London�s Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan has invited Donald Trump to England's capital city to �educate� the bombastic US presidential candidate about Islam.
Khan rejected the notion that Islam was incompatible with modern Western values and said Trump�s �ignorant� views on Islam were �playing into the hands of extremists.�
�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,� the new mayor said in an interview with NBC News on Friday.
In December, Trump called for a �total and complete� ban on Muslims entering the United States after a deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which was inspired by the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.
The proposal triggered widespread criticism and condemnation in the US and around the world.
�I want to educate Donald Trump. I want to show him that you can be Muslim and be Western,� said Khan.
Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver scored a resounding victory in last week's London mayoral election over his billionaire Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith, who was accused of running a �dog whistle� campaign of drawing attention to Khan�s Muslim faith and trying to link him to extremist groups.
Khan condemned Goldsmith's campaign as coming �straight out of the Donald Trump playbook,� and said he would help Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton beat the billionaire businessman.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, told the New York Times this week that he was �happy� about Khan's election and that the Muslim mayor could be an exception to his proposed ban.
Khan�rejected Trump's exemption, and said he will try to visit the United States before the November presidential election.