London has seen the history in making! Getting the first Muslim mayor today, Saturday, May 7, 2016, London has set a new history and also showed the mirror to the USA where Donald Trump is all but set to flame the anti-Muslim wave in the country. Sadiq Khan, the person to become the first ever Muslim mayor of London, comes from a middle-class family. He is the son of a bus driver.
He contested the election for mayor post from the labour party’s side and went on to receive a major share, 57% of the total number of votes. In numbers, Sadiq Khan received more than 1.3 million votes and defeated his competitor Zac Goldsmith with a huge margin. In his much-celebrated tweet after the poll victory, Sadiq said:
https://twitter.com/SadiqKhan/status/728750067914579968
According to the statistics coming, the polling turnaround was relatively higher compared to that in 2012. This time, 45.6% people exercised their right to vote, which was more compared to 38% in 2012.
The election was marked by shows of all kind you get to see in a typical general election. There were promises; there were negative campaigns; there were controversies with name-calling. The competitor Zac Goldsmith turned out to be a rather fundamental person who linked Mr Sadiq with terrorism. Not only Goldsmith, even the prime minister of England, David Cameron also joined the anti-Islam campaigning and charged Sadiq Khan with the links to terrorism.
On the other hand, the newly elected mayor of London calls himself a British Muslim. Sadiq promised to fight the forces of extremism during his campaigning. Moreover, as a counterattack, he also accused Goldsmith of frightening and dividing the voters of London.
On a broader perspective, the victory of a Muslim mayor in London will send a strong message to the countries where people discriminate Muslims only on the basis of their religion. The USA is number one in recent days. Let’s welcome the newly elected Mayor of the UK’s capital!
