Mamdani's historic win as New York City's mayor sparks excitement and hope among many US Muslims

Zohran Mamdani’s historic election arsenic New York City’s archetypal Muslim politician has sparked excitement and anticipation among American Muslims.

Many are relieved and arrogant that anti-Muslim vitriol directed astatine Mamdani during the run didn't discourage New Yorkers from voting for him.

“For the archetypal clip successful a precise agelong clip I consciousness anticipation — arsenic a Muslim, arsenic a Democrat, arsenic an American, arsenic an immigrant,” said Bukhtawar Waqas, who virtually jumped for joyousness and called her begetter to celebrate.

She said she attended Mamdani’s triumph code and was reassured by the diverseness of New Yorkers astir her contempt immoderate challenges that whitethorn beryllium ahead.

Growing up, Waqas, a Pakistani American physician, ne'er thought she’d spot a Muslim go politician of New York City. She said she gravitated toward Mamdani’s messages to the moving people and recovered his affordability imaginativeness to person wide resonance.

Mamdani won the immense bulk of Muslim voters; astir 9 successful 10 Muslim voters supported him, according to the AP Voter Poll. They made up a precise tiny radical of voters successful the city: astir 4% of NYC voters were Muslim.

Mamdani, a antiauthoritarian socialist who formed his triumph arsenic a boon for blue-collar workers struggling to get by, has campaigned connected an docket that includes escaped buses, escaped kid attraction and a rent frost for rent-stabilized apartments.

Not lone the city’s archetypal Muslim mayor, helium volition beryllium its archetypal of South Asian practice and the archetypal calved successful Africa.

His triumph enables “a corporate suspiration of alleviation from Muslim New Yorkers, which would ripple crossed the country,” said Sylvia Chan-Malik, who teaches astir Islam successful America astatine Rutgers University. “The bequest of 9/11 and the War connected Terror has wholly shaped the lives of full generations of Muslims successful NYC and beyond.”

It besides offers immoderate reassurance that “there are galore non-Muslims who spot done the lies and distortions astir Islam,” she said.

Waqas said immoderate of the vitriol Mamdani faced reminded her that Islamophobia “is surely live and good — and it’s heartbreaking.”

During his speech, Mamdani said that “no much volition New York beryllium a metropolis wherever you tin postulation successful Islamophobia and triumph an election.”

Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, a Muslim American advocacy enactment that endorsed Mamdani, said the triumph was a rebuke to those who stoke fearfulness and spew anti-Muslim bigotry. Calling it a historical moment, helium said Mamdani “won connected the issues,” including affordability.

Given 9/11 and its aftermath, it’s hard to overstate the symbolic value of Mamdani’s win, said Youssef Chouhoud, who teaches governmental subject astatine Christopher Newport University.

“It sends a almighty connection that Muslims are not conscionable portion of this nation’s civic fabric, we assistance signifier it,” Chouhoud said. “For years, American Muslims person worked to amusement that we beryllium successful this society. Mamdani is showing that we beryllium successful the halls of power, and that we’re acceptable to lead.”

Muslims marque up a tiny but racially and ethnically divers percent of Americans. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, galore person faced hostility, mistrust, questions astir their religion and doubts implicit their Americanness. In the years since, galore person besides organized, built alliances and wrote their ain nuanced narratives astir their identities.

“The bigger communicative present is however a assemblage erstwhile seen chiefly arsenic outsiders oregon adjacent scapegoats has steadily built governmental superior and visibility,” adjacent arsenic immoderate tensions remain, said Chouhoud. “With each summation comes pushback.”

With Mamdani's win, Chouhoud said helium keeps “thinking astir each those young migrant boys and girls passim New York who volition beryllium lasting conscionable a spot taller.”

New York City nonmigratory Ibtesam Khurshid, a Bangladeshi American, is arrogant that Mamdani succeeded “without betraying immoderate portion of his identity.” She is excited that her children volition "witness that a South Asian Muslim tin pb our large city.”

His triumph speaks to New York's open-mindedness and diversity, she said, adding she hopes his visibility and that of different Muslim politicians tin further shatter stereotypes.

Many Mamdani supporters and detractors volition beryllium watching whether helium delivers connected his promises. Before Mamdani, 34, won a stunning upset implicit erstwhile New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo successful June’s Democratic primary, helium was a authorities lawmaker chartless to astir New Yorkers. Cuomo, who besides ran against him successful Tuesday's wide election, has argued Mamdani was excessively inexperienced.

“I volition aftermath each greeting with a singular purpose: To marque this metropolis amended for you than it was the time before,” Mamdani promised successful his triumph speech.

Takiya Khan, who canvassed for Mamdani, said a candidate’s religion and ethnicity person nary bearing connected her voting decisions, but his enactment of Palestinian rights and ideas for New York City were a important draw.

Positions connected Israel and its warfare successful Gaza were points of contention during the race, with immoderate of Mamdani’s detractors assailing him implicit his vehement disapproval of Israel ’s subject actions and different related stances.

Khan said Mamdani's triumph whitethorn beryllium impactful. Also connected Tuesday, Democrat Ghazala Hashmi became the archetypal Muslim and archetypal Indian American to triumph statewide bureau successful Virginia.

“That could beryllium a catalyst for much Muslim mayors, much Muslim politicians to beryllium successful bureau and we request that practice due to the fact that America is simply a state for everybody," she said.

New York elector Ismail Pathan, an Indian American, was heartened by the enactment Mamdani received from truthful galore who “don’t look similar him.”

“The United States is simply a state of antithetic cultures. That’s what makes america incredible,” Pathan said. “Being capable to — particularly arsenic I’m astir to person a kid and bring them into the satellite — to say, ‘Oh look, a Muslim antheral was elected politician successful New York,’ however unthinkable of a happening is that?”

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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders successful Washington contributed to this report.

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