Indian-Origin Zohran Mamdani Takes Oath As New York's First Muslim Mayor
Indian-Origin Zohran Mamdani Takes Oath As New York's First Muslim Mayor
M.U.H
01/01/202640
New York City: at a historic ceremony at a decommissioned subway station in Manhattan. The Indian-origin Democrat was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of America's biggest city, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath.
"This is truly the honour and the privilege of a lifetime," Mamdani said.
The 34-year-old Democrat's swearing-in ceremony was administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political ally, at the old City Hall station, one of the city's original subway stops that is known for its stunning arched ceilings, with his wife, Rama Duaji, holding the Quran.
He will be sworn in again, in grander style, in a public ceremony at City Hall at 1 pm (local time) by US Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor's political heroes. That will be followed by what the new administration is billing as a public block party on a stretch of Broadway known as the "Canyon of Heroes", famous for its ticker-tape parades.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will depart their one-bedroom, rent-stabilised apartment in the outer borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan. He now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country's most-watched politicians.
Born in Kampala, Uganda, in 1991 to acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair and scholar-activist Mahmood Mamdani, Mamdani's story starts at the intersection of diasporas. In addition to being the city's first Muslim mayor, he is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, he is also the city's youngest mayor in generations.
Mamdani's family moved to New York City when he was 7, with him growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn't always feel welcomed. He became an American citizen in 2018. He then worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before seeking public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.
In a campaign that helped make "affordability" a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring transformative change with policies intended to lower the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive cities. His platform included free childcare, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But he will also have to face other responsibilities: handling trash and snow and rats, while getting blamed for subway delays and potholes.
Mamdani inherits a city on the upswing, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, is also back to pre-COVID levels.
Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents in the city. He'll also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump, who has previously threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani wins and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city.
