Obama is the face of change

Barack Obama's winning of the Democratic Party's nomination for the US presidential election marks an unprecedented step for African-Americans and may usher in changes for the entire world.

For many centuries, people of Africa remained at the bottom of the social ladder, despite numerous attempts by social reformists to defend them and give them their natural rights.

The cultural structure of Western societies denied them their rights to equality and fairness and rejected the principles of the Human Rights Convention for a very long time, yet the Africans never gave up and defended their rights under all circumstances.

The discrimination of black people in capitalist societies is evident in the racist and condescending treatment that they received due to the influence of Darwinist beliefs in the Western society.

This racist theory was the cause of destructive wars, such as the Second World War, which was started by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Japan.

Despite all difficulties, the struggle against racism was a matter of interest throughout history. Our Arab and Islamic history has many examples of African Arabs who were a source of pride to all mankind, such as poet and knight Antara Al Absi and Bilal Bin Rabah, companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) who was the first to call to prayer in Islam.

Spartacus, the Thracian gladiator who led a revolt of gladiators and slaves in Capua in 73 BC will never be forgotten, and Russian poet of Ethiopian descent Alexander Pushkin, who was credited with developing literary Russian, will always be the pride of Russia.

Human rights

Since that time, human thought developed, international treaties were signed and organisations worked hard to defend human rights and promote equality between all people.

Some imperialist powers used humanity's revolution and struggle against racism and inequality to its advantage. Britain raised the banner of "fighting slavery" as an imperialist strategy in the face of those who fought against the British occupation of Arabian Gulf countries in the 20th century.

Renowned writer His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, defied the lies about piracy in the Arabian Gulf in his well-known book The myth of Arab piracy in the Gulf on the history of the region.

Yet, such lies never stopped, and we still witness an obvious exploitation of human rights by some major powers that seek to control the world, and the real racism battle emerged in the US, the country that promotes man's dream of a new world of equality and respect for human rights.

From Abraham Lincoln, the first US president who took the initiative to liberate slaves and was assassinated because of it, to the Guantanamo Bay arrest camp, history revealed that this dream has proved to be nothing but a lie so far.

The struggle for human rights against racism remains alive, and Africans have proved that they are equal in all aspects to others, and can be icons of humanity and civilisation.

A good example is South African leader Nelson Mandela, who followed Mahatma Gandhi's principles of non-violence to fight against racism.

The US presidential election and the rise of Obama constitute strong evidence that it is time for a change, and time for humanity to dominate and beat the deeply-rooted racism in Western culture.

Dr Mohammad Abdullah Al Mutawa is a professor of sociology, UAE University, Al Ain.