist between the white and the non-white…We were truly all the same."

Qur’an says: "And of His signs is that He created you of dust; then lo, you are mortals, all scattered abroad. … And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and the variety of your tongues and colours. Surely in that are signs for all living beings."