❓WHAT HAPPENED: Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary in New York City, prompting warnings about the rise of Islamist-progressive politics in America’s largest city.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Zohran Mamdani, Raheem Kassam, Stephen K. Bannon, progressive voters, Twelver Muslims, New York City electorate.
📍WHEN & WHERE: June 25, 2025; New York City, NY
💬KEY QUOTE: “New York City did not take one small step towards [Sharia] yesterday, it took one giant leap towards it.” – Raheem J. Kassam
🎯IMPACT: The victory reveals deep fractures over identity politics, Islamism, and leftist economics, and raises questions about the future of New York’s political landscape.
Reacting to the outcome of the New York City Democratic primary, Raheem Kassam warned WarRoom viewers that the election of Zohran Mamdani represents a radical shift in the city’s politics. “New York City did not take one small step towards it yesterday, it took one giant leap towards it yesterday,” he said, referencing the rise of Islamist-aligned, hard-left political figures and the subtitle of his book No Go Zones: How Sharia Law is Coming to A Neighborhood Near You, which predicted much of what is happening with Islam in America today.
Mamdani, a self-identified follower of Twelver Shia Islam, is a member of a sect that “believe that to this day there is a 1,200-year-old living prophet on Earth who is in hiding and is going to come out at some point soon, and proselytize Islam the world over.”
Kassam highlighted the candidate’s religious affiliations and accused the media of completely ignoring their relevance: “I’ve yet to hear any reporters on the campaign trail in New York put these questions to him and say, ‘Hey… do you really believe in this stuff?’”
He warned of severe consequences for the city, mocking Mamdani’s economic plans: “He’s talking about rent control, grocery stores owned by the government. All these, all of these Caracas-style policies that have failed the world over time and time again.” Kassam quoted a social media post saying, “The funny thing is, he will bring prices down. Once everyone leaves, there will be no demand and prices will come down.”
Kassam ended by blasting the contradictions of Mamdani’s identity politics campaign: “He’s put together this unholy alliance, right? I mean, he’s going out there on the one hand saying he’s a twelver Muslim. On the other hand, he’s saying he’s for LGBT rights.” According to Kassam, that contradiction is “haram” under Twelver doctrine, and should be a central attack point: “To me personally, if I were running a campaign against him, I would drive this wedge through his campaign over and over and over again.”
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Mamdani is a communist, yeah yeah yeah.
What is more interesting is his bizarre religious beliefs.
Can you imagine if a Christian in public life believed things like this? They'd be dragged on every late-night show. pic.twitter.com/UQOlMW1swo
— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) June 25, 2025