Zohran Mamdani Defends Muslim Identity Amid Intensified Islamophobia in NYC Mayoral Race

Zohran Mamdani Defends Muslim Identity Amid Intensified Islamophobia in NYC Mayoral Race
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Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has publicly affirmed his Muslim identity in response to escalating attacks he describes as “racist and baseless,” including remarks from former Governor Andrew Cuomo portraying him as a threat because of his faith, The Associated Press reported.

During an emotional speech outside a Bronx mosque, Mamdani spoke of longstanding discrimination against Muslim New Yorkers, remembering how his aunt stopped riding the subway post-9/11 because she felt unsafe in her hijab. “These are lessons that so many Muslim New Yorkers have been taught,” he said.

Meanwhile, a campaign event hosted by the candidate reinforced his message: Mamdani pledged to be unapologetic about his identity and to uplift the city’s more than one million Muslim residents. “I will not hide,” he told supporters, NBC New York reported.

Cuomo’s campaign earlier accused Mamdani of “playing the victim” for political gain and denied that Islamophobia is a systemic issue in New York.

While Mamdani leads in polls and is poised to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor, his candidacy has attracted fierce criticism — including accusations of extremist sympathies — linked in part to his pro-Palestinian stance and past associations. Mamdani counters that these attacks reflect broader anti-Muslim bias in public life.

With early voting under way, the election is increasingly being framed as a test of whether New York is ready to embrace a Muslim mayor and move past the identity-based divisions that have marked the campaign.