London Elects The First Muslim Mayor Of A Capital City In The Western World

Three cheers for the people of London, who have just elected the first Muslim mayor of a major capital city in the Western world!

The win follows a very ugly campaign in which, you guess it, race and religion were invoked to tear Labour candidate Sadiq Khan down. His opponent, Zac Goldsmith, even wrote an op-ed in which he said, “On Thursday, are we really going to hand the world's greatest city to a Labour Party that thinks terrorists are its friends?" The story ran with an accompanying image of a double decker bus that had been blown apart in the 2005 terrorist attack on London. Meanwhile, the Labour party had come under fire for catering to anti-Semitic interests.

But Khan persevered through it all, and bested Goldsmith by more than 300,000 votes. During his acceptance speech, The Guardian reported that he “Wants every Londoner to have the opportunities London gave to him, not just to survive, but to thrive,” and that he is “so proud London has chosen ‘hope over fear, and unity over division.’”

He also noted that he hopes the city never has to endure an election as divisive as this one ever again. Here are some reactions from around the web: