Good Morning Britain presenter Adil Ray has found himself at the centre of controversy after being reportedly summoned by ITV bosses following remarks he made about Sharia law.
The Controversial Comments
The situation unfolded after Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assembly member from Queens, secured a decisive victory in the New York mayoral election with more than 50% of the vote. Following this political development, Ray took to social media to share his perspective.
Ray posted: "Some say Mamdani may implement Sharia Law. He might. The heart of Sharia is social justice, welfare, fairness, charity and cohesion." He further elaborated that "Most Muslim countries operate a hybrid of Sharia & civil law, are slowly reforming and abandoning unethical practices despite the West's portrayal."
Backlash and Internal Reaction
The BBC Citizen Khan star's comments quickly attracted significant attention and criticism from viewers. One ITV viewer responded angrily, telling Ray to "Take your Sharia law and f*** off," while another warned that "This will be your undoing."
According to a source speaking to The Sun newspaper, the situation caused considerable concern within ITV. "GMB execs are pretty cross. His comments sent bosses into a tailspin and he was called in," the source revealed. The timing proved particularly sensitive as hours earlier ITV had revealed it was in talks to sell its broadcasting arm to Sky in a £1.6billion deal.
Clarification and Political Context
Following the internal meeting and growing controversy, Ray later posted a clarification stating: "To clarify, I am not actually suggesting Mamdani would implement sharia law. But many issues he campaigned for are some of the positive values of Sharia that Muslims try to live by. Something many of us would agree on."
The political context saw Mamdani achieve a significant victory over former governor Andrew Cuomo, 67, who finished second with just over 40% of the vote. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa received approximately 7% of the vote. In his victory speech delivered to supporters in Brooklyn, Mamdani declared that New York had shown it would be the "light" in a "moment of political darkness," emphasising his commitment to standing up for immigrants, transgender community members, and other marginalised groups.
