❓WHAT HAPPENED: Democrat New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani held back tears in a speech on “Islamophobia” on Friday, commemorating his aunt, who “did not feel safe in her hijab” on the subway after jihadists murdered 2,977 people.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Zohran Mamdani and rival candidates Andrew Cuomo (I) and Curtis Sliwa (R).
📍WHEN & WHERE: Statements made on Friday, October 27, 2023, in the Bronx, New York, one day before early voting begins for the November 4 mayoral election.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab.” – Zohran Mamdani
🎯IMPACT: The remarks have heightened scrutiny of Mamdani, who follows the extremist Twelver sect of Shia Islam and will become New York City’s first Muslim mayor if elected.
Zohran Mamdani, the far-left, anti-white Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, addressed what he called “racist, baseless” attacks against him on Friday, linking these criticisms to a broader culture of “Islamophobia.” Speaking outside a mosque in the Bronx, he also paid tribute to “the memory” of an aunt of his and suggested she was the real victim of the September 11, 2001, radical Islamic terror attack on the city, as she did not feel comfortable wearing her Islamic headscarf on the subway afterwards.
“I thought that if I behaved well enough or bit my tongue enough in the face of racist, baseless attacks… it would allow me to be more than just my faith,” said Mamdani, who follows the extremist Twelver sect of Shia Islam and believes a 1,200-year-old final prophet is living in hiding somewhere, waiting for a time when he will preach Islam to world.
“I was wrong. No amount of redirection is ever enough,” he said, referring to Republican rival Curtis Sliwa alleging he supports a “global jihad,” and independent rival and former state governor Andrew Cuomo appearing to agree with a radio host who suggested Mamdani would be “cheering” if “another 9/11” happened.
Referring to 9/11, Mamdani, choking back tears, said, “I want to use this moment to speak to the Muslims of New York City; I want to speak to the memory of my aunt who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab.”
The bulk of the 2,977 people murdered by radical Islamic terrorists on 9/11 were killed in New York City, with many observers suggesting that Mamdani’s focus on his aunt’s comparatively minor hardship suggests he is out of touch. A Ugandan immigrant, Mamdani only became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018.
Zohran through tears: “My aunt stopped taking the subway after 9/11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab.”
Yes, she was the real victim of 9/11
pic.twitter.com/aILr4JtVvF— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 24, 2025
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