Sadiq Khan made history by becoming the first Muslim ever elected mayor of London.
He’s a distinguished man who apparently doesn’t like other politicians patronizing him.
So, when presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee Donald J. Trump offered to grant the mayor-elect an “exception” to a proposed ban on Muslims visiting the United States, Khan offered a terse “no thanks.”
This is precisely the kind of reaction Trump should have gotten in response to his ridiculous — and patently unconstitutional — proposal to ban people from entering the United States on the basis of their religious belief.
Trump issued the call in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. He said he would, if elected president, work to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Why? He said the threat of Islamic terrorism coming to this country is too great.
Trump does not grasp the idiocy of this proclamation.
Mayor-elect Khan has rejected Trump’s offer to exempt him from the ban. He wonders about how other Muslims would react if they want to come to the United States “on holiday.” What if they want to go to Disneyland, Khan asked, but they can’t because “President Trump” says they aren’t welcome here?
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows absolute freedom to worship as one believes. It has been interpreted during the past two-plus centuries to mean that no one should be discriminated against because of their religious faith.
Trump has proposed something that utterly flouts one of the basic tenets on which this country was founded.
Sadiq Khan — the duly elected mayor of one of the world’s truly great cities — saw through it immediately.
He understands what it means to be an American more than theĀ individual who is poised to be nominated to run for the presidency of the United States.