NEW YORK
Muslim New Yorkers celebrated Tuesday night after Zohran Mamdani won the city’s mayoral race, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian to lead the Big Apple.
Mamdani, 34, a Democratic Socialist and state lawmaker from Queens, defeated independent former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in what observers describe as one of the city’s biggest political upsets in years.
With more than 50% of the vote and a record-breaking turnout exceeding 2 million ballots, Mamdani’s victory sparked celebrations across neighborhoods like Astoria in Queens, where his grassroots campaign first began.
For many Muslim residents, the win carries deep emotional significance.
🗽 Muslim New Yorkers celebrated Tuesday night after Zohran Mamdani won the city’s mayoral race, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian to lead the Big Apple https://t.co/iRB65weefZ pic.twitter.com/t4CTD3TZ7A
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) November 5, 2025
“I am very excited about this election,” Zamzam Ali, who lives in Brooklyn, told Anadolu during a celebration in front of a Yemeni cafe in Astoria. “Zohran Mamdani embodies the universal struggles that the general population of a city strive for -- better living conditions, fair pay, affordable price and rent and equality for all.”
Ali said Mamdani’s victory also resonates on a personal level.
“Muslims have really struggled and been victims of discrimination in America since 9/11,” he said. “So, to see a Muslim become the mayor of the very city in which Muslims were blamed for all kinds of crimes and accused of terrorism -- it’s phenomenal.”
Mamdani’s campaign centered on affordability and social justice, pledging rent freezes, free buses, universal childcare, and city-run grocery stores. He has also proposed raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030 and increasing taxes on corporations and millionaires to fund these programs.
Faizah, 31, who wanted to be identified only by her first name, said Mamdani’s proposals give her hope.
“As a teacher, I think that he has a lot of good policies with moving the funding so that teachers and parents can actually put more of their emphasis on to education,” she told Anadolu. “Rent is pretty insane in New York City, so freezing the rent is a big deal. I think he’s for the people.”
For others, the moment feels transformative.
“We’re very proud of him,” said Badger Shahbain, a Muslim New Yorker who has known Mamdani for years. “This is going to change history -- the way he was able to win changes everything. I truly believe he’ll do a great job.”
During the victory party at Brooklyn’s Paramount Theater, Mamdani thanked supporters and called for unity. “We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers … where the more than 1 million Muslims know that they belong,” he said to thunderous applause. “No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) hailed Mamdani’s win as a “historic turning point” for American Muslim political engagement. “Mamdani’s ability to win while openly advocating for Palestinian human rights and experiencing a barrage of anti-Muslim hate also marks a historic rebuke of both Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism in politics,” the group said.