"Zohran Mamdani and Abdul El-Sayed are probably today’s most visible Muslim American politicians. What makes them noteworthy is not just their obvious communication skills, but their deliberate attention to policies that enhance the public good for all."

‘What makes Mamdani and El-Sayed noteworthy is not just their obvious communication skills but their deliberate attention to policies that enhance the public good for all.’ Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

9/11 entrenched Islamophobia in US politics. But it doesn’t work the way you think

Anti-Muslim sentiment is used as a political weapon. Meanwhile, Muslim American leaders are making a difference for all 

 Moustafa Bayoumi in The Guardian 

Fri 11 Sep 2026 

It’s been 25 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, and during this time Muslim Americans have learned how to live in that dangerous space between other Americans’ fears and their ignorance.

The fear was clear from the beginning. Immediately following 9/11, Muslim Americans faced what Human Rights Watch called “a severe wave of backlash violence”. A tide of hate rose up against ordinary Muslims and those who appeared to be Muslim, including at least three murders in the immediate backlash after the attacks. The federal government, for its part, began targeting Muslim immigrants in a massive surge of repression that legal experts soon compared to the Palmer Raids of the 1920s.

The ignorance was just as evident. Even Oprah Winfrey did her part to allay it, dedicating an episode of her show in October 2001 to “Islam 101”. The Qur’an leapt on to the New York Times bestseller list that fall. Yet despite these early efforts at education, most Americans still learned little about Islam and Muslims. One 2006 study found that only a third of those polled realized that Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews do. Close to 10% of respondents thought Muslims worship a “moon god”.

Much of this fear and ignorance has continued unevenly over the last quarter century, with negative attitudes towards Muslim Americans softening at times and hardening, sometimes into deadly violence, at other times. What’s interesting is when expressions of these attitudes happen. It turns out that predicting when animosity to Muslims will rise and fall may not be quite what you think.

Researchers who study Islamophobia discovered several years ago that anti-Muslim outbreaks in the United States don’t follow highly publicized acts of terrorism. Rather, Islamophobic incidents tend to cluster more routinely around our election cycles.... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/11/9-11-islamophobia-us-politics

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"We're talking about a federal administration that has spent close to $30 billion dollars killing thousands of people at a time when working class people across this country cannot afford the bare minimum," he said. "And to be told that a city-run grocery store is implausible, but spending more than $500 million a day to kill people in Iran and Lebanon is not only plausible but necessary, it speaks to a broken kind of politics." Zohran Mamdani April 17, 2026 NPR interview

The war in Iran speaks to a "broken kind of politics"

That chasm is most clear in his deep opposition to the U.S. war on Iran, he said.

"We're talking about a federal administration that has spent close to $30 billion dollars killing thousands of people at a time when working class people across this country cannot afford the bare minimum," he said. "And to be told that a city-run grocery store is implausible, but spending more than $500 million a day to kill people in Iran and Lebanon is not only plausible but necessary, it speaks to a broken kind of politics."

He said that New Yorkers feel the effects of that war beyond their pocketbook.

"At the core of any war is a dehumanization that takes place, and that dehumanization is not limited to any battlefield," he said. "It extends into the lives of people across this country."

He shared the story of a young Muslim woman he called after seeing the news that she had been thrown to the ground at a New York City subway stop.

"She told me that the first thing her attacker said to her before he attacked her was, 'I wonder how many Iranians we killed today,'" he said. "That is what we are allowing to take hold in our politics."

Zohran Mamdani says Iran war speaks to a 'broken kind of politics'

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/16/nx-s1-5785163/zohran-mamdani-interview-first-100-days 

 

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Rama Duwaji Makes a Powerful Statement wearing Palestinian-Jordanian Designer Zeid Hijazi's creation, for her husband Zohran Mamdani's acceptance speech

ANGELA WEISS//Getty Images

Rama Duwaji Makes a Powerful Statement in This Palestinian-Jordanian Designer Alongside Zohran Mamdani

That’s our first lady!

By Sophie Wang    Published: Nov 05, 2025  Harper's Bizaar

“In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light.” Last night, the news of Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral win sent an exciting cry of hope not simply through New York City, but across the country as a whole, and even overseas.

The city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor-elect stepped onstage to deliver a moving speech, promising a brighter future for all to a crowd who had already begun to feel it blooming. And while we New Yorkers glued ourselves to the TV, hanging on the Democrat’s every word, we also got a first glimpse at what his wife, Syrian-American animator and illustrator Rama Duwaji, would bring to City Hall.

Walking out with Mamdani, Duwali—who famously met her husband on Hinge, in the best moment of free advertising a dating app could ever hope for—brought her own take on first lady-dressing to the stage. And, given that she is an artist herself, it came as no surprise that her debut look in this new position was nothing short of memorable.

Designed by Zeid Hijazi, a London-based Palestinian-Jordanian label that fuses ancient folklore with Arab futurism, Duwali’s black top was crafted from laser-etched denim with a high neckline and basque waist.

Helmed by a Central Saint Martins alum, the brand was founded to explore the “mysteries of a futuristic yet dystopian Middle East,” drawing inspiration from the designer’s heritage and blending Middle Eastern craftsmanship with couture sensibilities. Duwali’s piece, appropriately titled the “frequency” top, sent a subtle yet powerful message of its own, as Mamdani spoke of protecting the people of New York and the cultural diversity that makes the city what it is... READ MORE  https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a69262629/rama-duwaji-zohran-mamdani-palestinian-jordanian-designer-zeid-hijazi-outfit-photos/

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Zohran Mamdani is rewriting the political rules around support for Israel. If support for Israel is no longer de rigueur in New York, it may soon not be obligatory in Washington. That is good news for Palestinians - by Kenneth Roth in The Guardian

‘The political shift on Israel that Mamdani’s victory represents should be a wake-up call for the Netanyahu government.’ Photograph: Lev Radin/Shutterstock

 Kenneth Roth

Thu 27 Nov 2025 06.00 EST

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be quaking in his boots at the decisive victory of Zohran Mamdani in the 4 November New York City mayoral election. Not because of absurd allegations of antisemitism for which there is no evidence, but because Mamdani has broken the longstanding taboo for successful New York candidates against criticizing the Israeli government. And he has only reinforced his approach in the month since his election.

New York has the largest Jewish population in the United States – and the second-largest of any city in the world after Tel Aviv. The longstanding assumption was that many Jewish voters prioritized the defense of the Israeli government over other issues, so criticism of Israel would set them against a politician.

Mamdani blew that assumption out of the water. During the campaign he spoke accurately and openly about the genocide that Israel was committing in Gaza. He insisted that all residents of Israel should have equal rights. He said he would arrest Netanyahu were he to show up in New York. Yet one-third of New York’s Jewish voters cast a ballot for him. As did many others.

Some Jews may have been uncomfortable with Mamdani’s criticism of Israel but liked other aspects of his candidacy, such as his relentless focus on affordability. Others, myself included, were attracted by his candor on such an important issue as Israel. Many were also probably appalled by the efforts of Mamdani’s principal opponent, Andrew Cuomo, to tar Mamdani with fact-free allegations of antisemitism.

Mamdani has only continued his openness on Israel since the election... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/27/zohran-mamdani-israel-us-support

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“My journey in politics began with Palestine... We said we cared about freedom, cared about justice, we cared about safety, we cared about peace, and yet we did not dare to apply those things to Palestine...” — The Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani

https://x.com/i/status/1985942654174035983     video speech 

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has won the New York mayoral election to become the city’s first Muslim mayor, polls projected late on Tuesday after voting closed in the closely watched election. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/5/us-election-results-2025-key-takeaways-from-historic-night-across-the-us

 

Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Zohran Mamdani has made history as New York City’s first Muslim mayor - and its youngest leader in more than 100 years.   BBC https://x.com/i/status/1986032566621680040

 

IMEU Policy Project

 

@imeupolicy

 

STATEMENT: Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor stood for all the things that New York City, our country, and the Democratic Party must aspire to: an abiding respect for human rights and the dignity of every person, including Palestinians.

 

https://x.com/imeupolicy/status/1985899278728827093/photo/1 

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"And yet we watched as those subtle, innocent, beautiful nuances of our tongue were twisted into indicators of suspicion. In an American discourse so heavily imbued with anti-Palestinian racism and so rife with Islamophobia, Palestinians or those who dare see them as human are not allowed to have legitimate intentions or legitimate grievances. They are to be constantly seen as suspicious. Even if they speak of human rights, equality, dignity, they can never really be trusted to mean those things because of who they are — sneaky shapeshifters with deeply held, murderous, ulterior motives. It is quite remarkable how much this echoes antisemitism throughout history, and that should surprise no one. All forms of racism are connected" Yousef Munayyer

 ... An Era of Being Exogenously Defined 

On a nightly basis after September 11, 2001, so-called terrorism experts who knew next to nothing about the language, religion, or cultures of the region would appear on news broadcasts — indoctrinating our friends, neighbors, classmates, and coworkers to treat our language as suspicious.

We watched as those subtle and innocent nuances of our tongue were twisted into indicators of suspicion.

I remember hearing an Arab-American elder once explain to a curious neighbor, “In Arabic, God is in every conversation.” At the time, I thought it was a bit overdramatic. It is undoubtedly true that it is hard to imagine an Arabic conversation where Allah is not uttered. Whether in our bismillahs, alhamdulillahs, mashallahs or inshallahs or our yallahs or wallahs, God makes routine appearances. But these are not necessarily religious conversations at all. Even the non-religious use these terms; it is just the nature of how we communicate in our language due to its historic ties to faith. It is also one of the many things that makes the Arabic language beautiful.

And yet we watched as those subtle, innocent, beautiful nuances of our tongue were twisted into indicators of suspicion. In an American discourse so heavily imbued with anti-Palestinian racism and so rife with Islamophobia, Palestinians or those who dare see them as human are not allowed to have legitimate intentions or legitimate grievances. They are to be constantly seen as suspicious. Even if they speak of human rights, equality, dignity, they can never really be trusted to mean those things because of who they are — sneaky shapeshifters with deeply held, murderous, ulterior motives. It is quite remarkable how much this echoes antisemitism throughout history, and that should surprise no one. All forms of racism are connected.

A Shoe on the Other Foot

Imagine for a minute subjecting words or phrases in a different language, or about a different people, to the same unfair treatment. Consider the Hebrew phrase Am Yisrael Chai. The literal meaning of the phrase is “the people of Israel live,” and there are plenty of instances where the use of this phrase is mundane. However, the phrase is routinely chanted by murderous Israeli settlers as they engage in mob violence against Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Recently, it has been shouted by Israeli soldiers as they commit heinous war crimes in Gaza and shared widely and proudly by those same soldiers on social media. Thus, one could argue that Am Yisrael Chai is a genocidal slogan and must be banned, and that all those who use it or have used it must be criminalized and viewed with deep suspicion.

Surely, this is absurd. And yet this is the absurdity Palestinians and those who support their freedom are constantly subjected to. Still, too many cannot see the glaring double standard... READ MORE

https://theintercept.com/2025/07/10/mamdani-globalize-intifada-democrats/

Zohran Mamdani Shows Democrats How Not to Take the Bait

By refusing to capitulate on "globalize the intifada," Mamdani rejected a long tradition of demonizing Arabic language.

by 

Yousef Munayyer

July 10 2025

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