A day before early voting begins in New York City’s mayoral race, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani delivered an emotional address outside a Bronx mosque, condemning what he described as “racist, baseless attacks” from his opponents and declaring that he would not hide his Muslim identity to win votes.
Mamdani, a member of the New York State Assembly and the projected frontrunner in the November 4 general election, accused his rivals of weaponising Islamophobia for political gain.
He said the attacks targeted not only him but also nearly one million Muslims who call the city home.
“To be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity,” Mamdani said, standing before a crowd of supporters and community members, “But indignity does not make us distinct. There are many New Yorkers who face it. It is the tolerance of that indignity that does.”
He said his campaign had focused on affordability and everyday struggles faced by New Yorkers, but in recent days, “Islamophobia has emerged as one of the few areas of agreement” among his opponents.
“The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker,” Mamdani said in a video shared on X on Saturday.
“And yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that, to endure hatred and bigotry in the shadows,” he said, stressing that “No more.”
Reflecting on his personal experiences, Mamdani recounted how, when he first entered politics, he was urged to conceal his faith.
“Six years ago, shortly after I announced I was running for Assembly, a well-meaning Muslim uncle pulled me aside,” he said. “
He smiled softly and told me, in a quiet voice, that I didn’t have to tell people I was Muslim. I had not learned the lesson he had been taught time and again.”
He invoked memories of his family and others in the Muslim community whose daily lives were shaped by fear and suspicion after 9/11.
“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” he said.
“I want to speak to the Muslim who works for our city, whether they teach in our schools or walk the beat for the NYPD, New Yorkers who make daily sacrifices for this city, only to see their leaders spit in their face.”
“I want to speak to every child who grows up in New York marked as the Other,” he continued, “who is ‘randomly selected’ in ways that rarely feel random, who feels they carry a stain that can never be cleaned.”
Recounting his own experiences growing up in post-9/11 America, Mamdani said he had “known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion.”
“I will always remember the disdain I faced, how my name could immediately become ‘Mohammad,’ and how I could return to my city only to be questioned in a double-mirrored room at the airport if I had any plan of attacking it,” he said.
He added that, despite the prejudice, he knew others had suffered far worse, describing, “I was never pressured to be an informant like classmates of mine. I have never had the word ‘terrorist’ spray-painted on my garage, as one of my aides has. My mosque has never been set on fire.”
Turning to his political opponents, Mamdani listed the string of recent attacks he has faced.
“Yesterday, Andrew Cuomo laughed when a radio show host said that I would cheer another 9/11,” he said.
“He compared me to violent extremists. The day before, Eric Adams said our movement seeks to burn churches and destroy communities. Curtis Sliwa slandered me from a debate stage when he claimed that I support global jihad.”
He said Super PAC advertisements have portrayed him as a threat, “implying that I am a terrorist, mocking the way I eat, and showing political cartoons that represent my candidacy as an airplane hurtling toward the World Trade Center.”
But Mamdani insisted his speech was not meant for his detractors.
“I do not want to use this moment to speak to them any further,” he said. “I want to use this moment to speak to the Muslims of this city.”
With the election less than two weeks away, Mamdani vowed to remain unapologetically himself.
“There are eleven days remaining until election day,” he said, emphasising, “I will be a Muslim man in New York City each of those days and every day that follows. I will not change who I am. I will not change how I eat. I will not change the faith that I call my own.”
He warned that Islamophobia had become so normalized in city politics that it often went unchallenged.
“Islamophobia is not seen as inexcusable,” he said, highlighting that “One can incite violence against our mosques and know condemnation will never come. Elected officials can sell t-shirts calling for my deportation without fear of any accountability.”
“More than one million Muslim New Yorkers exist in this city only to be made to feel as if guests in our own home,” he said.
“We stand on the precipice of an election, but that is not what today is about. The bigger question is whether we are willing to say goodbye to something much larger.”
He closed his speech with a call for unity and visibility, “Islamophobia has grown so endemic in our city that when we hear it, we no longer know whether the words were said by a Republican or by a Democrat,” he said.
“Will we remain in the shadows, or will we step into the light? There is one thing I will change: I will not look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light,” he noted.
Mamdani’s remarks came a day after former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo laughed during a radio show when host Sid Rosenberg claimed Mamdani “would be cheering” if another September 11 attack occurred. Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June, appeared to agree with the comment.
Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action, called Cuomo’s behaviour “despicable, dangerous, and disqualifying.”
“By agreeing with a racist radio host who suggested a Muslim elected official would ‘cheer’ another 9/11, Cuomo has crossed a moral line,” Elkarra said. “Cuomo’s willingness to engage in this kind of hate speech, on this kind of platform, shows exactly the kind of leader he is, someone who would rather stoke fear than bring people together.”
Mamdani also accused Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa of “slander” for claiming during a debate that he supported “global jihad.”
Earlier on Friday, Mamdani received a major endorsement from Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He has also been backed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Senator Bernie Sanders. However, some top Democrats, including Senator Chuck Schumer, have withheld endorsement.
A recent poll by AARP and Gotham Polling & Analytics showed Mamdani leading comfortably with 43.2 percent of voter support, followed by Cuomo with 28.9 percent, and Sliwa with 19.4 percent.
The survey found the cost of living, public safety, and housing affordability to be voters’ main concerns.
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