WEB CHUTNEY

As London elected Sadiq Khan as its Mayor, many people argued that a Muslim-majority country, especially Pakistan, would never elect a Christian leader. Here’s a list of 8 Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, that elected Christian leaders before London elected Sadiq Khan.

1. Februniye Akyol is the co-mayor of Turkish city of Mardin. Turkey is 99.8 per cent Muslim.

2. Basuki Tjahaya Purnama is the governor of Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta. Indonesia is 87.2 per cent Muslim.

3. Alees Thomas Samaan, became the first Christian and first woman to chair Bahrain’s upper house of Parliament, the Shura Council in 2005. Bahrain is 70.3 per cent Muslim.

4. Kamran Michael is Pakistan’s minister of Ports and Shipping. Pakistan is 96.4 per cent Muslim.

5. In Egypt, Boutros Boutros Ghali, a Coptic Christian, was country’s Foreign Minister for 14 years. Egypt is 90 per cent Muslim.

6. The Palestinian city of Ramallah had a Roman Catholic mayor, Janet Michael.

7. Léopold Sédar Senghor was the president of Senegal for 20 years. Senegal is 95.4 per cent Muslim.

8. Lebanon had a Christian president, Michel Suleiman. Lebanon is 54 per cent Muslim.