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I don't want exemption from 'ignorant' Trump: Sadiq Khan

New London Mayor Sadiq Khan attends a ceremony in north London on May 8, 2016. (AFP photo)

Sadiq Khan, the new mayor of London, has rejected “ignorant” US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s offer that he could be an exception to his proposed ban on all Muslims entering the United States.

Khan said on Tuesday that Trump’s call to prevent Muslims from travelling to the US directly affected the people closest to him, and added that offering an exception for him was not the answer, The Guardian reported.

“This isn’t just about me – it’s about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world,” said Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, who scored a resounding victory over his billionaire Conservative rival last week.

“Donald Trump’s ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe – it risks alienating mainstream Muslims around the world and plays into the hands of the extremists,” Khan said.

“Donald Trump and those around him think that Western liberal values are incompatible with mainstream Islam – London has proved him wrong,” he added.

Trump, the US Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, told the New York Times on Monday that he was “happy” to see Khan elected, and wished him well.

“There will always be exceptions,” the Times quoted the real estate mogul as saying in response to a question about whether Khan was an exception to his ban on Muslims.

Commenting on the Labour Party candidate’s victory, Trump said, “I think it’s a very good thing, and I hope he does a very good job because frankly that would be very, very good. Because I think if he does a great job, it will really — you lead by example, always lead by example.”

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during his rally at the Charleston Civic Center on May 5, 2016 in Charleston, West Virginia. (AFP photo)

Trump's campaign has been marred by his disparaging remarks against minorities in the US. His comments include calling for a total ban on Muslims from coming to America and forced deportation of Mexican migrants.

Trump’s proposal has been condemned by Muslim and human rights groups as well as his Democratic rivals and many of his Republican presidential opponents who describe the proposal as divisive, counterproductive and contrary to American values.

In Britain, Khan has compared Trump’s racially charged campaign to the "disgusting and slimy" tactics of his Jewish opponent Zac Goldsmith.

“They used fear and innuendo to try to turn different ethnic and religious groups against each other – something straight out of the Donald Trump playbook,” he told the Observer this weekend.

Goldsmith had accused Khan of “pandering to extremists” and providing them "oxygen."

Conservative Party London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith (L) speaks as Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) stands by at a campaign event in Richmond, southwest London, on May 3, 2016. (AFP photo)

British Prime Minister David Cameron also joined Goldsmith in linking Khan to extremist groups and terror “sympathizers” such as Sulaiman Gani, a British Muslim cleric, who was accused by Cameron of being a Daesh (ISIL) supporter. 


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