London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to 'educate' Trump on Islam

To suggest that it's incompatible to be Western and to be Muslim is, I think, really, really risky, Khan says

London's new mayor Sadiq Khan said he would welcome Republican front-runner and presidential nominee Donald Trump to London to "educate" him about Islam and its compatibility with Western values.

Khan, in an interview with NBC News on Friday,  said Trump's "ignorant" views on Islam were "inadvertently playing into the hands of extremists" who target young Muslims.

"I want Donald Trump to come to London so I can introduce myself to him as a mainstream Muslim, very, very comfortable with Western liberal values, but also introduce him to hundreds of thousands, dare I say millions of Muslims in this country, who love being British, love being Western," he said.



Further, he said, "To suggest that it's incompatible to be Western and to be Muslim is, I think, really, really risky."

Real-estate mogul Trump in December suggested a temporary ban on all Muslims entering the US after a deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino that officials said was inspired by the Islamic State group.

Global political and religious leaders condemned his remarks which also triggered widespread criticism among the public.

"I want to educate Donald Trump. I want to show him that you can be Muslim and be Western," Khan said.

Trump this week said his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US was "only a suggestion". He further said that Khan could be an exception to the ban, however, Khan rejected the exemption and said he will try to visit the US before the November presidential election.



After winning last week's London mayoral election Khan, a member of Britain's opposition centre-left Labour party, is now Europe's highest-profile Muslim politician. He defeated his Conservative opponent Zac Goldsmith by a hefty margin.

He thanked Americans for their messages of support, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who were quick to congratulate Khan on his election win.

Khan also made clear his preference for the next president.

"As a proud feminist at City Hall, as someone who's a father of two daughters, I think Hillary Clinton being the president of the USA would send a loud and clear message, but also she's competent, she's got gravitas, she's got huge experience," he said. "So you won't be surprised to know I want Hillary to be president."

This article originally appeared on NBC News.