Elham Asaad Buaras
LONDON, (The Muslim News): Zohran Kwame Mamdani has won the New York City mayoral race, becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor. He is also the youngest person in over a century to lead America’s largest metropolis. His supporters are describing the victory as historic—and the numbers back that up. With 91% of votes counted, the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, projected that Mamdani secured 50.4% of the vote. Independent Andrew Cuomo received 41.6%, while Republican Curtis Sliwa garnered 7%.
Mamdani won more than one million votes, becoming the first candidate to surpass that threshold since 1969. In total, 2,017,000 New Yorkers cast ballots, nearly double the turnout of 1,045,000 in the last mayoral election four years ago. His victory came as Democrats swept the first major elections of Donald Trump’s second term, defying a politically charged campaign marked by unprecedented anti-Muslim attacks.
In his victory speech at Brooklyn’s Paramount Theatre, Mamdani declared, “In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light.” During the address, he outlined his policy priorities and directly referenced Donald Trump, who had previously threatened to cut federal funding if Mamdani defeated Cuomo and Sliwa. Later, responding to the election results on social media, Trump wrote ominously, “And so it begins.”
Mamdani, who is set to be sworn in on January 1, 2026, addressed President Trump directly, declaring: “New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants. And as of tonight, led by an immigrant.” He added that his win represents “a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a city we can afford.”
EARLY LIFE AND POLITICAL RISE
Born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1991, Mamdani is the son of academic Mahmood Mamdani and filmmaker Mira Nair. His family immigrated to New York City when he was seven. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Bowdoin College with a major in Africana studies, then worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counsellor, which inspired his entry into politics.
Mamdani began his political career as a campaign manager and organiser for progressive candidates. In 2020, he won a surprising primary upset against a five-term incumbent to secure his Assembly seat representing Astoria, Queens. In office, he championed tenant rights, housing justice, and legislation for a fare-free bus pilot program.
He married Syrian American illustrator Rama Duwaji earlier this year, and the couple live in Astoria, Queens.
A CAMPAIGN ROOTED IN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Mamdani’s mayoral campaign centred on bold social and economic reforms to tackle New York’s acute cost-of-living crisis. He proposed a rent freeze on stabilized units and the construction of 200,000 new affordable homes, while also advocating for raising the city’s minimum wage to $30 by 2030 and establishing city-owned grocery stores to combat soaring food prices. On public transit, he pledged to make buses permanently fare-free, and his vision for social services included universal public childcare and single-payer healthcare for New York State. To fund these ambitious initiatives, Mamdani proposed raising taxes on corporations and individuals earning over $1 million annually.
The platform resonated far beyond city limits, sparking a nationwide grassroots movement. Volunteers canvassed neighbourhoods tirelessly, delivering his message door-to-door. European left-wing politicians, including France’s Manon Aubry and members of Germany’s The Left party, travelled to New York to study his campaign. They praised the unique combination of digital strategy and on-the-ground organising that energized supporters.
Mamdani’s ideas also attracted the attention of prominent national figures. Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton, endorsed him in The Guardian. Reich wrote, “He’s addressing the problems New Yorkers discuss at their kitchen tables… He’s not debating ‘Trumpism’ or ‘capitalism’… He’s proposing a few easy-to-understand things.” The endorsement highlighted the national significance of Mamdani’s campaign and its challenge to the Democratic establishment.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan congratulated Mamdani on X, calling it a “historic campaign” in the New York City mayoral race. “New Yorkers faced a clear choice. – between hope and fear – and just like we’ve seen in London – hope won,” Khan wrote, praising Mamdani’s achievement.Khan himself made history in 2016 by becoming London’s first Muslim and first ethnic minority mayor despite facing Islamophobic attacks.
VICTORY AMIDST UNPRECEDENTED ONLINE ISLAMOPHOBIA
Mamdani’s candidacy unfolded against an extraordinary wave of online Islamophobia, meticulously documented by the nonpartisan Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH).
Their report, Islamophobia and the New York City Mayoral Election, analysed activity on X (formerly Twitter) from June 24, when Mamdani won the Democratic primary, through October 31. It revealed a digital ecosystem weaponized to portray him as “an existential threat” and to target Muslim Americans as a whole
The scale of the campaign was staggering. A total of 35,522 original Islamophobic and xenophobic posts were authored by 17,752 accounts. These posts collectively received 7.37 million likes and 2.01 million reposts, generating an estimated reach of 1.5 billion. Activity surged dramatically in October, with 15,123 posts alone—43% of the four-month total—representing a more than 450% increase from September. Alarmingly, nearly 39% of the accounts spreading this content were verified “blue-badge” users. These accounts produced 45% of all original posts, giving a veneer of legitimacy to the attacks.
The report highlighted four interlocking narratives driving the harassment. The dominant theme, appearing in 25,514 posts—or 72% of the total—relentlessly conflated Mamdani’s Muslim identity with terrorism, framing him as an extremist and a threat to public safety.
A second narrative, found in 2,868 posts—or 8% of the total, sought to stoke fear of an “Islamization” of New York. These messages were often accompanied by memes depicting the city as falling under Islamic rule.
Calls for deportation and denaturalization formed a third thread, appearing in 4,055 posts—or 11% of the total. Much of the rhetoric echoed European far-right terminology, including the concept of “remigration.”
Finally, 3,085 posts, or 9%, questioned Mamdani’s patriotism, branding him as “un-American” or a “traitor” and portraying New York as vulnerable to internal enemies.
A COMMUNITY’S EMOTIONAL RECKONING
For New York’s Muslim and South Asian communities, Mamdani’s victory carried profound symbolic weight. “I am very excited about this election,” said Zamzam Ali, a Brooklyn resident celebrating in Astoria. Muslims have really struggled and been victims of discrimination in America since 9/11. So, to see a Muslim become the mayor of the very city in which Muslims were blamed for all kinds of crimes—it’s phenomenal.”
Faizah, a 31-year-old teacher, told the Anadolu Agency that Mamdani’s policies offered hope. “Rent is pretty insane in New York City, so freezing the rent is a big deal. I think he’s for the people.”
During the campaign, Mamdani also released a video in Arabic, which journalist Negar Mortazavi praised as an antidote to opponents who “attack and smear and dehumanise Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims.”
NATIONAL REPERCUSSIONS AND A PARTY DIVIDED
Mamdani’s win is being interpreted as a national bellwether, demonstrating the potency of a progressive, economically focused campaign. While he won the support of young voters and figures such as Bernie Sanders, he was notably denied endorsements from establishment Democrats, including Senator Chuck Schumer, while former President Bill Clinton backed Cuomo.
President Donald Trump actively opposed Mamdani, urging his supporters to back Cuomo and threatening to withhold federal funding from New York should Mamdani win. On Truth Social, Trump wrote ominously, “…AND SO IT BEGINS!”
A MANDATE FOR UNITY AND CHANGE
In his victory address, Mamdani struck a conciliatory tone, pledging to build a city hall that “stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers… where the more than one million Muslims know that they belong.” He added, “No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) hailed the win as a “historic turning point” for American Muslim political engagement, noting that Mamdani’s ability to win while “openly advocating for Palestinian human rights and experiencing a barrage of anti-Muslim hate… marks a historic rebuke of both Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism in politics.”
[Photo: Democratic Party mayoral candidate for New York City Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference after casting his vote in Astoria, Queens, New York City, United States on November 4, 2025. Photojournalist: Selçuk Acar/AA]
