London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, Slams Trump For 'Ignorant' Rhetoric On Islam And Muslim Ban

By R. Siva Kumar - 11 May '16 09:45AM

Sadiq Khan was elected last week as the first Muslim mayor of London, and of any Western capital. He is perhaps the only Muslim to be exempted from Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban.

He took off Tuesday on Trump's stance on Islam, slamming it as "ignorant" with the potential to make U.S. and UK "less safe."

"Donald Trump's ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe - it risks alienating mainstream Muslims around the world and plays into the hands of the extremists," Khan said.

"This isn't just about me - it's about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world. Donald Trump and those around him think that western liberal values are incompatible with mainstream Islam - London has proved him wrong."

His remarks were a response to what Trump had said after he had learnt about Khan's win over Conservative Party candidate Zac Goldsmith in the mayoral elections. Trump had been happy about the win, and when asked how it would affect his proposed ban on Muslims, the reply had been: "There will always be exceptions."

"I was happy to see that," Trump said, referring to Khan's win. "I think it's a very good thing, and I hope he does a very good job because frankly that would be very, very good."

Khan is upset about the Muslim ban proposed in December after the mass shooting at San Bernardino, Calif., killing 14. Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple that undertook the shooting were ISIS members.

Khan had said that if he travelled to the US he would go in January, in case, Trump won the presidential race.

Khan addressed the "ignorant" rhetoric that Trump had used. During the mayoral race too, Goldsmith and Prime Minister David Cameron had hinted that Khan was related to extremists.

"They (the Conservatives) used fear and innuendo to try to turn different ethnic and religious groups against each other - something straight out of the Donald Trump playbook," Khan said.