Why London’s Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, needs the same security as the king : NPR

LONDON — As London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan is likely one of the most well-known faces in British politics. However he says he typically wonders if the job is price it.

Threats to his security imply that, since 2017, he has acquired round the clock police safety, which he has described as on par with the safety given to King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. That is unprecedented for a municipal official.

Khan is the primary Muslim to serve in that workplace. And there are reviews that he has acquired violent threats from each far-right in addition to Islamist extremists.

“I by no means wish to play the sufferer card. Nevertheless it’s in regards to the subsequent technology of individuals aspiring to be politicians,” Khan, 53, informed NPR in an interview final month at an occasion marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A member of the opposition Labour Social gathering, he was first elected mayor in 2016 and is working for a 3rd time period this Could.

For the reason that Oct. 7 Hamas-led assault in Israel, issues have solely gotten worse. Islamophobic incidents in the UK are up by 335%, in line with Inform MAMA, a charity that displays anti-Muslim hate and abuse within the nation. Antisemitic incidents have spiked too, in line with the Neighborhood Safety Belief, which helps to guard the nation’s Jewish neighborhood.

Each Prime Minister Sunak, of the Conservative Social gathering, and Labour chief Keir Starmer have discovered themselves embroiled in arguments over prejudice and racism of their respective events.

In February, the then-deputy chairman of the Conservative Social gathering, Lee Anderson, stated on British tv he believed “Islamists” had “obtained management” of the London mayor. Anderson was suspended from the get together due to his feedback, which many discovered Islamophobic. Khan acquired demise threats in consequence.

“Why would you, as anyone who’s of Islamic religion, wish to be a politician, realizing what politicians of our background undergo?” Khan tells NPR. “When you’re a mum or dad, why would you encourage your youngsters to grow to be politicians?”

The U.Ok. has made progress — however dangers backsliding, he says

For the primary time, the UK has no white males main its 4 major governments. Sunak, who was born in England to African-born dad and mom of Indian descent, is the primary British prime minister of shade. The chief of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, is a Muslim of Pakistani descent. Zambian-born Welsh chief Vaughan Gething is Europe’s first Black head of presidency. Northern Eire is led by two ladies.

Khan says variety on the high of British politics is proof that the U.Ok. has made progress on tackling racism and discrimination towards minorities.

“When my father first got here to this nation within the Nineteen Sixties, there have been indicators on visitor homes and public buildings, saying ‘no Blacks, no Irish, no canines.’ By ‘Blacks,’ they meant anyone who was an individual of shade,” Khan says. “Inside one technology, certainly one of his youngsters turned the mayor of London.”

However he warns towards being complacent, amid rising racism fanned by the marketing campaign to depart the European Union, which led to the 2016 Brexit vote.

“I am afraid you are seeing an increase of stuff that we thought had gone eternally,” he says. “The frustration I used to have, if you happen to spoke to me 5 or 10 years in the past, was the dearth of urgency over progress. The priority I’ve now’s we might go backwards.”

Lawmakers fear about dangers to their lives

British Muslim politicians have reported a surge in abuse and demise threats they’ve acquired for the reason that begin of the Israel-Hamas struggle in Gaza in October.

Lawmakers’ security within the U.Ok. is a severe concern, particularly after two murders in recent times. Labour politician Jo Cox was killed in 2016 by a white supremacist. 5 years later, a Conservative lawmaker, David Amess, was stabbed to demise whereas assembly with voters in jap England. Amess’ killer was impressed by Islamic State propaganda.

Khan says the earlier killings ought to function a warning to political leaders about divisive rhetoric.

“We have to be cognizant about some folks being radicalized as a result of ‘mainstream,’ accountable politicians are saying belongings you would solely traditionally see within the periphery,” he says.

Khan calls the U.Ok. authorities’s new extremism definition “divisive”

Amid pro-Palestinian demonstrations, the U.Ok. authorities lately revised its definition of “extremism.” It says its new definition applies to teams selling an ideology of “violence, hatred or intolerance.”

However this has drawn criticism from lawmakers and religion leaders, together with the archbishops of Canterbury and York. Critics say it unfairly targets Muslims and will imply a lack of authorities funding for a few of the nation’s greatest Muslim charities.

Khan calls it an “instance of a perceived double customary.”

“My nervousness is that the federal government is utilizing this as a possibility for a tradition struggle,” he says.

What a second Trump presidency might imply

Khan says he is not simply involved in regards to the language utilized by British politicians. He says former President Donald Trump’s 2016 election coincided with a major enhance within the “hatred, Islamophobia and racism” directed at Khan on social media.

Khan was elected mayor in Could 2016 — six months earlier than Trump was elected president. The 2 exchanged barbs on social media, and Khan famously allowed a “Trump child blimp” to fly over London throughout a 2018 presidential go to.

The London mayor says he is apprehensive what would possibly occur if Trump is reelected.

“I am talking as a Londoner. We’re scared. Minorities are scared. Muslims are scared,” Khan says. “As a result of we noticed the ripple results when Trump was president.”

“Identical to you’ll be able to have ripples of hope, you’ll be able to have ripples of worry,” he says.