Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 was remarkably a new historical day for the whole world. It summarized a wonderfully well-recognized outcome of the accumulated historical civil struggle of African-Americans to obtain their full right of citizenship in a modern society where the rules of equality, justice and freedom should prevail.

On that beautiful Tuesday, Americans voted for meritocracy and change, and not for the long-standing uncivilized, social and racial illusion and discrimination that is based on the differences of race, origin, color and belief. It was a clear articulated transformation of a mass will for change that was hailed and celebrated internationally.

Electing Obama as president will open wide the doors for change not only in the US, but also probably in a huge part of the entire world.

Beautiful Tuesday is truly considered an African-American victory after a long and cruel battle against racism and discrimination. Statistics relating to US voters will lead analysts to a clear noncontroversial conclusion. What Americans voted for was not for a change in the color of their president, but a national leader of change.

Statistics showed that Obama was not elected as a national leader on a partisan background as a Democrat, or on a racial basis as an African-American. It was clear that Americans started this kind of political, cultural and social revolutionary metamorphosis by choosing a leader to change the political body of eight years of national and international political and economic disturbance.

The majority of people, inside and outside the US, are eager to come out of the terrible era of political and economic crises that the Bush administration has succeeded to indulge the world in. Internationally, the Bush administration did its utmost to widen hatred against America in many parts of the world. Such a dark heritage needs conscious and sincere endeavors to build bridges of dialogue with the outside world, especially with the Arab and Islamic world.

The arrogance of the blind might that cherished the hallucinated inspirational divine “victory” of destruction should be replaced with dialogue, reconciliation and cooperation.

Such rich winds of historical change should positively reach and affect our part of the world. Many parts of the Arab and Islamic world have been living, for a long time, within a dark circle of inequality, underdevelopment, backwardness, despotism and dictatorship. American efforts to spread a polluted and corrupt kind of democracy ended with the replacement of tyranny with another American-sponsored tyranny. Democracy in most parts of the Arab and Islamic world has always been a methodology to pave the way for dictatorships to deepen their authoritative roots of power to control the lives of people and the capabilities of their countries. Democracy helps to exacerbate feelings of hatred against the long-standing American sponsoring of corrupt regimes in many parts of the Arab and Islamic world.

Obama’s election is a strong and real victory for societies that cherish liberty, democracy, justice, freedom and equality. It is a clear message to the world, the whole world, that people should not be judged and categorized by their differences in color, political or cultural beliefs, tribe, origin, wealth, political inclinations, and “fabricated” loyalties to dictatorships.

The big majorities of Arab and Islamic countries have been grueling under the agony of the cruel illnesses of discrimination, inequality, racism, lack of opportunities, and political, social and economic hardships.

Our part of the world should be inspired by the US’ experience when American society — which has been suffering from racism and a kind of political, social and cultural exclusion and discrimination — did not see Obama’s color, and how different he is from the cultural and political fault lines of color and race.

It was clearly understandable how and why support for Obama had expanded outside the US. Yes, Obama’s first and most important job will be working for his country. But, we do hope that he builds better bridges of communication and cooperation with our world. Since 9/11, the Islamic world has been suffering, on the one side, from the hijacking of Islam by a group of extremists, and, on the other, from the deliberate distortion of the image of Islam and Muslims by another kind of racial and religious Western extremism. It is time for dialogue to explore new horizons of cooperation and contribute positively to lasting and sustainable peace and development in this region.

Obama did it. The majority of Americans believe today that “yes he can” and they can make a change. Can Obama build bridges of dialogue, cooperation and reconciliation with our part of the world? Let us all pray that he can.

— Mohammad Alomar is the executive director of Saudi Specialized Publishing Company (SSPC). He is based in Riyadh.