I was disappointed to hear Andrew Cuomo say he was afraid of what Mamdani would do, or think, about another 9/11 attack in New York. A clear reference to his Muslim religion. That kind of attack is totally unacceptable, and can only reinforce people’s negative opinions about Cuomo. His comments were meant to divide, and that is not what we want to be doing in our country today.
But then I listened to Mamdani’s response, and found it a bit uncomfortable, and a real missed opportunity. He talked about his desire to be a mayor for everyone, and talked about the attacks on him for his religion, but said he didn’t want to use this time to answer them. I think he lost a real chance to do that, and because of it, his speech could have come off as chilling to some. It seems to me he missed the perfect opportunity to unite the city. He defended his religion, and he was right to do so. But he would have looked so much more impressive, if he made that speech with not only Muslims behind him, but also Jews, and Christians, and members of the LGBTQ community, standing with him, when he spoke about being proud of his religion. We should all be proud of our religion.
Every Muslim around the world should not be blamed for 9/11, or for what Hamas did on Oct. 7 in Israel. Every Jew around the world should not be blamed for what Netanyahu did in what I believe was an inappropriate response. Many might remember what former President Joe Biden told him immediately after the Oct. 7 massacre, and the taking of hostages, when he was in Israel. He said to Netanyahu, “Don’t make the same mistake America made after 9/11, rather measure your response carefully.” Unfortunately, Netanyahu did not listen.
In the United States we have, or at least should have, a separation of church and state. We should not govern based on the tenets of anyone’s religion, but rather on what is the right thing to do for everyone. Those old enough might remember when JFK went to speak to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in Texas, during his presidential campaign, to make a speech saying he is a strong believer in the separation of church and state, and while a proud Roman Catholic, he would not govern based on what the Pope says.
I am a proud gay, Jewish, man. I am a first generation American. I have Jewish friends, Muslim friends, Baptist friends, and Catholic friends. Friends of all religions, even some who don’t believe in religion. I find myself going more to a Methodist church than to synagogue. I became friends of the previous pastor because of his support for the LGBTQ community. That support continues with the woman who is now the pastor there. I know nearly every war that has been fought, has been fought in many ways over religion. For some, the hatred of another religion runs deep. That is so sad. The major religions of the world worship the same god. We may call him/her by different names, but that is all. The Talmud, the Torah, the Bible, both new and old, and the Koran, all have their own stories. But they don’t preach hate. That is done by people who misread, and subvert, what they read.
If we can’t move beyond hatred for what we don’t understand, beyond hatred of people who may look, or sound, different from us, we will never have real peace. The vast majority of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, don’t have hate in their heart. It is only the few who just make a pretense of believing in their religion, who do things to subvert it, and forgo any decency, and create havoc in our world. Unfortunately, we currently have a President who does that. He believes pitting people against each other based on their religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, where they were born, creates the hate and havoc, and helps him in his efforts to try to rule as a despot.
Today, more than ever, we need leaders with the guts to stand up to the hatred that seems to be all around us. Not ones who want to create more of it. Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City. It is the city I grew up in, the city I went to school in, and the city where I taught school. I am the son of immigrants who escaped from the Nazis. I’ve always known I was fortunate to grow up in New York City. I was fortunate to meet so many people of different backgrounds there, as my last job before moving to Washington, D.C. to work for the Carter administration, was as Coordinator of Local Government for the City of New York, under Mayor Abe Beame. What I pray is Zohran Mamdani will not lead only as a proud Muslim, but rather, as both a proud Muslim and a good man, with a good heart, who cares equally about all New Yorkers, no matter their religion, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. I wish him only good luck, and good health, as he takes over the city that gave me such a great start to my life.
Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.