'These guys are pound-shop President Trumps, they should be ashamed of themselves.'
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has broken his silence and hit back after a Tory MP launched an Islamophobic tirade against an open Iftaar event hosted in Trafalgar Square.
Pressure is mounting on Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to sack Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy after he said an Open Iftar event in Trafalgar Square was ‘not welcome’.
He posted on X: “Too many are too polite to say this. But mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination.
“The adhan – which declares there is no god but allah and Muhammad is his messenger – is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination.
“Perform these rituals in mosques if you wish. But they are not welcome in our public places and shared institutions.”
People were quick to point out that Timothy didn’t appear to have a problem with people of other faiths holding prayers and celebrations in Trafalgar Square but only Muslims.
The event was also attended by Sadiq Khan. An iftar is a meal shared at the end of a day of fasting during Ramadan, with prayers commonly taking place before or during.
The issue was raised at PMQs where Keir Starmer called on Badenoch to show some backbone and sack Timothy. He said: “When I see religious events in Trafalgar Square, when I see Hindus celebrating Diwali, when I see Jews celebrating Chanukah Live, when I see Christians celebrating the passion of Christ or Muslims praying, that shows the great strength of our diverse city and country.
“I’ve never heard her party call out anything other than the Muslim events. It’s only when Muslims are praying. The only conclusion is the Tory Party has got a problem with Muslims.”
Now Sadiq Khan has also hit back, telling an interview with La Repubblica: “It’s Muslims today, who will it be tomorrow? Jewish people? Who the day after? Hindu people? This sort of mono-ethnic, mono-nationalistic view the Conservatives have is a carbon copy of President Trump.
“These guys are pound-shop President Trumps, they should be ashamed of themselves.” The London Mayor questioned what was objectionable about seeing Muslims celebrating their religion – saying they were the sort of comments “I’d expect from the far right” in the past.
He said: “I’m heartbroken, I’m sad, I’m angry, and I can understand why many British Muslims are scared by somebody, who is so senior, who wants to be the Lord Chancellor, saying what he said.
“But worryingly, his leader, somebody who wants to be the prime minister, Kemi Badenoch, thinking it is British values to single out Muslims. It is British values to respect each other.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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