Asking wrong questions about the new mayor of London

Submitted by Prashant (United States), May 16, 2016 at 08:35

Dear Dr Pipes,

A lot of media is reporting on Sadik Khan's election as the mayor of London. It is well known in the democracies of the world that Muslim populations in a region play disproportionately bigger roles in democratic elections because they vote as single vote-banks for Muslim candidates. This possibility has been acknowledged by many commentators who have commented on Sadik Khan's election. A lot of commentators have also correctly acknowledged that Mr Khan ran a very effective campaign. These commentators have also admired the cosmopolitan leanings of London voters. This is all well and good but people's ability to ask wrong questions never fails to surprise me.

Many commentators are comparing London with New York and other cities of the free world. Is New York liberal enough to to elect a Muslim mayor? Is Paris? People in India are asking whether New Delhi is liberal enough to elect a Muslim mayor. I would like to assert that these questions are all misguided because they are tantamount to asking why things that are good are not better.

What should be the right questions to ask about the London election? My Sadik Khan is the son of a bus driver of Pakistani origin. Sadik Khan's success is remarkable and admirable. But all famous journalists who are comparing London with New York and Paris must ask when will there be a day when a Hindu or Christian would like to immigrate to Mr Khan's native Pakistan, give birth to a citizen son who grows up to win an election. We need to ask the same question about every Islamic country. When will we have a Christian mayor in Tehran? When will millions of Hindu Indians in Kuwait will have kids who can vote in local elections (let alone become mayors)? When will Egypt have a Coptic Christian as the democratically elected president of Egypt?

These questions may sound very unrealistic but these are the questions that must be asked every day.

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