Sadiq Khan has been mayor of London since 2016. Zohran Mamdani recently became mayor of New York. Sadiq Khan is Muslim, and so is Zohran Mamdani. Although Khan was born in London, his parents arrived in England in 1958 from Pakistan. Mamdani was born in Uganda to Indian parents and arrived with his parents in the US in 1998. Khan is a left-wing politician, as is Mamdani. Khan is the head of the most important British city, Mamdani is the head of the most important American city. These two are not the only non-European, Muslim mayors of major European or American cities. Muslims are not just mayors of cities, they are also members of the UK Parliament, they are also members of the US Congress. They are also top political party activists in both countries. The West is undergoing a monumental change. It is becoming less white and less Christian.
One could say that the current process is a reversal of what happened in the 19th century and later, namely the colonization of the Third World by Europeans. But no. This current phenomenon is very different. The Europeans of the 19th century went to Third World countries and conquered them by force of arms or by sheer cultural superiority. Today’s conquerors from the Third World are invited and welcome. They have no cultural superiority. Moreover, the European colonialists were never part of the societies they ruled and controlled.
Today’s arrivals from Africa and Asia have become integrated into Western societies, speak their languages, and have partially adopted the culture of their host countries. The colonizers of the 19th century were seen as vehicles or conduits of a superior civilization. Arrivals from Africa or Asia in their host countries are for the most part indifferent (not to say lethargic) and certainly not conduits of civilization, unless some people understand Islamic Sharia law as civilization. Nevertheless, “intellectuals” (mainly leftists) of the host nation make endless regrets for the real or imagined mistakes their ancestors have made to the ancestors of the arrivals from the Third World.
To understand the magnitude of the change, let us think only of our grandparents and imagine what their reaction would have been if we had told them that in fifty years London and New York would be ruled by Muslims whose ancestors came from Pakistan or India. Our grandparents would never have believed it, wouldn’t you agree? This is a pretty good test to realize the epic change that is taking place. The two mayors (like other political figures of non-European origin) have been elected partly with the votes of other immigrants and partly with the votes of the natives.
The fragmentation of Western societies is underway. The unpleasant thing about this development is that there is no embankment on the horizon to stop this transformation.
