Sadiq Khan talks about 'peaceful Islam' at Trafalgar Square Eid festival

London's first Muslim mayor denounces criminals who use the name of Islam to justify crimes

Thousands of revelers joined London’s first Muslim mayor on Saturday to celebrate Eidul Fitr which marks the end of Ramazan.

As Mayor Khan greeted the audience at London’s 11th annual Eidul Fitr celebration with the Muslim greeting of 'As-salamu alaykum', the crowd, perfectly in-sync, chanted back the reply.



A large stage was erected in Trafalgar Square featuring live performances, and a variety of free activities were on offer, including lessons in Arabic art and geometry. Only three weeks ago, the mayor had addressed the Pride in London festival from the same stage.

In his address, Khan called for peace, unity and an embrace of religious freedom and diversity, describing this as one of London’s great strengths.

PHOTO: SADIQ KHAN/FACEBOOK

He pledged zero tolerance to hate crimes, reports of which have risen in the wake of the EU leave vote, and denounced “criminals who do bad things and use the name of Islam to justify what they do”.



“This Ramazan lets be honest, it's been hard. I've been fasting for 19 hours. But you know, I will never forget this Ramazan, my first as the Mayor of London,” he said in his speech.

Great to meet so many Londoners & visitors to our city at today's huge #EidLdn celebrations. #EidMubarak! pic.twitter.com/TDtGBQ96vV

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) July 9, 2016

“If we're honest, there are some people who give our faith a bad name. There are some people - criminals - who do bad things and use the name of Islam to justify what they do. And you know what, we have got to make sure the world knows they do not do this in our name," the mayor added.

“So my message is simple, London is the greatest city in the world, you are welcome here and it's going to stay that way.”

Here's Khan's complete address:

https://youtu.be/W4AjjCTq-k8



The Mayor of London then took a selfie with British TV presenter Konnie Huq who had introduced him on stage and claimed he would send it to Hillary Clinton, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to prove that London is the 'greatest'.

PHOTO: SADIQ KHAN/FACEBOOK

In a Facebook post on Sunday, he wrote, “Proud that my first Ramazan as Mayor of London has given me so many opportunities to bring our city together ‪. EidMubarak.”

"Amazing atmosphere at Eid in the Square. Brilliant to have thousands of Londoners of all faiths & backgrounds come together, and to speak about how we don't just tolerate our diversity as a city, we respect and celebrate it!" he wrote in another Facebook post.



[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/sadiqforlondon/posts/1186466464739472"]



Here's Sadiq Khan's Eid message:

https://youtu.be/cWnY0sHJMcg

This article originally appeared on The Guardian.