Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s swearing in ceremonies on Thursday will combine leftism and Islam, as the 34-year-old is set to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor when he places his hand on the Quran and is given the oath of office by Senator Bernie Sanders.
Mamdani will use three different Qurans in both of his swearing-in ceremonies on January 1, The New York Times reported. For his first ceremony at midnight on Thursday, Mamdani will place his hand on his grandfather’s Quran as well as a Quran that belonged to black history activist Arturo Schomburg, according to the Times. In his second ceremony, Mamdani will again place his hand on his grandfather’s Quran and one that belongs to another family member.
Mamdani will be sworn in by New York Attorney General Letitia James after the clock strikes midnight on January 1, while Sanders will deliver the oath of office during a ceremony later in the day, the New York Post reported.
The swearing-in ceremony will break with tradition as New York City mayors throughout history have placed their hands on Bibles when they were sworn in. Mamdani will become one of the few elected officials throughout the country to use a Quran for their swearing in, joining leftist Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Mamdani spoke of his Islamic faith while on the campaign trail, even delivering a tearful address on Islamophobia after he claimed that his opponents, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, launched “racist” and “baseless” attacks on him.
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“Growing up in the shadow of 9/11, I have known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion in this city,” Mamdani said during his Islamophobia speech on October 24, adding, “To be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity, but indignity does not make us distinct. There are many New Yorkers who face it. It is the tolerance of that indignity that does.”
Mamdani also said that he was wrong for thinking that he could focus on his “central message” during his campaign and become “more than just my faith.”
“No amount of redirection is ever enough,” he said.
Mamdani’s election victory was described as a “breakthrough win for Muslim Americans” by The New York Times. Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, said of Mamdani’s election, “There is a constant effort to try and draw a small barrier around who can be American. That is what makes this moment so special.”
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