sworn

Zohran Mamdani has been sworn in as mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and the youngest person in generations to take the oath of office in the United States’ biggest city.

Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan just after midnight on Thursday, 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 ceremony, administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political ally, took place at the old City Hall station, one of the city’s original subway stops that is known for its stunning arched ceilings.

He will be sworn in again, in grander style, in a public ceremony at City Hall at 1pm (18:00GMT) 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 now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in US politics as one of the country’s most-watched politicians.

In addition to being the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.

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 child care, 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.

Tensions with Trump

Mamdani will also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump.

During the mayoral race, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani won and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city and suggested that he should be deported.

He also called Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” in a social media post.

But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.

“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said in the meeting, and the US president even came to Mamdani’s rescue as the two addressed reporters.

When a journalist asked Mamdani if he continued to view Trump as a fascist, the president stepped in.

“That’s OK. You can just say it. That’s easier,” Trump told Mamdani. “It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.”

Still, tensions between the two leaders remain.

Following the meeting, Mamdani said he still believed Trump is a fascist.

“That’s something that I’ve said in the past; I say it today,” Mamdani told NBC News.

Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was 7, with Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn’t always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.

He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.

Still, Mamdani had minimal name recognition when he launched his mayoral campaign late last year.

However, in the lead-up to the Democratic primary, he quickly rose in the polls with a message focused on lowering the cost of living.

Mamdani ultimately defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo twice: once to clinch the Democratic nomination in June, and a second time in the November election.

The incoming mayor will take his oath of office with two family editions of the Quran and a 19th century edition, symbolising New York City history, in the public ceremony on Friday.

Zohran Mamdani on Thursday became the first New York City mayor to be sworn in using a Quran.

The first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the United States’ biggest metropolis, Mamdani used his grandfather’s Quran and a 200-year-old copy on loan from the New York Public Library (NYPL) for the private swearing-in event held at a disused subway station under Times Square.

He then plans to use two copies of the Quran that belonged to his grandfather and grandmother for a daytime ceremony at New York City Hall on Friday.

The historic Quran, borrowed from the library, once belonged to Arturo Schomburg, a Black historian and writer who sold his collection of 4,000 books to the NYPL in 1926. His collection became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Schomburg was born in Puerto Rico in the 1870s to parents of German and Afro-Caribbean descent. He later immigrated to New York and was a key player in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s – a period of intense cultural and intellectual flourishing within New York’s Black community.

The library praised Mamdani’s decision to use Schomburg’s Quran because of its connection to one of New York’s “most groundbreaking scholars and for its simple, functional qualities”.

The small size of the Quran and its black and red ink suggest it was designed for everyday use, the library said. The edition is neither signed nor dated, but its “minute naskh script and its binding, featuring a gilt-stamped medallion filled with a floral composition, suggest it was produced in Ottoman Syria in the 19th century”, the library added.

“The significance of this Quran extends far beyond the beauty of its pages,” said Hiba Abid, curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. “It is a Quran close to the people, not only because of its simple craftsmanship, but also because it is part of the collections of the nation’s largest public library system.”

Anthony W Marx, the library’s president and CEO, said the choice of Quran and its association with Schomburg “symbolises a greater story of inclusion, representation, and civic-mindedness”.

Mamdani is one of only a handful of US politicians to be sworn in with the Quran. New York does not require mayors to take the oath of office with their hand on a religious text, but many past mayors have used a copy of the Bible.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used a 100-year-old family Bible during one ceremony, while Mayor Bill de Blasio used a Bible that once belonged to US President Franklin D Roosevelt. Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, also used a family Bible for his oath.

Mamdani’s faith and his background as a Ugandan-born American of South Asian descent were front and centre during his campaign, which focused on celebrating the diversity of New York.

In viral social media videos, Mamdani also spoke candidly about the effect of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and the subsequent rise in Islamophobia in the US. Other videos featured the experiences of everyday New Yorkers, including many of its Muslim and immigrant communities.

Mamdani has also been a firm critic of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians and its genocidal war on Gaza.

Critics like New York Representative Elise Stefanik homed in on Mamdani’s background and left-wing politics as a Democratic Socialist, calling the incoming mayor a “jihadist Communist” and “terrorist” sympathiser.

Mamdani, however, pledged to never hide from his background during a campaign speech. “I will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I’m proud to call my own,” he said during his campaign. “I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.”