Muslim voters have emerged as a key battleground in London's mayoral elections this week, the first chance for most to vote since the 2005 suicide bombings by Islamic extremists in the city.
The vote Thursday pitches veteran Labour left-winger Ken Livingstone -- the incumbent backed by prominent Muslim umbrella groups -- against Boris Johnson of the main opposition Conservatives, who boasts a Turkish grandfather.
Livingstone has previously had the Muslim vote sewn up thanks to, for example, his anti-Iraq war stance and the welcome he gave top Islamic scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who some accuse of anti-Semitism and homophobia, in 2004.
Johnson, meanwhile, has had to defend himself against claims of Islamophobia after writing that "Islam is the problem" in the wake of the London attacks, which killed 52 people, and raising concerns about immigration.
But some suggest that Muslims' voting habits could be starting to change.
"All the statistics say Livingstone is likely to get more of the ethnic minority votes (but) Labour's advantage in this sphere is declining," said Tony Travers of the London School of Economics.
"As earlier migrants have lived in Britain longer and longer, they're likely to drift off towards mainstream political behaviour."
Both Labour and Conservative campaigners were handing out leaflets to potential voters at Harrow mosque in north-west London after the last Friday prayers before the knife-edge May 1 vote.
Worshippers emerging from the two terraced houses which form the mosque entrance said their main concerns were transport and the city's economy as well as community relations.