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Q & A with Maulana Wahiduddin Khan on the election of Sadiq Khan as London’s First Muslim Mayor.
Sadiq  Khan, the son of a bus-driver, has been elected as the Mayor of London, and with a sizeable margin. He is London’s first Muslim Mayor. How do you respond to this?

In his first address as the Mayor of London, Mr. Sadiq Khan said, while expressing his gratitude towards Londoners, that they had made the impossible, possible. In my view, it would be better to say that Londoners had demonstrated to the entire world, and especially to Muslims, what the spirit of this age is—that in today’s day and age, sectarian thinking has ended and competence alone holds meaning. If one is able to prove one’s competence, one can achieve anything. In this age of globalisation, there is no room for any kind of sectarian thinking. There is only one criterion of success—and that is, competence. 

What do you think Mr. Khan’s election can imply in the context of the much talked-about question of relations between Muslims and others, both in the West and globally, more generally?

The issue of relations is a unilateral one—the rest of the world has adopted the spirit of the age already, and now it is time for Muslims to change their attitude and adopt the spirit of the modern age, too. 

What do you think it means in the context of claims of widespread ‘Islamophobia’ in the West, and among non-Muslims generally?

“Islamophobia” is a baseless rumour that Muslims have invented. It exists neither in the West nor anywhere else in the world. This is the age of opportunities, and today every person is busy in availing these opportunities; no one has the time to become enemy to another. Muslims must realize that the victory of  Mr.  Sadiq Khan completely dispels the notion of “Islamophobia”. Muslims must accept that they were under a wrong impression until now while the reality is quite different. It is now the responsibility of Muslims to unilaterally come out of this negative mindset. 

Besides living up to his other responsibilities as mayor of London, what do you think Sadiq Khan could do to improve relations between Muslims and others in the UK and the West more generally?

It is now the turn of Muslims to change their perception towards the West. “Islamophobia” was a self-invented obsession that has no relevance. Muslims have not yet understood the spirit of the modern age, which invites everyone to adopt a “customer- friendly” attitude. It is only a friendly atmosphere that can allow the global economy to thrive, foster goodwill and sustain this era of professional development. In this modern age, no one can potentially remain an enemy to another. 

What lessons do you think we can draw from Sadiq Khan’s victory in terms of relations between Muslims and people of other faiths?

Mr.  Sadiq Khan’s victory should make Muslims realize that they live in a new age. Today’s global economy thrives on competition and cooperation and upholds competence as the single most important factor of development. Mr. Sadiq Khan is not a Muslim leader, but the result of his victory has left a lesson much bigger than any other, inviting Muslims to re-think and re-plan their efforts and channelize them in constructive matters.

What lessons do you think can be drawn from Sadiq Khan’s victory in terms of political representation of Muslims and minorities?

In my opinion, the concept of political representation is irrelevant. What is relevant is political competence. In politics, quantity is nothing, it is competence that matters; quantity has only a secondary significance. For example, Jews are a minority community in the United States of America but they outshine others in their spheres of work. This has become possible only because today competence is given supreme importance. The concept of representation emphasizes only on quantity, but in our view life is not a game of quantity. It is quality that matters! 

The people of London elected their first Muslim Mayor. What message do you want to convey on the basis of this to Muslims in Muslimmajority countries in terms of how they should treat the minorities living in their midst?

At present, Muslim countries have adopted a “We-They” concept with respect to non-Muslim minorities. This concept is anachronistic to the modern world. The concept of today’s age is “We-We”, that is, equal human rights for all. Muslims are free to follow their choice in matters of cultural belief but in social and political affairs they must adopt and practise universal norms. That is, as far as human rights are concerned, there is no difference at all between any human beings.