In an X post, Mamdani wrote the Quran<\/a> belonged to an 18th-century Black scholar and revolutionary activist named Arturo Schomburg.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n “When I swore in at midnight at the old City Hall subway station last week, I had the honor of doing so on Arturo Schomburg\u2019s 18th-century Qur’an,” said Mamdani.<\/p>\n He said that “this manuscript was copied in Ottoman Syria, and is written in black ink with red highlighting the text’s divisions \u2014 no ornate decoration, it belonged to the everyday reader, and it now belongs to all New Yorkers as part of our City’s next chapter.”<\/p>\n HOCHUL ORDERS NY LANDMARKS, INCLUDING ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER, LIT GREEN FOR MUSLIM AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH<\/a><\/p>\n A display of the “the people’s Qur’an,” showing the Quran used in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s swearing-in ceremony. (New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani via X @NYCMayor)<\/p>\n The new mayor shared a photo of the library display, which features slogans such as “The People\u2019s Qur\u2019an” and “Making history at City Hall.”<\/p>\n In addition to the book, the display features an image of Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, at his private New Year\u2019s midnight oath-of-office ceremony<\/a>, in which he was sworn in by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. The display also features a close-up of the Quran with Mamdani\u2019s hand on it as well as an image of Schomburg.<\/p>\n According to the New York<\/a> Public Library, the Quran is part of its collection retained by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.<\/p>\n SOCIALIST MAYOR MAMDANI INAUGURATED ALONGSIDE BERNIE SANDERS AND AOC ON NEW YEAR\u2019S DAY<\/a><\/p>\n A Quran once owned by revolutionary activist and Black scholar Arturo Schomburg and used in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s swearing-in ceremony. (New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani via X @NYCMayor)<\/p>\n The library wrote that, after the “history-making moment [of Mamdani\u2019s swearing-in] with one of the Schomburg Center\u2019s treasured collection items,” it would be displayed beginning Jan. 6 in the McGraw Rotunda at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n The library identifies Schomburg as a Puerto Rican\u2013born bibliophile, historian and journalist who devoted much of his life to collecting and studying books and manuscripts about Black history and culture. The library also identifies him as the co-founder of Las Dos Antillas, a revolutionary anti-colonialist political organization that advocated for Cuban and Puerto Rican independence. The group\u2019s activities included sending weapons, money and medical supplies to aid the independence struggles of Cuba and Puerto Rico, according to the library.<\/p>\n Commenting on Mamdani\u2019s use of the Schomburg Quran at his swearing-in, New York Public Library President Anthony Marx wrote, “This specific Qur\u2019an, which Arturo Schomburg preserved for the knowledge and enjoyment of all New Yorkers, symbolizes a greater story of inclusion, representation, and civic-mindedness.”<\/p>\n![\"Zohran](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/zohran-mamdani-quran.png\")
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