Washington: Advocates claimed Friday that since Zohran Mamdani’s upset in the Democratic primary this week, anti-Muslim internet messages have increased against the mayoral candidate of New York City. These posts have included death threats and comparisons to the September 11, 2001 attacks. According to CAIR Action, an advocacy group affiliated with the Council on American Islamic Relations that keeps track of such occurrences, there were at least 127 violent hate-related reports referencing Mamdani or his campaign in the day following the votes ended.
According to a statement from CAIR Action, that is a five-fold increase above the daily average of these reports that were monitored earlier this month. Over the course of that day, it identified over 6,200 online messages that contained some kind of animosity or slander directed towards Muslims. Following former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s admission of loss, Mamdani, a 33-year-old state senator who describes himself as a democratic socialist, announced victory in Tuesday’s primary.
If Mamdani wins the general election in November, he would become the first Muslim and Indian American mayor of the city. He was born in Uganda to Indian parents. Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action, stated, “We urge public officials of all parties — including those whose supporters are spreading these smears — to categorically denounce Islamophobia.”
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