\n Show Quick Read\n <\/p>\n
Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom<\/p>\n
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Friday said he would no longer downplay his Muslim identity, following a series of attacks from former Governor Andrew Cuomo and his allies that he described as \u201cracist and baseless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Standing outside a Bronx mosque, surrounded by imams and community leaders, the Democratic nominee grew emotional as he spoke of how Muslim New Yorkers have lived under fear and humiliation since 9\/11, including members of his own family.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy aunt stopped riding the subway after September 11 because she didn\u2019t feel safe being seen in a headscarf,\u201d Mamdani said, choking back tears. \u201cThese are lessons that so many Muslim New Yorkers have been taught. And over these last few days, those lessons have become the closing messages of Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Eric Adams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018No More\u2019: Mamdani\u2019s Emotional Rebuttal<\/p>\n
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and one of the most progressive candidates to emerge from the city\u2019s Democratic primary, has often faced criticism for his positions on Israel and Palestine. But recent attacks from Cuomo\u2019s camp and other rivals have drawn condemnation from Democrats, who accuse the former governor of leaning into Islamophobia, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cFor too long we\u2019ve been told to ask for less and be satisfied with whatever little we receive. No more.\u201d<\/p>\n
He admitted that he had deliberately downplayed his faith early in his campaign, a decision he now regrets.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought if I behaved well enough, or bit my tongue enough, I\u2019d be seen as more than just my faith,\u201d he said. \u201cI was wrong. No amount of redirection is ever enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not change who I am or how I eat for the faith I\u2019m proud to call my own,\u201d Mamdani continued. \u201cI will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Racist And Baseless\u2019: The Escalation<\/p>\n
The controversy escalated after Cuomo appeared on a conservative radio show Thursday, where host Sid Rosenberg suggested Mamdani would \u201cbe cheering\u201d another 9\/11 attack. Cuomo responded, \u201cThat\u2019s another problem,\u201d and laughed.<\/p>\n
Soon after, a Cuomo campaign account posted, and later deleted, a video showing Mamdani eating rice with his hands while labelling his supporters as criminals. A spokesperson claimed the video was uploaded in error.<\/p>\n
At a separate event, Mayor Eric Adams, appearing alongside Cuomo, warned that \u201cNew York can\u2019t be Europe,\u201d and implied, without elaboration, that the city could face greater terror risks under Mamdani\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa falsely accused Mamdani of supporting \u201cglobal jihad\u201d during a recent debate. When asked about the remarks on Friday, Cuomo dismissed allegations of Islamophobia, saying Mamdani was \u201cplaying the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t tell me New Yorkers are Islamophobic. They\u2019re not,\u201d Cuomo said. \u201cWhat he is doing is the oldest, dirtiest political trick in the book: divide people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Political Crosscurrents<\/p>\n
Mamdani\u2019s rise in the polls has unsettled New York\u2019s Democratic establishment. On Friday, he received a key endorsement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, offering a significant boost to his campaign.<\/p>\n
Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, has sought to use his political comeback to cast Mamdani as divisive and dangerous. He accused the candidate of fuelling antisemitism, claiming Mamdani\u2019s criticism of Israel had \u201cmade Jewish people afraid to leave their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Show Quick Read Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[64586,42,12472,5708,43,40,38,41,39,64585],"class_list":["post-96826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-9-11-attacks","tag-headlines","tag-islamophobia","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-zoharan-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}