APA-Washington DC- (USA) Professor Sulayman S. Nyang is one of the most renowned professors of African origin in the United States who has been teaching at Howard University in Washington DC since 1972, has served as acting director of the African Studies Program, and as chairman of the Department of African Studies.

A scholar of African and Muslim affairs, the native of The Gambia, has also once served as deputy ambassador and head of chancery of the Gambian embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Professor Nyang serves on the advisory boards of several national, and international African and Muslim organizations, and institutions (United Nations, World Bank). He was the first American Muslim president of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. He also advised the Democratic and Republican camps during the American electoral campaign.

Niang has also written extensively on African, Islamic and Middle Eastern affairs. His most widely-known book is "Islam, Christianity and African Identity". He has also authored or co-edited among others: "Religious Plurality in Africa" and "Islam in the United States of America."

Professor Nyang has been living in the United States of America since 1965 and recalls very vividly the days when segregation was still a way of life in the US and especially the south. With the election of Barack Obama he said a page in history has certainly been turned but despite the many challenges ahead, he sees definite progress in race equality even though there are still lots of challenges ahead.

In a recent exclusive interview with APA in Washington, Prof. Nyang said; "When I came to this country 40 years ago, Barack Obama was probably 3 or 4 years old, he told APA. I lived in Mississippi and experienced not being able as a "colored person" to share bathrooms or same rows in movie theaters with white people. That's why I believe more emphasis on race relations should have been made on the September 26th presidential debate held on the campus of the University of Mississippi."

According to Prof. Nyang, history was made that very day when a man who is a product of forbidden bi-racial love in the past, aspiring to become the first US black president sat with his white opponent in a university which four decades ago did not accept any black students.

Another phenomenon that was somewhat used to discredit Obama in the presidential race was his father's religion. It was common during the campaign to hear McCain supporters implying that the Democratic candidate was a Muslim and might have connections with terrorists.

He said the demonization of Islam has become common in a country that still has not healed from the September 11th 2001 wounds. Professor Nyang acknowledged that Islamophobia has been around long before the attacks, and is linked to essentially three groups.

"Some Zionist elements oppose Islam because it is a threat to them. They fear that Muslims would get influence in the West and they will not just outnumber them demographically but will be intellectually a threat to them.

"Another group linked to the demonization of Islam is the Christian Right groups in the US. They feel threatened by Islam ideologically and socially." Mr. Nyang also mentioned some feminists groups in the West, who see Islam as oppressive to women.

Racists and people antagonistic to Islam have linked the president- elect's name to Islam and to terrorism as a matter of fact. The name "Barack Hussein Obama" has spread many doubts about his Christianity. "But these accusations started during the grassroots politics of the primary electoral campaign, said Mr. Nyang. The Clinton camp started it during the fight for the democratic nomination. They did use religion; the controversy about Obama's association with Reverend Jeremia Wright, the Somali outfit passed for Muslim garment that he wore during a visit in Kenya, in order to destroy him. The McCain/Palin camp was just building on what the Clinton camp had started," he added.

On the matter of foreign aid, he believes that the president –elect will continue the work of the Bush administration which ironically has given more money to Africa than any other administration. "The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has given hundreds of millions of dollars to help the fight against AIDS in Tanzania," he reminded. "He will also have to continue Bill Clinton's legacy: the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)," he added.

Mr. Nyang is convinced that president-elect Obama's biggest challenge will be the war on terrorism in Africa (Chad, Somalia, Mauritania and Algeria).

"Somalia looks as difficult as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. But when it comes to the fight against terrorism, the Obama administration will need to keep in mind that one cannot fight a concept. You need a solid enemy," Professor Nyang told APA.

On Obama's victory, he said: "I believe that with Obama the United States will lead the world better. The US image needs to be polished across the world".

Five years ago, Professor Nyang recalled, I gave a speech at the White House, and I told the audience: "let us make the American image as strong as the dollar. Unfortunately today they are both down."