Follow the Middle East Forum MEF Home  |   Research & Writings  |  Donate London Mayor Sadiq Khan to U.S. Immigrants: Don't Assimilate by Raheem Kassam  •  Sep 16, 2016 Cross-posted from Breitbart http://www.meforum.org/blog/2016/09/sadiq-khan-immigrants-shouldnt-assimilate Share: Be the first of your friends to like this. Originally published under the title "London's Islamist-Linked Mayor Tells U.S. Audience: 'Immigrants Shouldn't Assimilate'." Sadiq Khan narrowly won London's mayoral election in May. London's Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan has continued his pro-Hillary Clinton tour of the United States by declaring that immigrants into the West should not be forced to assimilate. His comments come hot on the heels of the Chicago press exposing his connections to radical Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Mr. Khan, who was elected to be London's mayor in May 2016, has also used his trip to claim that Republican candidate Donald Trump is "playing into the hands" of the Islamic State. His trip runs contrary to the U.S. visit from former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who presented an upbeat message of defeating the political establishment on stage with Donald Trump. Instead, Mr. Khan insisted: "One of the lessons from around the world is that a laissez-faire or hands-off approach to social integration doesn't work. We need rules, institutions, and support to enable people to integrate into cohesive communities and for the avoidance of doubt, I don't mean assimilation, I mean integration, and there's a difference." He added: "People shouldn't have to drop their cultures and traditions when they arrive in our cities and countries." The United Kingdom, and especially areas of East London which overwhelmingly voted for Mr. Khan, is currently suffering from Muslim ghettoisation, horrific employment rates for Muslim women, an internal debate surrounding the banning of the burka, and ongoing issues such as female genital mutilation, anti-Semitism, and homophobia within Muslim communities. Under Mr. Khan's plans, none of these "cultures and traditions" would need to be dropped for Muslim migrants to Western countries. According to VOA News, Mr. Khan called himself a "big fan" of Hillary Clinton, adding: "We play straight into the hands of those who seek to divide us, of extremists and terrorists around the world, when we imply that it's not possible to hold Western values dear and to be a Muslim." Mr. Khan has been repeatedly criticised for connections with former Guantanamo Bay detainees, as well as known Muslim extremists in the United Kingdom. His appearances have been widely covered by Britain's media, but are routinely ignored by the political establishment. He has also pledged to ban images of women not covered up from advertisements on the London Underground (Tube). Recently, Breitbart London revealed that Mr. Khan appointed an extremism-linked advisor to his City Hall team. Raheem Kassam is a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum and editor-in-chief of Breitbart London. Related Topics:  Immigration, Muslims in the United Kingdom  |  Raheem Kassam To subscribe to the MEF mailing lists, go to http://www.meforum.org/list_subscribe.php The Middle East Forum