"Complete nonsense": London mayor slams Bobby Jindal's Islamophobic "no-go zones" claim

Conservative Boris Johnson thinks the Louisiana governor may need some "gentle education"

Published February 13, 2015 4:57PM (EST)

  (AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
(AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

London Mayor Boris Johnson came out swinging against Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's claims about Muslim "no-go zones" on Friday, calling the governor's recent remarks on the subject "complete nonsense" and suggesting that Jindal may need "some sort of gentle education."

During a speech at the Henry Jackson Society in London last month, the likely 2016 presidential candidate echoed other conservatives in claiming that European countries like Britain harbor "no-go zones" where Muslim clerics enforce Sharia law and non-Muslims are not allowed to enter.

“In the West, non-assimilationist Muslims establish enclaves and carry out as much of Sharia law as they can without regard for the laws of the democratic countries which provided them a new home,” Jindal asserted. “It is startling to think that any country would allow, even unofficially, for a so-called ‘no-go zone.’”

In an interview with CNN after the speech, Jindal struggled when asked to identify specific "no-go zones," but he maintained that "it’s absolutely an issue for the UK" and other Western nations.

Speaking at a Politico Playbook breakfast today, Johnson pronounced himself "very surprised" by Jindal's comments, reiterating that no-go zones don't exist.

"I would be more than happy personally to escort Gov. Jindal around any area that he thinks is a no-go zone, and I will show him what a happy, thriving community it is with people jumbled up in all sorts of ways," said Johnson, a member of the Conservative Party.

“It’s complete nonsense,” he added. "There are no no-go zones."

Jindal isn't the only Republican politician to experience Johnson's ridicule. After Mitt Romney suggested that London was ill-prepared to host the 2012 Olympic Games, Johnson mocked "a guy called Mitt Romney" during a pre-Olympics rally, prompting cheers from the crowd.


By Luke Brinker

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Bobby Jindal Boris Johnson Islam Islamophobia London Mitt Romney No-go Zones Religion