A few days before the US election, I posted an article on my Facebook page, which I rarely use, and predicted a Trump victory. Various people contacted me and almost called me mad. They insisted that all the polls were giving a victory to Hillary Clinton. I am not very fond of polls.

I predicted this outcome against all conventional wisdom because I strongly believe that the only way to win an election is to address the aspirations and frustrations of the people.

During the Libyan uprising I had also predicted what is taking place now. Just because I warned that after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi Libya will plunge in a tribal war I was vilified, ridiculed and almost humiliated. Gratitude in politics is a negligible quantity.

At the risk of again being called a man of the past, I dare make another ‘bizarre’ predication. The Democratic Party in the US, still in shock after Clinton’s defeat, may elect a Muslim as chairman.

I am referring to Keith Ellison. His official bio states his priorities in Congress are: promoting peace, prosperity for working families, environmental sustainability and civil and human rights. These are the opposite ideas of what some political observers in the US believe will be the hallmark of a Trump administration.

Ellison was born in Detroit. His family’s involvement in the civil rights struggle in the 1950s through to the 1970s influenced his commitment to the cause of justice and creating an inclusive and fair society.

He is the first Muslim ever elected to Congress. He was raised as a Catholic but converted to Islam while attending Wayne State University.

Bernie Sanders, a Jew, and other progressive politicians in the Democratic Party support him.