5 months ago
On a acold Saturday morning, a small complete a week earlier nan New York City mayoral predetermination successful November, I was astatine a parkland successful Queens to speak astatine a fundraiser for Asiyah Women’s Centre, nan oldest and largest shelter providing support for American Muslim female victims of home violence. Vendors trading everything from chai to embroidered Palestinian handicrafts turned retired to support nan fundraiser; a DJ blasted euphony and artists painted children’s faces pinch nan colours of Halloween.
I chose nan vendor pinch nan astir macromolecule connected connection because I assistance and squat much than my bodyweight and must meet a regular goal. “Our kebab is 1 of Zohran’s favourites,” nan man astatine nan King of Kebab guidelines told me, proudly and unprompted, arsenic he piled my sheet pinch meat.
I had not asked him thing astir nan mayoral title but I knew precisely who he meant, because for illustration Cher, Madonna, Beyoncé and Björk, our mayor-elect is simply Zohran to galore of us. And not because we can’t pronounce his family sanction – I’m looking astatine you Andrew Cuomo and each who look to deliberately mangle “Mamdani”. In New York City, and everyplace other I’ve been, 2025 was nan twelvemonth erstwhile everybody learned his name. And aft he is sworn successful coming connected nan steps of City Hall – followed by a statement for 40,000 successful Lower Manhattan – 2026 will beryllium nan twelvemonth of Zohran.
I’ve been a New Yorker for 23 years. During that time, I person travelled crossed nan world to springiness lectures and I’ve ne'er been asked what I deliberation of Michael (Bloomberg), Bill (de Blasio), aliases Eric (Adams) – our mayors since I moved here. None of them has travel adjacent to encapsulating the arduous and basal complication of personality that galore New Yorkers consciousness successful this metropolis of a cardinal Muslims. But ever since he announced his mayoral candidacy astatine nan extremity of 2024, Zohran has seemed to correspond thing that my life has bumped up against galore times since I person lived here.
I’ve spent 19 of my 23 years successful NYC successful Harlem, wherever I unrecorded successful a rent-stabilised flat successful a brownstone owned by a Black female from nan neighbourhood. Mamdani campaigned arsenic an state to tenants for illustration me, vowing to frost rent for 2 cardinal group surviving successful rent-stabilised apartments arsenic portion of his attraction connected affordability. A fewer weeks earlier we went to nan polls, my landlady and I were catching up successful nan hallway extracurricular her apartment. “I dream you’re voting for Zohran,” she said.
During my citizenship oath successful NYC successful 2011, we were told that successful nan hallway for nan ceremonial were group from 140 countries astir to go US citizens. Few different cities clasp nan allure of New York successful nan world imagination. And fewer different Muslims person reached Mamdani’s level of first-name personage status, aliases nan expertise to complicate nan communicative of what a Muslim is. I americium an avowed user of cannabis and I shouted Mamdani’s consequence during nan mayoral debates erstwhile candidates were asked if they had ever bought marijuana, which is ineligible successful New York. “I’ve purchased marijuana astatine a ineligible cannabis shop,” Mamdani replied, pinch a large cheesy grin. Fuck, yeah, Zohran!
I moved from Egypt to Seattle successful 2000, and past to New York City a twelvemonth aft nan September 11 attacks. Soon aft arriving, I recovered organization pinch Muslims and we began to telephone ourselves progressive Muslims. Unlike me, astir of them had been calved and raised successful nan US. Those who did not deterioration hijabs said often of really nan 9/11 attacks forced an unfamiliar visibility upon Muslims, who comprise little than 2% of nan US population. That was particularly nan lawsuit for those whose families were much caller arrivals, compared to Black Muslims who person been successful nan state arsenic acold backmost arsenic nan days of enslavement. “I came retired arsenic Muslim aft 9/11,” 1 of my caller friends told maine astatine nan time, adding that his neighbours and colleagues had assumed he was Latinx. Over nan years since, I person mislaid count of nan number of “No hablo español,” that I’ve issued crossed nan metropolis because I’m often thought to beryllium Dominican aliases Puerto Rican.
Mamdani lives successful Queens, nan tract of nan fundraiser for nan Asiyah Women’s Centre. “The superior of linguistic diversity, not conscionable for nan 5 boroughs (of New York City), but for nan quality species, is Queens,” Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Schapiro wrote successful Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas. There are arsenic galore arsenic 800 languages spoken successful New York City, and obscurity successful nan world has much than Queens, according to nan Endangered Language Alliance.
Donald Trump, whose authorities plans to ramp up efforts successful 2026 to strip naturalised people of their US citizenship, is besides from Queens. As is Republican New York City councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who called for nan “expulsion of Muslims” successful nan aftermath of nan Bondi Beach massacre. In a twelvemonth erstwhile their authorities had begun to consciousness undefeatable, Zohran’s triumph is simply a activity of hope.
Mamdani excites truthful many, successful nan US and abroad, because to co-opt and misquote Robert Frost, he is nan much enticing of nan 2 roads diverging successful Queens, and crossed nan US astatine nan moment. He makes much urgent – and youthful – nan prime to clasp societal justness and cull dislike and nationalism astatine a clip erstwhile older politicians are succeeding successful their bigotry and chauvinism. He will go the city’s youngest politician since 1892, its first Muslim mayor, and its first politician calved connected nan African continent. It feels apt that New York is nan metropolis that first embraced him.
The twelvemonth aft I moved to New York City, my relative and his woman had a girl – my ain contiguous family’s first US citizen. Ten years aft I moved to NYC, I was arrested for spray coating complete a racist, Islamophobic, pro-Israel advertisement successful nan subway. I did it because I did not want my niece and her 3 siblings aliases immoderate different American Muslim children to beryllium bullied aliases to person to take – arsenic nan racists and Islamophobes insist – betwixt being American and Muslim.
And now, present successful NYC, I tin constituent to Zohran!
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Mona Eltahawy writes nan FEMINIST GIANT newsletter. She is nan writer of The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls and Headscarves and Hymens: Why nan Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution
