Mamdani’s New York victory sparks Islamophobic backlash in US

For years, Muslim New Yorkers person gathered astatine Washington Square Park connected the Eid holidays for supplication services, putting the city’s spiritual and taste diverseness connected display.

But this year, right-wing influencers person been sharing footage of the gatherings, presenting them arsenic a nefarious “invasion” tied to Muslim American New York City mayoral campaigner Zohran Mamdani.

“The fear-mongering is insane,” said Asad Dandia, a section historiographer and Muslim American activistic who supports Mamdani’s campaign. “I deliberation the assemblage and our enactment cognize that we’re connected the radar now.”

Muslim Americans successful New York and crossed the United States said the state is seeing a spike successful Islamophobic rhetoric successful effect to Mamdani’s triumph successful the Democratic primaries.

Advocates said the question of hateful comments shows that Islamophobia remains a tolerated signifier of bigotry successful the US contempt appearing to person receded successful caller years.

“The much things change, the much they enactment the same,” Dandia said.

‘Islam is not a religion’

It is not conscionable anonymous net users and online anti-Muslim figures attacking Mamdani and his identity. A flood of politicians, including immoderate successful the orbit of President Donald Trump, person joined in.

Congressman Randy Fine went arsenic acold arsenic to suggest without grounds that Mamdani volition instal a “caliphate” successful New York City if elected portion Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted a cartoon of the Statue of Liberty successful a burqa connected X.

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn attacked the mayoral candidate, arguing that Islam is simply a governmental ideology and “not a religion”.

Others, similar blimpish activistic Charlie Kirk invoked the 9/11 attacks and called Mamdani a “Muslim Maoist” portion right-wing commentator Angie Wong told CNN that radical successful New York are “concerned astir their safety, surviving present with a Muslim mayor”.

Far-right activistic Laura Loomer, a Trump confidant, referred to the mayoral campaigner arsenic a “jihadist Muslim”, baselessly alleging that helium has ties to some Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.

And Republican Representative Andy Ogles sent a missive to the Department of Justice, calling for Mamdani’s citizenship to beryllium revoked and for him to beryllium deported.

On Sunday, Congressman Brandon Gill posted a video of Mamdani eating biryani with his manus and called connected him “to spell backmost to the Third World”, saying that “civilized people” successful the US “don’t devour similar this”.

Zohran Mamdani gestures arsenic helium speaks during a ticker enactment for his superior election, which includes his bid to go the Democratic campaigner for New York City politician successful the upcoming November 2025 election, successful New York City, US, June 25, 2025. [David ‘Dee’ Delgado/Reuters]

Calls for condemnation

“I’m getting flashbacks from aft 9/11,” New York City Council subordinate Shahana Hanif said. “I was a kid then, and inactive the bigotry and Islamophobia were horrifying arsenic a child.”

Hanif, who represents a territory successful Brooklyn, comfortably won re-election past week successful a contention that focused connected her advocacy for Palestinian rights and calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

She told Al Jazeera that the anti-Muslim rhetoric successful effect to Mamdani’s triumph aims to distract and derail the progressive vigor that defeated the constitution to unafraid the Democratic information for him.

Hanif said Islamophobic comments should beryllium condemned crossed the governmental spectrum, stressing that determination is “so overmuch much enactment to do” to undo racism successful the US.

While respective Democrats person denounced the run against Mamdani, starring figures successful the enactment – including galore successful New York – person not released ceremonial statements connected the issue.

“We should each beryllium disgusted by the flood of anti-Muslim remarks spewed successful the aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s triumph successful the NYC mayoral superior – immoderate blatant, others latent,” US Senator Chris Van Hollen said successful a statement.

“Shame connected the members of Congress who person engaged successful specified bigotry and anyone who doesn’t situation it.”

Our associated connection connected the vile, anti-Muslim, racist attacks connected Zohran Mamdani: pic.twitter.com/QRGOvh0jdG

— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) June 27, 2025

Trump and Muslim voters

At the aforesaid time, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who represents New York, has been accused of fuelling bigotry against Mamdani. Last week, she falsely accused Mamdani of making “references to planetary jihad”.

Her bureau aboriginal told US media outlets that she “misspoke” and was raising concerns implicit Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the operation “globalise the intifada”, a telephone for activism utilizing the Arabic connection for uprising.

Critics of the chant claimed that it makes Jews consciousness unsafe due to the fact that it invokes the Palestinian uprisings of the precocious 1980s and aboriginal 2000s, which saw some peaceful absorption and equipped conflict against the Israeli occupation.

While Mamdani, who is of South Asian descent, focused his run connected making New York affordable, his enactment for Palestinian rights took centre signifier successful the disapproval against him. Since the election, the attacks – peculiarly connected the close – look to person shifted to his Muslim identity.

That backlash comes aft Trump and his allies courted Muslim voters during his bid for the presidency past year. In fact, the US president has nominated 2 Muslim mayors from Michigan arsenic ambassadors to Tunisia and Kuwait.

In the lead-up to the elections, Trump called Muslim Americans “smart” and “good people”.

The Republican Party seemed to code down the anti-Muslim connection arsenic it sought the socially blimpish community’s votes.

But Corey Saylor, probe and advocacy manager astatine the Council connected American-Islamic Relations, said Islamophobia goes successful cycles.

“Islamophobia is benignant of baked into American society,” Saylor told Al Jazeera.

“It wasn’t beforehand and centre, but each it required was thing to flip the power close backmost on, and I would say, we’re seeing that erstwhile again.”

Islamophobia ‘industry’

Negative portrayals of Arabs and Muslims successful the US media, popular civilization and governmental sermon person persisted for decades.

That inclination intensified aft the 9/11 attacks successful 2001 by al-Qaeda. In consequent years, right-wing activists started to pass astir what they said were plans to instrumentality Islamic spiritual instrumentality successful the West.

Muslims were besides the subjects of conspiracy theories informing against the “Islamisation” of the US done immigration.

The aboriginal 2000s saw the emergence of provocateurs, “counterterrorism experts” and deliberation tanks dedicated to bashing Islam and drumming up fearfulness against the religion successful a loosely connected web that assemblage advocates person described arsenic an “industry”.

That ambiance regularly seeped into mainstream governmental conversations. For example, then-candidate Trump called successful 2015 for “a full and implicit shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”.

Even successful wide New York, wherever the 9/11 attacks killed much than 2,600 radical astatine the World Trade Center successful 2001, the Muslim assemblage endured a backlash.

After the attacks, the New York Police Department established a web of undercover informants to surveil the Muslim community’s mosques, businesses and pupil associations.

The programme was disbanded successful 2014, and a fewer years later, the metropolis reached a ineligible colony with the Muslim community, agreeing to instrumentality stronger oversight connected constabulary investigations to forestall abuse.

In 2010, the city’s Muslim assemblage burst into the nationalist spotlight again aft plans for a Muslim assemblage centre successful little Manhattan faced aggravated absorption owed to its proximity to the destroyed World Trade Center.

While galore Republicans whipped up conspiracy theories against the assemblage centre, respective Democrats arsenic good arsenic the Anti-Defamation League, a salient pro-Israel group, joined them successful opposing the project, which was yet scrapped.

‘We are supra this’

Now New York Muslims find themselves erstwhile again successful the oculus of an Islamophobia storm. This time, however, advocates said their communities are much resilient than ever.

“We consciousness much assured successful our community’s dependable and our organization powerfulness and successful the enactment that we volition person from allies,” Dandia said.

“Yes, we’re dealing with this Islamophobic backlash, but I don’t privation to marque it look similar we’re conscionable victims due to the fact that we are capable to present combat back. The information that this was the largest Muslim elector mobilisation successful American past is simply a testament to that.”

Hanif echoed his comments.

“Over the past 25 years, we’ve built a beardown conjugation that includes our Jewish communities, that includes Asian, Latino, Black communities, to beryllium capable to accidental similar we are supra this and we volition attraction for 1 another,” she told Al Jazeera.