The first black American president from mixed heritage was meant to be the beacon for hope not only in the west but a means to unite the world. However the dream has crashed into reality where barely a year has passed with no real achievements on his part. Both at home and abroad Obama has failed to deliver on the ‘change we can all believe in.’

On home ground there has been a series of setbacks which are quickly turning his dream into a nightmare. Campaign promises relating to the economy, healthcare, the environment have seen little change. Not only are there still huge problems in providing jobs for the millions of destitute Americans but Obama at times has been reluctant to curb the irresponsible behaviour of bankers, stating “Why is it that we’re going to cap executive compensation for Wall Street bankers but not Silicon Valley entrepreneurs or [American] football players?” in response to a disciplinarian idea for greedy bankers.

The environment is another area of disappointment where like his predecessor Obama continues to drag his feet on the issue of reducing green house emissions, even lagging behind China in fuel efficiency quotas. Additionally in the most important issue of reducing overall emissions, Obama refused a proposal of a 20% reduction from 1990 levels by 2020.

As for the apparently charitable health care initiative for millions who go without basic healthcare, Obama has faced nothing but opposition not only from the Republicans but also from much of the public citing it as ‘un-American’. The most recent blow came in the shape of the Massachusetts senate seat, usually a safe haven for democrats, which now means the Republicans can disrupt any bill Obama wishes to introduce, like the healthcare initiative.

Obama’s Nobel peace prize also came along side his increasing insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan, whilst sustaining the Iraqi occupancy. His vision has been permanently fixed on foreign objectives for the past year, reminding the American public through the deployment of 30,000 more U.S soldiers in Afghanistan. This has resulted in thousands of deaths and even more displaced families now living in tents.

The failure continues to the middle east where he initially gave hope of a even hand in the troubles in Palestine, where in his speech in an Egyptian university in June called for a balanced look at the troubles stating “So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own”. The reality is far from the fantasy of Obama rhetoric. The past year has shown him to merely continue the Bush policy of containment of Israel whilst maintaining the politically advantageous relationship.

Israel has continued to build settlements even though Obama has repeatedly called for a halt to such construction, resigning Obama to concentrate on negotiations between the warring parties. This failure to reign in Israel increases Obama’s inept appearance, further exposing Obama’s agenda not in championing the Palestinian cause but in controlling its problem child.

As the ummah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, we are not surprised or disappointed by these consequences a year down the line. The cycle of disappointment will only break when we analyse the problems we are enveloped in. The way to understand any country or leader is to first understand their viewpoint, the way in which they view their life and how they solve their problems.

The US continues to bleed from two wars which have now lasted longer than WW2, the only consistently with Obama is the fact that he will continue with the policies developed by the same foreign policy experts of the Bush era and Obama has no plans to deviate from such a path.

Instead of clutching on to the hope of Western leaders we like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and sahabah resist this temptation for ease and instead follow his صلى الله عليه وسلم sunnah and call for resumption of the Islamic way of life brought to life by the Khilafah lead by our sincere leader.