Since the announcement of Senator Barack Obama winning the post for the 44th US Presidency, apart from Americans who have been rejoicing, the world’s media has been reporting the monumental and historic election of he first black US President. Undoubtedly, this has been unprecedented in Western capitalist nations, given the abominable past of enchaining countless black Africans as slaves. This election is portrayed as a milestone in showcasing the progression of ethnic minorities in Western society.
Objectively, there will be a change in the future tenants of the White House. However, in terms of what Senator Obama will have to offer the world and specifically the Muslims, statements made by the Illinois Senator certainly leave room to be skeptical. When in conversation with Muslims about their opinion of Obama, they generally feel that no one could be worse than Bush, thus by default, Obama will be better. This, coupled with the fact that he has a Muslim middle name, people assume that he must have some partiality towards Muslims and dealing with Muslim countries.
Muslim thinkers and leaders in the West have spoken, written, blogged and supported at great lengths Obama’s run for Presidency. What drives this motivation and panglossian sentiments for Obama is perplexing despite explicit statements about his aggressive views on Iran, his zeal to continue bombing Pakistan and his unstinting support for Israel’s continuing brutality against the Palestinians. No real hope there, I suppose. As a matter of fact no real change from Bush’s foreign policy. What is more ironic is that President Bush had actually visited the Grand Mosque in Washington D.C. just after 9/11, whereas Mr. Obama refused to visit one single mosque in his campaign. Surely this must be noted as a deficiency in character for turning his back on Muslim-American voters.
Looking at it from a domestic perspective, unprecedented contributions were handed out from corporate interests, Wall Street interests and, most interestingly, big corporate law firm attorneys. Never before has a Democratic nominee for President achieved this supremacy over his Republican counterpart. Why, apart from his unconditional vote for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, are these large corporate interests investing so much in Senator Obama? He constantly mentions helping the “middle class” but only time will tell as to whose interests he surely fulfills.
Adrian Lester said, “Rosa Parks sat, so that Martin Luther King could walk, Martin walked so that Obama could run, Obama ran so that our children could fly…” Each individual mentioned here tells a story of the struggle and sacrifice black individuals made to remove the concept of White supremacy and arrogance, thus the black populace being overjoyed and proud. What is not taken into account is why such situations existed in America in the first place and still do despite Obama being elected.
America can never be changed by one man. Not its colonialist foreign policy, its capitalist ideology and values nor its unshakable institutions. Its historic relationship with Israel, its overbearing interference in the Muslim world and unquenchable thirst for natural gas and oil and maintaining itself as the top superpower of the World. The American Administration, no matter who is in it, will always safeguard and maintain the above status quo.
In the words of President-Elect Barack Obama in his victory speech, “At this defining moment…” Muslims around the world including in America need to ask themselves if they genuinely seek change in the dire situation of the Ummah, is the President of the United States of America the man to bring hope to the region?
November 9th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I want to be positive and hopeful about Obama, as do, I’ve noted, the vast majority of the American population. For some it may be about Barak being black (though he is just as white as he is black…), but that would make George Bush a civil rights leader for making it possible to have a “Black” President. I believe it is more simple than that. People want hope. People want to believe in the American dream, and see Bush as the devil spawn who ruined it.
Obama makes Americans feel like there will be a new golden age of America. If I’m being honest, I doubt it will be anything like that. President Bush has only been in office for eight years. Are the problems really only that recent?