WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014\u00a0Zohran Mamdani\u00a0\u2019s swift rise in New York City\u2019s mayoral race has made him into a national symbol \u2014 both as a point of pride among many Muslim Americans and a political foil for the right.<\/p>\n
His campaign has been met by a surge in anti-Muslim language directed at the Democratic nominee, who would become the city\u2019s\u00a0first Muslim mayor\u00a0if elected in November.<\/p>\n
Republican Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee called him \u201clittle muhammad\u201d and urged deportation. On social media, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina referenced 9\/11 alongside a photo of Mamdani dressed in a kurta, a loose collarless shirt common in South Asia.<\/p>\n
Far-right activist\u00a0Laura Loomer claimed without evidence that \u201cNYC is about to see 9\/11 2.0.\u201d<\/p>\n
On many levels, Mamdani\u2019s run is a significant moment for the country and New York City, which endured 9\/11 and the rise in Islamophobia that followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really does hold so much symbolism,\u201d said Youssef Chouhoud, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University. The campaign is a reminder of anti-Muslim discrimination, he said, but also of Muslim Americans asserting their right “to lead this society moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Politicians from both major parties have attacked Mamdani\u2019s\u00a0progressive politics\u00a0and criticism of Israel. Conservatives have leaned more heavily into religious attacks and anti-immigrant sentiments.<\/p>\n
President\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0singled him out for censure and falsely questioned his U.S. citizenship, echoing \u201cbirther\u201d rhetoric he once aimed at former President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n
At the\u00a0National Conservatism Conference, multiple speakers used Mamdani\u2019s name and religion as attack lines, with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon calling the\u00a0democratic socialist a \u201cMarxist and a jihadist.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rhetoric is all too familiar for many Muslim Americans, including\u00a0Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, who faced slurs and death threats as the first Muslim woman to run for Congress in New Jersey in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at a crossroads,\u201d she said via email. \u201cOn one hand, Muslims are achieving unprecedented visibility and influence in political spaces. On the other, our dehumanization has never been so normalized and widespread.\u201d<\/p>\n
The threat of political violence<\/p>\n
Before\u00a0his assassination\u00a0last month, conservative activist\u00a0Charlie Kirk\u00a0wrote on social media that, \u201cAmerica\u2019s largest city was attacked by radical Islam 24 years ago, and now a similar form of that pernicious force is poised to capture city hall.\u201d On his show, Kirk called Mamdani a \u201cMohammedan,\u201d an antiquated term for Muslim, and warned about \u201cAnglo centers\u201d like New York coming \u201cunder Mohammedan rule.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mamdani condemned Kirk\u2019s killing while decrying America’s plague of\u00a0political violence.<\/p>\n
In September, a Texas man was charged with\u00a0making death threats\u00a0against Mamdani, including calling him a terrorist and saying \u201cMuslims don\u2019t belong here,\u201d prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
Mamdani\u2019s campaign responded by saying these types of threats \u201creflect a broader climate of hate that has no place in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot and will not be intimidated by racism, Islamophobia and hate,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
Islamophobia from 9\/11 until now<\/p>\n
Anti-Muslim bias has persisted in different forms since Sept. 11, 2001.<\/p>\n
New York City police ran a now-disbanded\u00a0Muslim surveillance program. There was furor in 2010 over plans to build a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan. Nationwide, dozens of states introduced legislation aimed at banning Islamic law.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt its core, anti-Muslim rhetoric is the same: that Muslims don\u2019t belong in this country, that they are perpetual foreigners, that they are a threat to American society and government,\u201d said Eman Abdelhadi, a sociologist at the University of Chicago.<\/p>\n
Critics of Obama, a Christian with Muslim ancestry, sought to use his connections to Islam as a political liability. As president, he spoke about his childhood years in Indonesia and his father\u2019s Muslim family in Kenya as assets in diplomacy.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump\u00a0amplified criticisms of Obama\u2019s background, stoking so-called \u201cbirther\u201d rumors by falsely questioning whether Obama was born in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s really created this new permission structure for people to more openly voice their anti-Muslim rhetoric,\u201d Chouhoud said.<\/p>\n
A similar playbook is being used with Mamdani. Born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent, he has lived in New York City since he was 7 and became a U.S. citizen in 2018. He was elected to the state Assembly in 2020.<\/p>\n
Despite that record, Trump has echoed a\u00a0false allegation\u00a0denying Mamdani\u2019s citizenship and\u00a0immigration\u00a0status.<\/p>\n
Democrats and the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war<\/p>\n
Islamophobia and antisemitism have risen during the war in Gaza. Accusations of both have played out in the race for mayor of New York, a city home to the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Before dropping out, Mayor\u00a0Eric Adams\u00a0joined another Democrat, former Gov.\u00a0Andrew Cuomo, in calling Mamdani \u201cdangerous.\u201d Cuomo accused him of \u201cfueling antisemitism\u201d with sharp criticism of Israel.<\/p>\n
An outside group supporting Cuomo, who’s now running as an independent, prepared a flyer that appeared to lengthen and darken Mamdani\u2019s beard, which Mamdani called \u201cblatant Islamophobia.\u201d Cuomo’s campaign disavowed it and the mailer was never sent.<\/p>\n
Other Democrats have distanced themselves from Mamdani\u2019s\u00a0progressive platform, critiques of Israel and staunch support for Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York apologized to Mamdani after incorrectly saying he referenced \u201cglobal jihad.\u201d At issue was his refusal to condemn other people’s use of the slogan \u201cglobalize the intifada.\u201d He later said he would\u00a0discourage its use. Some see the phrase as a call for Palestinian liberation and rights, others as a call for violence against Jews.<\/p>\n
In an emotional news conference ahead of his primary win in June, Mamdani accused his rivals of using antisemitism to score political points. \u201cI\u2019ve said at every opportunity there is no room for antisemitism in this city, in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pride and hope from fellow Muslims<\/p>\n
Despite the controversies, many American Muslims are upbeat about a possible Mamdani victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe abiding emotion … is a really deep sense of hope,\u201d said Chouhoud, whose Brooklyn accent speaks to his New York roots.<\/p>\n
Shahana Hanif, a Mamdani ally and the first Muslim woman elected to the New York City Council, is optimistic. She said Islamophobia is being used as a fear tactic \u201cand it\u2019s just not working.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hanan Thabet, a born-and-raised New Yorker and a Mamdani supporter, said his campaign has energized her family after two years of grief over the\u00a0killing and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.<\/p>\n
So much so that her children \u2014 ages 10 and 8 \u2014 helped her phone bank for him. \u201cThey\u2019re super excited to see this young energetic brown man, Muslim man, you know, potentially be our next mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a mother, she feels like it’s \u201cimpossible to explain why it has become so socially acceptable to dehumanize Muslims and Arabs, and why our lives seem to matter the least.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what makes Zohran\u2019s candidacy not only historic,\u201d she said, \u201cbut necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Henao reported from New York, and Fam from Cairo.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s\u00a0collaboration\u00a0with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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