Republicans, X accused of spreading racism, Islamophobia in posts about NYC's Mamdani

CBC

3 hours ago

Zohran Mamdani's Democratic primary upset this week in New York City has sparked anti-Muslim posts that have included death threats and comments comparing his candidacy to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
There were at least 127 violent hate-related reports mentioning the mayoral candidate or his campaign in the day after polls closed, said CAIR Action, an arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations advocacy group, which logs such incidents.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress including Andy Ogles, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene have been accused of spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric both by advocates and Democrats.
"We call on public officials of every party — including those whose allies are amplifying these smears — to unequivocally condemn Islamophobia," said Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action.
Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani would be the city's first Muslim and Indian American mayor if he wins the November general election. He became a U.S. citizen in 2018.
The New York City Police Department said earlier this month its hate crime unit was probing anti-Muslim threats against Mamdani.
X the biggest offender, advocacy group says
Overall, CAIR noted about 6,200 online posts that mentioned some form of Islamophobic slur or hostility in a daylong time frame, which the organizations said was a five-fold increase from a typical day.
The advocacy group said its hate-monitoring system includes its own scraping and analysis of posts, online submissions by the public and notifications from law enforcement. About 62 per cent of the anti-Muslim posts against Mamdani originated on X, CAIR Action said.
People close to Republican President Donald Trump, including one of his sons, are among those spreading anti-Muslim rhetoric, advocates said.
Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, wrote on X on Wednesday that "New York City has fallen," while sharing a post that said New Yorkers had "voted for" Sept. 11.
Mace, a Republican House member from Carolina, opined in similar fashion, posting a picture of Mamdani in a type of robe often worn by Muslim men in traditional Islamic ceremonies, with the text: "After 9/11 we said 'Never Forget.' I think we sadly have forgotten."
In fact, then-president George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., on Sept. 17, 2001, to emphasize that the attackers were violent zealots who didn't represent the "true faith of Islam."
"Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes," he said. "Moms who wear cover must be not intimidated in America. That's not the America I know. That's not the America I value."
Democrats slam Tennessee lawmaker
Tennessee's Ogles arguably went the furthest, raising an accusation that Mamdani lied on his citizenship forms while attaching a letter he wrote to Pam Bondi, asking the U.S. attorney general to investigate the matter.
"He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings," said Ogles, who referred to Mamdani as "little Muhammad."
Mamdani enjoyed rapping in earlier years, and Ogles, in his letter to Bondi, cited one rap he alleged expressed support for individuals convicted of terrorism-related offences.
"The unhinged racism and xenophobia from my Republican colleagues truly knows no bounds," said House Democrat Nydia Velazquez of New York on X, referring to the Ogles post.
Ritchie Torres, also a House Democrat from New York said it was "profoundly unAmerican" to demand the deportation of an American citizen "simply because he is Muslim."
"It is no secret that I have profound disagreements with Zohran Mamdani. But every Democrat — and every decent person — should speak out with moral clarity against the despicable Islamophobic attacks that have been directed at him," Torres said in a post from his personal account.
House Democrats condemn Andy Ogles:
The White House, which did not respond to a request for comment, has denied claims of discrimination against Muslims. Trump and his allies have said they oppose Mamdani and others due to what they call the Democrats' "radical left" ideology.
The U.S. president has pursued domestic policies that rights advocates have described as anti-Muslim, including banning travel from some predominantly Muslim or Arab countries in his first term and attempting to deport pro-Palestinian students in his current term.
He began commenting on national politics in earnest with the rise of social media, and was the prime driver of a conspiracy theory suggesting former president Barack Obama was not born in the United States and that Hawaiian documents regarding Obama's birth were forgeries.
Trump has not commented on Mamdani's religion or ethnicity but characterized him as a "100 per cent communist lunatic" in a social media post this week.
Fends off antisemitism allegations
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and a 33-year-old state lawmaker, declared victory in Tuesday's primary after former New York governor Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat. Cuomo could conceivably still run in November's citywide election; candidates have until Friday to request removal from the ballot.
Republicans have called Mamdani antisemitic, citing his pro-Palestinian advocacy and his criticism of Israel's ongoing military assault on Gaza after an attack by Hamas militants in October 2023.
Mamdani has condemned antisemitism and has the backing of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is Jewish. Lander also ran in the Democratic primary and the two candidates implored their supporters in the ranked-choice voting to look to the other as a second choice rather than Cuomo.
Human rights advocates have noted rising antisemitism and Islamophobia since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, including the shooting of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington and the stabbing of a Muslim child in Illinois.
Mamdani and other pro-Palestinian advocates, including some Jewish groups, said their criticism of Israel's military action is wrongly conflated with antisemitism.