London boasts first Muslim Mayor despite racial and religious tensions

'Fear does not make us safer, it only makes us weaker...'

Islamophobia spreads as ISIS continues its terror attacks - but one city has taken a step toward accepting the fact that not all Muslims are terrorists.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - London has elected its first Muslim Mayor. Sadiq Khan won with 56.8 percent of the vote, according to The New York Times.

Khan is a Labour Party leader and former human rights lawyer. His leap to political success from his humble origins as the son of a bus driver from Pakistan is the perfect example of how migrants can assimilate perfectly fine, even within a single generation.

Though Khan is not the first Muslim to hold a prominent position in Europe, his win did come as a mild surprise amid the migrant crisis, Islamaphobia and ethnic tensions.

Khan pledged to lead not only other Muslims, but to lead London's 8.2 million citizens.

"I'm determined to lead the most transparent, engaged and accessible administration London has ever seen, and to represent every single community and every single part of our city as mayor for Londoners," he stated.

"So I wanted to do the signing-in ceremony here, in the very heart of our city, surrounded by Londoners of all backgrounds," Khan explained as he stood in Southwark Cathedral.

Khan's campaign overcame his Conservative competitor, Zac Goldsmith's team, which attempted to paint Khan as an ISIS sympathizer.

Khan touched on Goldsmith's dirty play during his victory speech, saying his win "was not without controversy," and he was "proud that London has today chosen hope over fear and unity over division."

He continued, saying: "I hope that we will never be offered such a stark choice again. Fear does not make us safer, it only makes us weaker and the politics of fear is simply not welcome in our city."

Actor Sir Ian McKellen greeted Khan at the cathedral and described how Khan's win spoke volumes.

"To have a Muslim mayor seems preferable to me to any alternative regardless of the politics," he stated. "I hope it's an image that will go round the world as representing a new sort of England that's at peace with itself regardless of race and so on. That's the beauty of it."

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