Democratic candidate for Mayor in New York, Zohran Mamdani, was seen with an Imam, who has historical ties as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The picture also raises questions about Zohran Mamdani’s associations during his campaign in the Mayoral race since his son has also allegedly been linked to running a camp accused of promoting extremist activities for children.
The picture showed the Democratic nominee for the Mayoral race grinning alongside Imam Siraj Wahhaj and City Councilmember Yusef Abdus Salaam. The photo was taken at Siraj Wahhaj’s Bed-Stuy mosque during Jummah (Friday) prayers.
Zohran Mamdani also shared a post on X which read, “Today at Masjid At-Taqwa, I had the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century. I was also joined by CM @dr_yusefsalaam of Harlem.”
“A beautiful Jummah,” Mamdani said.
According to the reports, Zohran Mamdani attended a campaign event at Masjid At-Taqwa on Fulton Street, organized in collaboration with the activist group Black Muslims Now.
Who is Siraj Wahhaj?
Siraj Wahhaj is 75-year-old African-American Imam of Al-Taqwa mosque in Brooklyn, New York and also a leader of the Muslim Alliance in North America.
During the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, his name surfaced as an “unindicted co-conspirator”.
In August 2018, three of Wahhaj’s children were charged with terrorism and felony child abuse. During that time, Wahhaj had said that the children had severed ties with their family.
He had also claimed that it was him who had provided a tip to the police.
Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo debated their positions on Israel, experience in government and how they would handle President Donald Trump in a two-hour televised debate Thursday night.
Andrew Cuomo repeatedly attacked Mamdani for his age and inexperience in city government.
“On his resume it says he interned for his mother. This is not a job for a first timer. Any day you could have a hurricane, you could have, God forbid, a 9/11, a health pandemic. If you don’t know what you’re doing people will die,” Cuomo said.
“If we have a health pandemic, then why would New Yorkers turn back to the governor who sent seniors to their death in nursing homes?” Mamdani responded, pointing to controversy over Cuomo’s handling of the Covid pandemic.