The minority mayor of London

However, it will be interesting to see how he is perceived after his views on the aforementioned issues become more visible outside the UK.

Similarly, his victory has resulted in the rise of another interesting question. Now that a Muslim has become the leader of a secular European city, will Muslims residing in Muslim states ever be willing to elect a non-Muslim leader? For example, in Pakistan, would the population ever consider a Hindu, Sikh, Christian, or even an Ahmadi as their own leader? Unfortunately, at this point in time, it seems highly unlikely that this is possible.

Nonetheless, if there is one key thing that ethnic minorities can learn from and agree on by observing the success of Sadiq Khan, it is that they can indeed succeed in the West. There is no doubt that they have to face several obstacles to achieving what he has achieved, and work significantly harder than others, but it is very much possible.

Hence, as the member of an ethnic minority group myself, I stress, and always will stress that we can whine, argue and complain about the lack of opportunities that we may have living in the West — or, we can strive to work five times harder, with much more dedication than those who have far more opportunities than us, and hope to reach a standing, much like Sadiq Khan’s. In this way, we can bring about positive change regarding the very issues that we hold dear.

It can be said that Sadiq Khan’s victory is not a victory for Brits, Muslims, Pakistanis or minorities alone; rather, it is a victory for most of humanity and the progression of humans as a species. To see a British-Pakistani elected, as the Mayor of London, is truly a moment to rejoice while hoping that more countries and cities promote these values of humanity and harmony.

After all, in the words of Sadiq Khan:

“Fear does not make us safer, it only makes us weaker, and the politics of fear is simply not welcome in our city.”

Or even in the world.