TEHRAN – As the United States in engulfed in anti-racism protests following the brutal suffocation of black citizen George Floyd by a white policeman in Minneapolis on May 25, some analysts and politicians are of the opinion that Donald Trump, who is not hiding his racist tendencies, is seeking to use the situation to win the votes of the whites in the November elections.

Haissam Bou-Said, the commissioner for the West Asia at the International Human Rights Commission, is among those who say Trump is looking to the whites to win the elections in such a situation.
 “President Trump is looking today to the upcoming elections and he believes that white voters will make a huge difference in the election, where he can easily beat his rival by adopting a racist behavior against the minorities,” Bou-Said tells the Tehran Times.

Following is the text of the interview:

Question: George Floyd's death has sparked protests across the U.S. with demonstrators desperately calling for an end to police violence. What are the reasons for these protests?

Answer: First of all, we would like to underscore our deep sadness on the awful scene in the streets of American cities due to the crime committed by a police officer in Minneapolis.  
This is not the first violent action against black Americans. It happens many times. And with the President Trump administration’s policies, it was expected to witness such a tragedy.
Black Americans are being deprived from many of their rights. They are also not welcomed in white societies in some districts. The feeling of white supremacy is well felt in the administration.

Q: Trump’s threat to shoot Minneapolis protesters spurred Twitter to hide his tweet. What is your comment on Trump's racist approach?
A: President Trump is looking today to the upcoming elections and he believes that white voters will make a huge difference in the election, where he can easily beat his rival by adopting a racist behavior against the minorities.
His tweet was considered to be unacceptable, therefore Twitter was obligated to take action as President Trump’s tweet goes against the rules of Twitter.

Q: Which cultures or religions put more emphasis on the equality and justice and pay more attention to the rights of people with different colors and races?

A: It might sound strange to some of us who say that Muslim culture does not make a differentiation between people based on their races, skin or language. These are based on Quranic teachings. 

Quran went even further by prohibiting such actions by emphasizing there is no difference in heaven based on race or color. For so doing, we believe that it's imperative to start teaching the essential laws of Islam as a free will without imposing it on the Western communities. We need to show how great Islam is in this sense.

Q: The United States has not been able to adapt to multiculturalism and attract immigrants, people of color or religious minorities. Please explain.

A: The components of the United States are based on multiculturalism as a general view. The fact is that the composition in some states are made of one race, where others are not acceptable to join. We can realize in some areas it is full of blacks or Chinese or Arabs and these races cannot live easily side by side due to their color, language or social life, despite the laws that ban discrimination against citizens.

We have also a distinguished type of works that are made for certain races and people with different colors. We can remember how the whole world was surprised by seeing Barack Obama taking the office at the White House and how mad other Americans became just because President Obama was not white. Asians and Arabs also are not welcomed in many white states, not only Africans.