"Over the past year, Zohran Mamdani's mayoral run has felt like a breath of fresh air: On the strength of a campaign focused on rent freezes, free public transit, and universal child care, he came out of relative obscurity to unseat an establishment Democrat in the primary over the summer. But at the same time, we've seen a tired old script play out in the attacks on his campaign."
"Tellingly, it's not just Republicans engaging in this fearmongering. New York's own outgoing Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, endorsed Andrew Cuomo, who's running against Mamdani as an independent, with a speech that ominously cited the need to combat " Islamic extremism." It's a smear that implies Mamdani's very presence (and by extension, that of Muslim New Yorkers) is a security threat. Earlier this month, Cuomo quipped during a radio appearance, "God forbid, another 9/11-can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?" When the host replied, " He'd be cheering," Cuomo laughed and agreed."
Zohran Mamdani ran for mayor on rent freezes, free public transit, and universal child care, rising from relative obscurity to unseat an establishment Democrat in the primary. The campaign faced persistent Islamophobic attacks that emphasized his religion over policy. Republicans used incendiary labels and warnings, while a Florida lawmaker urged stripping his citizenship and deportation. New York Democrats also invoked concerns about "Islamic extremism" and joked about 9/11 in relation to his candidacy. Muslim Americans see these attacks as familiar manifestations of post-9/11 Islamophobia that frame presence as a security threat.
Read at Slate Magazine
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