The new Muslim mayor of London
AFTER winning the election, Sadiq Khan, the new Muslim mayor of London, said that his election, despite a campaign that highlighted his religion, was a lesson for America’s Donald Trump, since his win showed that Islam is compatible with Western values. “Mr. Trump,” he said dismissively, is simply “ignorant about Islam.” In an interview with the New York Times, Mr. Khan, who is a member of Britain’s Labour Party, said that his conservative opponent, Zac Goldsmith, chose “a Donald Trump approach” and his campaign sought to “sow divisions.” “But London,” he said proudly, “chose unity over division, and a rejection of the politics of fear” which, he said, should encourage Hillary Clinton, in her race for the US presidency. “What we have shown, and I hope it’s a lesson that Hillary and others in America take to heart, is, that hope trumps fear.”
A practicing Muslim, whose parents came to Britain from Pakistan, Mr. Khan said that he understood that he would be a role model, but that he did not seek to be a spokesman for Muslims or Islam. Instead, he intended to represent all groups in London, which he showed by holding his swearing-in ceremony in a cathedral, his visit the next day to a Holocaust Memorial ceremony, and his criticism of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for doing too little to speak out against anti-Semitism.
“I’ve been the victim of hate crimes because of my ethnicity and my faith,” he said. “If somebody is saying views that are anti-Semitic, I’ve got to call them out.”
Mr. Khan sees his rise in British politics as a British version of the American Dream. His father was a bus driver and his mother a seamstress. Yet he became a lawyer, then transport minister, and now, at age 45, he is mayor of one of the world’s great cities.
Although he did experience some prejudice and racial abuse while growing up, he said, his own daughters, age 14 and 16, have not. His parents lived in public housing and were able to put enough money aside to educate their children and eventually purchase a home. Today London’s real estate and rent are among the highest in Europe, and working people are being priced out of the city, so cheaper housing and affordable mass transit are among his priorities as mayor. It is also vital, he says, that Britons vote on June 23rd to remain in the European Union, given that thousands of jobs are dependent on financial services.
Mr. Khan made no secret of his support for Hillary Clinton and expressed confidence that she would “trounce” Mr. Trump. “As the father of two daughters,” he said, “I couldn’t imagine a better role model for them than a woman president of the United States.”