This is all happening in this day and age sometimes characterised as "the age of terrorism", more specifically characterised by others as the age of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism and what President Obama dismissed as "The Clash of civilisations" just a few days ago .
Looking at British history retrospectively or even futuristically with all the foresight you can muster but without the benefit of hindsight, try to imagine what the Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.) or Queen Victoria or any of Britain's previous monarchs or indeed what Benjamin Disraeli would say to wake up this morning in heaven – or there in Medina or London) to be told that Sadiq Khan (Muslim) the 45 year old son of a bus driver had just defeated Zac Goldsmith (Jewish) the 41 year old son of a billionaire to become The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London which is the capital of Merry England, Greater Britannia.
The Prophet of Islam (s.a.w.) and the 1.5 billion of course say " Mā shāʼ Allāh" for such a good position in the dar al harb
The former British Monarchs, Prime Ministers and Lord Mayors of London all probably say "Congratulations!"
Perhaps exactly what Abraham Lincoln and all the older presidents that preceded Barack Hussein Obama would have said the morning after Brother Obama won that historic election!
My first thoughts when I first had premonitions of Khan's impending victory was the altercation that took place between Chaim Weizmann and Lord Balfour which in Weizmann's memoirs culminated in this perky little exchange:
"Mr. Balfour, supposing I was to offer you Paris instead of London, would you take it?" He sat up, looked at me, and answered: "But Dr. Weizmann, we have London." "That is true," I said, "but we had Jerusalem when London was a marsh."
With the election of London's First Muslim Mayor it must be dawning on the people who fear the emergence of EURABIA (and the backlash from Europe's Migrant crisis is only exacerbating their fears) – with most of the refugees coming from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria - that in the US Trump would like to restrict Muslim immigration but that in Europe at least Islam and Muslims are here to stay. They now have their first Muslim mayor of London and it's only a matter of time before - without a jihad - they achieve the first Muhammad as Prime Minister of Great Britain as a legal occupant of 10 Downing Street and only a matter of time before they land their First Muslim Chancellor of the Exchequer...it should be "good for business" and the UK will sure be getting some of the Muslim votes at the UN etc….
It's also prime time for V.S. Naipaul of "Among the Believers" fame to be bubbling at the mouth and bristling under his stiff upper lip. But on the other hand he is married to a Pakistani, so she should be able to keep him on the leash and faithful to her Islamabad for a little while longer. Still, at this point of departure it's time for him to begin to construct his very next novel along lines/ axis of the new era civilisation, the new dawn rising. Who knows, the arrogant son of bitch will probably think that his England is now going to the dogs...
More seriously it should be time for Balachandra Rajan 's editors to write a new forward or a new postscript to his seminal Under Western Eyes
And of course if Rudyard Kipling could come back he would also add a few new verses to his The Ballad of East and West….
I got an sms on Viber from a close relative who lives in Tooting, at 22.31 last night, that Sadiq Khan their local MP was on the verge of winning the London Mayoral vote and I sms-ed back to her:" I hope that at the very least this will save London from anything like a repeat of 7/7"
In the Naija forum y'all can bad-mouth "tribalism" to your heart's content but you can bet your body and your soul that of the one million Muslims who live in London, all of Southall - to a man, must have voted for their man Sadiq Khan, although we can't be too sure if all the London Hindoos also voted for him. ( I'm in doubt because when it comes to cricket matches between India and Pakistan, all the Indian Muslims of course support India – but I'm not sure how divided the support is among South African Muslims…)
Unfortunately, this particular campaign for Mayor of London has been infected by the fallout from Ken Livingstone's alleged anti-Semitism - the fallout has been varied and vast even from over here in Stockholm my Bernard ( who I will be inviting to join this forum under the distinguished patronage of Alagba Oga Falola, when I meet him at our annual family meeting on the 28th of this month) - he has also been blowing his horn culminating in this latest piece about the matter: British Policy, Jews and Israel
When it comes to prophesying the political futures of the West – US, UK, EU, as Chomsky concluded one of his interviews, "I can express hopes and fears, but not predictions"
The New Mayor is all for the UK staying in the EU (just like Cameron). Sadiq Khan wants to improve two aspects that Londoners and visitors to London and temporary residents complain about : the high cost of public transportation and the scarcity and the high cost of rented accommodation
Sadiq Khan says that he is "the British Muslim who will take the fight to the extremists". If he challenges the extremists and jihadists too strongly, then London would be the object of some terrorist attacks. I fear that ditto could happen in the US between now and November...and then the political backlash!
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