Zohran Mamdani defends his Muslim faith amid racist, baseless attacks'

"New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani gave an emotional speech addressing racist, baseless attacks from his opponents, a day before early voting begins in the race he is projected to win. Speaking outside a mosque in the Bronx on Friday, Mamdani criticised his opponents for bringing hatred to the forefront, noting that their Islamophobia not only affects him as the Democratic nominee for mayor but also close to one million Muslims living in New York."

"His speech also came a day after his top opponent, former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, laughed after radio host Sid Rosenberg said that Mamdani would be cheering if another September 11 attack occurred. Cuomo, who is a member of the Democratic Party but lost the Democratic primary election to Mamdani in June, responded in agreement with Rosenberg: That's another problem. Basim Elkarra, the executive director of Muslim advocacy group CAIR Action, described Cuomo's appearance on the radio programme as despicable, dangerous, and disqualifying."

Zohran Mamdani delivered an emotional speech outside a Bronx mosque the day before early voting, condemning racist, baseless attacks from opponents. He criticized opponents for bringing hatred to the forefront and said their Islamophobia affects him and nearly one million Muslims in New York. Mamdani said that to be Muslim in New York is to expect indignity and that tolerating that indignity makes communities distinct. He said he had tried to focus his campaign on affordability but that Islamophobia had become an area of agreement among opponents. The speech followed former governor Andrew Cuomo laughing on radio after a host suggested Mamdani would cheer another 9/11, prompting CAIR leader Basim Elkarra to call Cuomo's remarks despicable, dangerous and disqualifying.

Read at www.aljazeera.com