Source Australasian Muslim Times

Waleed Aly, the recipient of the Golden Logie for the Best Personality of Australian Television and Sadiq Khan, the newly elected mayor of London are great role models of integration of Muslims in the West.

They symbolize the success story of integration as opposed to assimilation of a diverse range of migrants and their children in Western democratic societies.

Both these gentlemen were voted in, by popular vote based on their merit and performance, by the mainstream community in their respective countries against the backdrop of rising Islamophobia and demonization of Muslims.

While Waleed Aly’s nomination was criticized by the usual bigots in the media, Sadiq Khan’s opponent ran a virulent campaign against him based on his racial and religious identity.

Both Waleed Aly and Sadiq Khan, while heavily engaged with their country’s mainstream institutions, did not hide their identity of being Muslims, or representing the views of the Muslim community as and when needed.

However their success against all odds shows that the silent majority of the mainstream community in the West in general and Australia, Canada, UK and US in particular is certainly not swayed by the tide of Islamophobia propagated by a minority of bigoted politicians, certain sections of the media and various racist fringe groups.

This bodes well for the future of Muslims living in the West.