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Mamdani's win signifies hope and a political voice for Muslim Americans

Mamdani's win signifies hope and a political voice for Muslim Americans

Yahoo5 days ago
Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York City's Democratic primary for mayor has a group of Pakistani American aunties and uncles so excited that they are wondering if they should have given their own children more freedom in choosing their careers. 'What if we let our kids become politicians, and not just doctors and engineers?' a member of the grassroots political organizing group, DRUM Beats, asked at a small celebration held at an Islamic school last month in south Brooklyn.
DRUM Beats, which represents New York City's working class South Asian and Indo-Caribbean populations, was one of the first grassroots groups to endorse Mamdani, when he launched his campaign in October – long before he became a household name. More than 300 volunteers, who spoke near a dozen languages, knocked on at least 10,000 doors to support him. DRUM Beats says these efforts helped increase voter turnout by almost 90% among Indo Caribbean and South Asians in some neighborhoods.
The unabashed 33-year-old assemblyman ranked near the bottom of the pack when he began campaigning. Now, Mamdani has a chance to be New York City's first Asian American and Muslim mayor. His family came to the United States when he was seven, and he became a citizen in 2018. He was born to Indian parents in Kampala, Uganda.
Mamdani's campaign has piqued the interest of many South Asian Americans, as well as a diverse population of Muslims – not only because of his identity, but his platform, too. Many Muslims, even those who may not fully agree with Mamdani's approach on every issue, see his rise as a sign of hope in a city where racism and Islamophobia erupted following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
'We are stepping into leadership roles that challenge long-standing assumptions about who can represent the city of New York and Americans more broadly,' says Youssef Chouhoud, an associate professor of political science at Christopher Newport University and expert on Muslim Americans.
Related: Is the New York Times trying to wreck Zohran Mamdani's mayoral bid? | Margaret Sullivan
A leader for Muslims across the US
Since winning the Democratic primary, Mamdani has faced Islamophobic smears online, and from both sides of the political aisle. Republican Congressman Andy Ogles demanded the use of material support for terrorism charges against Mamdani, without providing evidence, and urged that he be deported. (The Bush administration used these charges after 9/11 to shut down the nation's biggest Muslim and pro-Palestinian charities, in what civil rights groups argue were often politically motivated investigations.) Donald Trump has since falsely questioned Mamdani's citizenship and the administration's Homeland Security Advisory Council is already looking into him.
While New York City's roughly 1 million Muslims aren't enough to decide November's election, Mamdani has become wildly popular with Muslims nationwide. Polling shows that Muslim Americans rank issues related to Gaza and affordability as their top priorities, which are reflective of broader trends and shifts within the Democratic base. It also aligns with the highpoints of Mamdani's campaign such as affordable housing, and his frequent protest against US military support for Israel, said Nazita Lajevardi, an associate professor of political science at Michigan State University. She noted that Muslims – as well as many Democrats, including some Jewish Americans – were horrified by Israel's attacks on Gaza and did not think they had good choices in the 2024 presidential election.
Mamdani's campaign won almost over one-third of districts that Trump won in 2024, according to an analysis by the Gothamist.
Mamdani's advocacy for Palestinian rights includes authoring legislation that would have banned the city's organizations from sending money to charities supporting Israeli settlement activity.
He has been grilled repeatedly about his stance on Israel and whether he will condemn calls to 'globalize the intifada'. He frequently responds with affirmations that he will protect Jewish New Yorkers. He has recognized Israel's right to exist – but only as a state that enforces equal rights for its citizens.
Related: 'New Yorkers have been betrayed': can Zohran Mamdani become the most progressive mayor in the city's history?
For some pro-Palestinian advocates, a formal recognition of Israel veers closely towards legitimizing the Nakba – when more than 750,000 Palestinians were permanently expelled from their homeland. Others say it's largely a matter of semantics. And even Mamdani's critics on this issue have appreciated his refusal to support a crack down on speech and his explanation that 'intifada' also means 'legitimate protest'. The Palestinian Youth Movement said in an Instagram statement that Mamdani's victory shows that 'being anti-genocide is not, in and of itself, politically costly with American voters in 2025'.
'He supported us at a critical moment'
Asad Dandia, who successfully sued the NYPD in 2013 for illegally spying on Muslim New Yorkers, connected Mamdani's campaign to dozens of mosques and imams across the city. The key message was still affordability, Dandia said. Mamdani's campaign team visited 136 mosques, of which he personally visited about40, said Zara Rahim, a senior adviser for Mamdani's campaign. 'Many of the tenets of this campaign are inherently Muslim: justice, mercy, commitment to community,' she said.
Mamdani's embrace of being Muslim and South Asian helped build excitement with many voters, from adopting the psychedelic aesthetic of Eid Mubarak WhatsApp forwards to using nostalgic Bollywood references. His strong support of LGBTQ+ and trans rights has not appeared to cost him votes among his more conservative Muslim supporters either.
Still, Mamdani's identity, alone, wasn't enough. 'One lesson the left needs to learn is that identity politics cannot win you elections,' said Raza Gillani, an organizer with DRUM Beats. 'You need a political program for people that speaks to the grave inequalities in society.'
SK M Mobinul Hoque, a Muslim Bangladeshi taxi driver who lives in Queens, said he voted for Mamdani in the Democratic primary – but he didn't even know Mamdani was Muslim until after he cast his ballot. 'I didn't even care. He supported us at a critical moment; that's why I'm supporting him,' he said.
Hoque fondly remembers Mamdani's advocacy for taxi drivers like himself, who were wrecked by mounting debt caused by the city's controversial medallion program. By 2021, Hoque had accumulated about $440,000 of debt and had already heard about five fellow drivers who died by suicide. Mamdani went on a hunger strike for more than two weeks and joined the TWA Taxi Alliance, as they protested in front of City Hall. The city subsequently made a deal with the union for debt forgiveness.
'If you don't keep your promises, we will hold you accountable'
New York City possibly getting its first Muslim mayor is notable, given its history of surveilling Muslim Americans after 9/11. Many DRUM members in New York City were deeply affected by the NYPD and FBI's sprawling infiltration of student groups and mosques. The federal government ran elaborate sting operations in which informants sometimes pressured vulnerable Muslims to agree to take part in violent plots – and used their subsequent cooperation to throw them in prison.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 was passed in response to rhetoric that conflated Muslims with terrorists–and paved the way for the creation of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice). 'Ice was born out of anti-Muslim hate,' said Heba Gowayed, an associate professor of sociology at CUNY Hunter College.
Ice's sweeping detentions of immigrants, and ability to operate at Rikers Island after a deal was struck between Eric Adams, New York City's current mayor, and the Trump administration, have triggered old fears about law enforcement. In Astoria, undocumented Middle Eastern and North African immigrants are scared that Ice will try to deport them, said Rana Abdelhamid, who runs Malikah – a local anti-violence nonprofit that operates in Mamdani's assembly district, and has worked closely with him. Earlier this year, a street vendor ran into Malikah's office after Ice's increased activity in Astoria. 'He was coming in frantic–asking, 'can I take the train to go to work today?'', she said.
South Asian immigrants with DRUM Beats are scared, too. After 9/11, some Muslim communities based their electoral support on whichever candidate they thought would win, hoping that it could help them get something in return, said Gillani, with DRUM Beats. The organization is trying to move voters in a different direction –'a new politics rooted in community defense', Gillani said. Mamdani has promised to protect immigrants – in part, by expanding the budget for legal representation.
DRUM Beats is already thinking about turning out voters in November. At the June meeting, Gillani urged members: 'Don't let this energy die down.' He also emphasized the longterm goal of building power for working-class communities. 'We don't support (Mamdani) because we think he's a messiah who will save New York City,' Gillani said. 'If you don't keep your promises, we will hold you accountable – regardless of whether you are Zohran, Cuomo or Eric Adams.'
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Zohran Mamdani's NYC grocery stores scheme draws fresh scrutiny as video of empty, city-owned Missouri market goes viral
Zohran Mamdani's NYC grocery stores scheme draws fresh scrutiny as video of empty, city-owned Missouri market goes viral

New York Post

time12 hours ago

  • New York Post

Zohran Mamdani's NYC grocery stores scheme draws fresh scrutiny as video of empty, city-owned Missouri market goes viral

He could be biting off more than he can chew. A viral video showing a desolate publicly-funded grocery store in Missouri has drawn fresh scrutiny on socialist mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani's signature proposal to bring city-owned markets to the Big Apple. The eerie footage showed virtually bare shelves inside the Kansas City, Miss. store, with local outlet KSHB 41 reporting this week that a rancid odor also wafted inside the shop. Advertisement 6 A viral video shows the poor conditions inside the city-owned Sun Fresh Market grocery store in Kansas City. KSHB 6 Empty shelves seen inside Sun Fresh Market. KSHB The lack of produce and other goods came despite the store being in a city-owned building and receiving millions of taxpayer dollars since opening in 2018, the report said. Advertisement 'I can tell you today right now it's damn near dead,' one outraged local told the outlet. Many viewed the video as prophetic for New York City, with one X user posting, 'Watch this, Mamdani supporters.' Mamdani helped clinch the Democratic mayoral nomination by running a campaign focused on affordability, including a promise to create a network of city-owned grocery stores to the Big Apple. 'It's like a public option for produce,' he said in one of his slick TikTok videos. 'We will redirect city funds from corporate supermarkets to city-owned grocery stores whose mission is to lower prices, not price gouging. Advertisement 'These stores will operate without a profit motive, or having to pay property taxes or rent, and will pass on those savings to you. They'll partner with small businesses and nearby farms and sell at wholesale prices.' 6 Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has proposed opening city-owned grocery stores. Zohran Mamdani / TikTok The proposal inspired an explosion of handwringing among some New Yorkers, with some warning of Soviet-style groceries and billionaire John Catsimatidis threatening to close his Gristedes grocery chain. 'We can't compete with Mamdani opening city-run supermarkets for free,' Catsimatidis has told The Post. Advertisement But Mamdani's plan is largely vague on details, such as whether the city itself will actually run the stores or hand off operations to a private or nonprofit partner. He has interchangeably used the terms 'city-owned' and 'city-run' to describe the stores during his campaign. 6 A local TV station also reported a rancid smell in the Kansas City store. KSHB Mamdani said he envisions the initiative as a pilot program that's more of an experiment. 'That would be one store in each borough – five stores across New York City,' he said on 'The Bulwark' podcast. 'It would cost $65 million,' he said before the podcast host Tim Miller interrupted to jokingly call them 'five communist stores.' 'It might be an interesting test case to see how poorly it does compared to its neighbors,' Miller said. 6 Sun Fresh Market has recieved millions of dollars in taxpayer funds since opening in 2018, according to the report. KSHB Advertisement Mamdani contended that he was more interested in testing a potential practical policy than pushing an ideological agenda. 'No matter how you think about the idea, I do think that there should be room for reasonable policy experimentation in our cities and in our country, where we actually test out our ideas,' he said. 'And if they work, they work. And if they don't work, c'est la vie, then the idea was wrong.' The Queens assemblyman has pointed toward the government-owned grocery store in St. Paul, Kansas, a community of roughly 600 people, as a success story. Advertisement Brittain Ladd, a supply chain logistics and retail consultant, said government-run grocery stores in New York City could break even, but they could only offer a limited number of basic products and would need to be operated by grocery 'experts.' 6 The report noted a lack of fresh produce available in the city-owned grocery store. KSHB 'The program will fail if people who don't have expertise set it up,' Ladd said. 'These would be very specialized grocery stores. This would not look like a grocery store. It would be a very bare bones operation,' Ladd said. Advertisement 'It would be to really just provide the things that people need the most.' Nevin Cohen, director for the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, said Mamdani's proposal isn't so far-fetched, noting the city has six public retail markets, such as Jamaica Market, with a history going back to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in the 1930s. 'They still operate in neighborhoods all across the city, and there, the Economic Development Corporation of New York City owns and manages the building and sets the rents so that there is a mix of neighborhood-serving vendors with rents that are affordable so they can provide low cost food,' Cohen said. Advertisement Cohen envisioned a public-private model would prevail if Mamdani wins in November and moves forward with the experiment, adding he didn't think city-owned grocery stores would impact existing businesses. 'In New York City, with 1,000 supermarkets, I don't think it's likely that the five public markets that Mamdani has been talking about would in any way undermine existing food retailers,' he said.

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