NEW YORK: American print and electronic media gave extensive coverage to the historic election of Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London highlighting that he is a Muslim of Pakistani ancestry with The New York Times calling him one of the most prominent Muslim politicians in the West.In a front page dispatch from London, the leading American newspaper underscored the fact that Sadiq Khan’s resounding victory took place at a time Europe is struggling with a rise in Islamophobia riven by debates about the flood of Syrian migrants and on edge over religious ethnic and cultural disputes.
On top of this, the Times pointed out that his opponent conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith attacked Sadiq Khan for sharing the stage with some extremists saying he had given oxygen and cover to them.
Sadiq Khan defended his work as a human rights lawyer and said he hoped Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate who has called for barring Muslims from entering the United States, loses badly. He argued that as an observant Muslim, he was well placed to tackle extremism.
“I m a Londoner, I’m European, I’m British, I’m English, I’m of Islamic faith of Asian origin of Pakistani heritage a dad, a husband,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.
The Wall Street Journal said the conservatives campaign to project Sadiq Khan as close to extremists appeared to backfire with some Londoners saying they were turned off by the personal attacks on Sadiq Khan.
The Washington Post commented Sadiq Khan’s victory likely will resonate far beyond his city challenging anti-Islam rhetoric in the West and giving another strong voice to Britain’s large Pakistani community.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio sent his congratulations to Sadiq Khan on Friday in a statement from his Twitter account saying he looked forward to working together.
