The first Muslim mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, accused President Trump of being “like ISIS” in regards to Trump’s comments that modern Islam was like a “clash of civilizations.”
Khan made his remarks about President Trump while attending a Guardian Live event at the Labour party conference in Brighton, UK, over the weekend. He first hit at President Trump for saying the Western mayor was an exception for Muslims and not the rule.
“My view was firstly ‘I’m not exceptional’ and secondly ‘Think about what you are saying.’ Because what you are saying is not dissimilar to what Daesh or so-called IS says,” said Khan. “They say that there is a clash of civilizations, it is not possible to be a Muslim and a westerner, and the west hates us. And you are inadvertently playing their game, you are helping them.”
Khan also spoke of the many contributions made by Muslim Americans and said that Trump’s travel ban gives the “wrong impression” of the religion.
“I’m a westerner, but also a very proud Muslim. There are some people who want to divide our communities — I’m not going to let them,” Khan said.
Khan has been a strident opponent of President Trump since Trump rose to prominence during the 2016 Presidential election. Khan frequently criticizes the President’s rhetoric towards Islam.
“I’m really keen for Donald Trump to come to London, because Donald Trump, it appears to me, is under the impression that western liberal values are incompatible with mainstream Islam,” Khan said last year. “I want him to come to London to meet Londoners of Islamic faith who love being British, love being a Londoner, love being a Muslim.”
Mr. Khan may say that, but his record, which includes addressing gender-segregated audiences and promising to ban “unrealistic” images of scantily clad women from ads on public transport, seems to indicate otherwise. Khan also served as a lawyer for the Nation of Islam in its successful High Court bid to overturn the 15-year-ban on its anti-Semitic leader, Louis Farrakhan.
Just one decade ago, Khan visited terrorist Babar Ahmad in Woodhill Prison before he was extradited to the U.S. in 2012. Ahmed plead guilty to conspiracy, and providing material support to the Taliban.