Ramadan brought a new political moment for New York City’s Muslims – and its first Muslim mayor

Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks with Midori Valdivia, chair of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, at the iftar his team hosted Wednesday at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. (Angelina Katsanis/AP via CNN Newsource)

The offices of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance had people of all ages on Wednesday night waiting for the end of the nightly Ramadan fast, from children sitting at tables doing math homework to cab drivers just getting off their shifts.

Just before it was time to pray and eat, someone announced a special guest was coming to their iftar, the evening meal to break fast during Ramadan.

“I know who it is,” shouted a boy from the back of the room to laughter.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani soon entered and joined them.

Mamdani prays during iftar with taxi drivers

Mamdani marked the month of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month that concluded Thursday night, by attending 17 iftars around New York City. His appearances were intended to boost ties with key constituencies but also affirm his public practice of his faith as the city’s first Muslim mayor – and his politics.

Among the iftars he attended were with firefighters, police officers, an organizing group for Black Muslims and delivery drivers. He hosted social media creators at City Hall, leading to dozens of friendly videos of people meeting him, in an extension of his social media-forward mayoral campaign. A longtime advocate for changes to the criminal justice system, he visited inmates at Rikers Island. And he dipped into sports as well, breaking his fast and shooting hoops with New York Knicks player Mohamed Diawara.

Having long made his pro-Palestinian views and criticism of Israel central to his politics, Mamdani posted a photo on his official account with Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student who helped lead student protests against Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Standing next to Khalil was Rama Duwaji, New York City’s first lady, amid ongoing backlash to reports from the Washington Free Beacon and Jewish Insider that she liked anti-Israel posts immediately after the Oct. 7 attack, including one questioning whether Hamas fighters committed sexual violence.

GOP New York Rep. Elise Stefanik slammed the mayor for hosting Khalil, who denounced antisemitic incidents during the Columbia protests.

“The heinously dangerous antisemitism and anti-Americanism that Khalil brought and wreaked havoc to Columbia’s campus has now been brought straight to the Mayor’s house for all New Yorkers to see,” she wrote in a post on X.

The Trump administration detained Khalil and canceled his green card, but a federal judge ordered his release.

“There is, of course, no place for antisemitism,” Khalil told CNN previously. “What we are witnessing is anti-Palestinian sentiment that’s taking different forms and antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism (are) some of these forms.”

Ramadan in New York was also marked by what authorities describe as an attempted ISIS-inspired terror attack outside of Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence. Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, who law enforcement officials said are both US citizens from Pennsylvania, are accused of trying to use improvised explosive devices at an anti-Islam demonstration and a counterprotest.

Mamdani was asked after the attack what his message was to the city’s Muslims.

“My message is that you need not be ashamed of yourself to be a part of this city,” he said. “You need not feel as if your identity is somehow in tension with being a New Yorker. I am proud to be a Muslim. I’m proud to be a New Yorker.”

The people who invited the mayor

There are varying estimates of New York City’s Muslim population, with some saying as many as 1 million Muslims live in the city. Mamdani’s November victory was cause for celebration among many in the community.

Mouhamadou Aliyu met Mamdani in 2021 while protesting the debt crisis impacting taxi drivers. Mamdani, then a state assemblyman, joined Aliyu in a 15-day hunger strike.

Three years later, the two crossed paths again when Aliyu picked up then-mayoral candidate Mamdani in his taxicab to attend an iftar.

On Wednesday night, Aliyu was smiling ear to ear when Mamdani got up to speak at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, recalling that night.

“It is only right that I would find him back at NYTWA, because I know that so much of my joy that I’ve had in this city has been a joy that somehow, someway, has a root in this incredible union,” he said.

Sahr Ali, president and co-founder of Black Muslims Now in NYC, invited the mayor for the group’s fifth annual dinner this year in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Ali was surprised to learn the night beforehand that Mamdani would be joining.

“The way that he has elevated the public conception of Islam, I think that means a lot to Muslims, and definitely means a lot to our community,” she explained.

Mamdani prayed with them, broke his fast and stayed for a few selfies, she recalls. There were personal moments as well.

“It felt like this is not just our mayor; this is our family,” she said.

Mohammad Moaz, president of the FDNY Islamic Society, also took a chance in extending an invite to Mamdani. In early March, Moaz and his team hosted an iftar in Brooklyn alongside members of the Muslim community as well as firefighters and FDNY members of other faiths, including top department officials.

During his remarks, Mamdani thanked Moaz for his work in his mission to make Muslims more visible in their ranks.

Moaz, who said he has been fasting for Ramadan since he was 7, discussed the demands of going without food and water while working shifts as a firefighter.

He explained it was touching to see Mamdani fasting while still performing his duties as mayor.

“It was huge. I mean, it was definitely a big deal for him to come. Just having a Muslim mayor in the city was a big deal for us,” Moaz added.

By Katherine Koretski, CNN