Zohran Mamdani has been sworn in as the mayor of New York City. On Thursday morning, when Mamdani took office from the steps of a disused subway (underground metro) City Hall station in New York with a copy of the Quran in his hand, there was something special about it. Mamdani, the Democratic Party candidate, had received special attention even when he was elected mayor on November 5. At 34, he is now everything from the youngest mayor of New York to the first Muslim mayor and the first South Asian mayor to the first mayor born in Africa. Now, being the first person to take oath with a copy of Quran is even more of a novelty. Nevertheless American law does not require a person to take oath swearing on a holy book, most in history swore on the Bible. He chose a 200-year-old copy of the Quran borrowed from the New York Public Library. Many pointed out that this act upheld the diversity and pluralism of New York City.
Zohran Mamdani—born in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian film director and producer Mira Nair and Gujarati Muslim professor Mahmood Mamdani— immigrated to South Africa and later to the United States with his parents. During his campaign in New York, a city with a population of 8.5 million, Mamdani promised welfare schemes such as free child care, free city bus service, a rent freeze for one million homes, and opening state grocery stores. The slogans he raised aroused much curiosity as much as criticism for some reason. An avowed capitalist, President Donald Trump lampooned that Moscow-style new state-owned stores were coming up in New York City when a communist was to come in power. However, there were other campaigns that all the more spread Islamophobia and racism. He did not water down or was apologetic about, any of his 'socialist' slogans to counter them. The genocide in Gaza and Palestinian rights continued to be prominent in his campaigns.
Following the election, US President Trump toned down his criticism of Mandani. Trump’s courteous hospitality towards the mayor-elect at the White House was specially noted. He also praised Mandani's views on issues such as crime, housing, and affordability. Even after the meeting, Mandani stuck to his previous opinion that Trump was a fascist. This followed even as both sides agreed to work together for New York. It remains to be seen how much Mandani will be able to avoid confrontation when he takes office. Trump, who during the campaign threatened to dispatch the National Guard to New York, seems to be realizing that a confrontational path is not appropriate when Mandani sets about to implement his ideology of development and people's welfare.
It is important to understand both sides of the symbolism of Mamdani's inauguration has. Although Democrats may be more left leaning than Republicans, they will not go in so far as to question American capitalism. Although Mamdani obtained American citizenship in 2018 and became mayor of New York in just eight years, it would be reading too much into his background to expect him to soaring to the heights of national politics. Mamdani, who was born outside the United States and does not meet other requirements for US citizenship, cannot run for president of the United States under the US Constitution. A large section of Democrats disagree with Mamdani's positions on international issues, especially on Palestinian rights and the genocide in Gaza. The clout that more powerful Jewish lobby in New York has among Democrats, may bother Mamdani. Despite all this, the young mayor, alongside raising a different popular voice in American politics and showcase that there is another side to Islamic faith, has been able to prove that being progressive, egalitarian, and populist does not negate being Muslim. How long he can continue with that is a matter for future to prove.