With just days until New York City voters head to the polls, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani found himself at the center of an increasingly heated and personal debate over faith, identity, and the boundaries of political discourse. On October 24, 2025, Mamdani delivered an emotional speech outside the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx, denouncing what he called “racist and baseless” attacks from his opponents—a moment that has come to symbolize a campaign season marked by both historic firsts and deep-seated tensions.
Encircled by faith leaders and supporters, Mamdani, who would become the city’s first Muslim mayor if elected, did not mince words. “To be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity, but indignity does not make us distinct. There are many New Yorkers who face it. It is the tolerance of that indignity that does,” he told the crowd, his voice at times choked with emotion. He recounted the story of his aunt, who stopped riding the subway after September 11, 2001, fearing for her safety because she wore a hijab. He also recalled the advice of an uncle, who gently suggested he keep his faith to himself if he wanted to succeed in politics. “These are lessons that so many Muslim New Yorkers have been taught,” Mamdani said, according to the Associated Press.
The speech came just one day after a controversial radio exchange between former Governor Andrew Cuomo and conservative host Sid Rosenberg. Rosenberg mused, “God forbid, another 9/11—can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?” To which Cuomo replied, “That’s another problem,” reportedly laughing along. The remarks drew swift condemnation from Muslim advocacy groups and Mamdani’s allies. Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action, called Cuomo’s participation “despicable, dangerous, and disqualifying,” as reported by Al Jazeera. “By agreeing with a racist radio host who suggested a Muslim elected official would ‘cheer’ another 9/11, Cuomo has crossed a moral line,” Elkarra said.
Cuomo, 67, later insisted he had not intended the remark seriously and that he was referencing social media influencer Hasan Piker, who had made inappropriate comments about 9/11 in 2019—comments Mamdani himself had condemned as “reprehensible” during a guest appearance on Piker’s show. Yet, the damage seemed done, and the controversy only intensified when Cuomo’s campaign posted, then quickly removed, a video mocking Mamdani’s eating habits and describing his supporters as criminals. A campaign spokesperson chalked it up to an error, but the episode added fuel to an already combustible contest.
Mamdani’s opponents have not shied away from invoking his faith on the campaign trail. At a news conference endorsing Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams—who withdrew from the race earlier this month following a federal bribery indictment—warned against “Islamic extremists ... that are destroying communities in Germany, that have taken over logical thinking,” adding, “New York can’t be Europe, folks. I don’t know what is wrong with people.” Adams’ remarks, delivered alongside Cuomo, echoed a broader theme in the campaign: the suggestion that Mamdani’s background and political positions make him a risky choice for the city’s top job.
Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, meanwhile, falsely accused Mamdani during a recent debate of supporting “global jihad.” Mamdani, who has faced a barrage of attack ads from Super PACs implying he is a terrorist or mocking his cultural practices, said on Friday, “I have been slandered by Curtis Sliwa on the debate stage, when he claimed that I support global jihad, and I have faced advertisements ... that imply that I am a terrorist, or mock the way I eat.” He also shared that a staff member had the word “terrorist” spray painted on their garage, underscoring the personal toll of the campaign’s rhetoric.
Throughout the race, Mamdani has also drawn fire for his outspoken criticism of Israeli government actions in Gaza. Both Cuomo and Adams have accused him of antisemitism, pointing to his refusal to support Israel as a Jewish state, though Mamdani has repeatedly affirmed Israel’s right to exist as a state and emphasized his commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers from discrimination. At his Bronx speech, Mamdani insisted the attacks against him were part of a wider problem of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment in city politics. “The bigger question is whether we are willing to say goodbye to something much larger than either of these two,” he said of Adams and Cuomo. “It is whether we are willing to say goodbye to anti-Muslim sentiment that has grown so endemic in our city that when we hear it, we know not whether the words were spoken by a Republican or a Democrat—we know only that it was spoken the language and politics of the city.”
Cuomo, for his part, denied that Islamophobia is a widespread problem in New York, accusing Mamdani of “playing the victim” for political gain. “Now look what he is doing is the oldest, dirtiest political trick in the book—divide people,” Cuomo said at a news conference later that day, as reported by ABC News. “It won’t work. New Yorkers won’t let you divide them. You can try to drive as many wedges as you want. It’s not going to work. You know who uses that tactic? Donald Trump,” he added. Cuomo also claimed that Mamdani’s criticism of Israel had made Jewish New Yorkers afraid to leave their homes, a charge Mamdani has rejected.
Despite the controversy, Mamdani’s campaign has gained momentum. On the same day as his Bronx speech, he received a high-profile endorsement from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, joining a list of supporters that includes New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Senator Bernie Sanders. Yet, some establishment Democrats, such as Senator Chuck Schumer, have remained on the sidelines. Mamdani’s victory in the June Democratic primary was resounding, and a recent poll from AARP and Gotham Polling and Analytics showed him leading with 43.2 percent of the vote, ahead of Cuomo (28.9 percent) and Sliwa (19.4 percent), with 8.4 percent undecided or supporting other candidates. According to the poll, cost of living, public safety, and housing affordability are the top issues for nearly two-thirds of voters—issues Mamdani has tried to keep at the center of his campaign, despite the swirl of personal attacks.
For Mamdani, the events of the past week have only strengthened his resolve to embrace his Muslim identity openly. “I will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I’m proud to call my own. But there is one thing that I will change. I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light,” he declared in his speech, according to the Associated Press. “The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker. And yet for too long we have been told to ask for less than that, and to be satisfied with whatever little we receive. No more.”
As early voting begins and New Yorkers prepare to make their choice, the city stands at a crossroads—not just over who will lead it, but over what kind of politics and values will define its future.
