Zohran Mamdani faces racist smears and calls for citizenship to be stripped
Zohran Mamdani is facing a barrage of racist attacks this week and a call by a Republican lawmaker for him to be stripped of his citizenship after his 24 June victory in the New York City primary election for mayor.
The pro-Palestinian Democratic Socialist won the Democratic nomination for mayor with a clear majority after 93 percent of the votes were counted.
Before his victory, he faced racist attacks from New York City councilwoman Vickie Paladino and Congressman Randy Fine, both from the Republican party, while after the win, Republican Andy Ogles called for Mamdani to be deported and denaturalised.
In a post on X on 26 June, Ogles said: "Zohran 'little muhammad' Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings.'
Ogles also attached a letter to attorney general Pam Bondi, accusing Mamdani of procuring his citizenship through 'willful mirepresentation or concealment of material support for terrorism'.
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The comments drew condemnation from several of Ogle's colleagues, including Democratic Congressman Shri Thanedar and the House Homeland Security Committee Democrats, as well as Muslim American members of Congress.
'This type of racism has no place in America,' Thanedar said in a post on X on 26 June. 'This type of racism has no place in America. Immigrants make our country great, and I strongly condemn this blatant, anti-immigrant bigotry from Andy Ogles'.
The House Homeland Security Committee Democrats referred to his comments in a 26 June post on X as 'Racist drivel.'
Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on Friday posted a statement on X from Muslim American members of Congress condemning Ogle's "anti-Muslim" attacks. "The vile, anti-Muslim and racists smears from our colleagues on both sides of the aisle attacking Zohran Mamdani cannot be met with silence," the statement read. The statement was signed on to by Tlaib, Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Lateefah Simon, and Congressman Andre Carson.
Corey Saylor, research and advocacy director at the civil rights and advocacy organisation Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) told Middle East Eye that the attacks on Mamdani were part of an entrenched decades-long perspective on Muslims: 'The anti-Muslim bigotry that has erupted online in the wake of New York City's Democratic mayoral primary is as dishonest as it is dangerous."
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani fends off hate as he inspires New Yorkers Read More »
He added that it was 'nothing new' to the American-Muslim community.
'The politicians, influencers and hate groups unleashing a wave of irrational Islamophobic talking points are weaponising the same tactics that have been used for decades to manipulate Americans into fearing any Muslims engaged in political life,' he added.
'Islamophobia is the last widely accepted form of bigotry in American political life, and this must change before it leads to more discrimination and threats of violence against American Muslims pursuing public office".
But it wasn't just lawmakers who have been targeting Mamdani since his victory.
Stephen Miller, the White House assistant chief of staff, who is frequently referred to as the architect behind Trump's immigration policies, alluded to Mamdani in a post on X on 25 June, saying that 'NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration'.
Miller himself is the grandson of a Jewish immigrant who fled religious persecution from modern-day Belarus to the United States.
Prior to his election success, Mamdani had already been the target of a smear campaign that painted him as an antisemite, funded to the tune of $25m by a Super PAC called "Fix the City".
He even faced death threats, with his office receiving voicemails including a threat to blow up his car. Mamdani teared up when speaking of the impact of such attacks during his campaign, saying he had received a message saying, 'The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim'.
Mamdani is an Indian-origin Muslim who moved from Uganda to New York City when he was seven years old and became a naturalised citizen in 2018.
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