{"id":484092,"date":"2026-01-01T06:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T06:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/484092\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T06:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T06:03:15","slug":"zohran-mamdani-sworn-in-as-new-york-mayor-with-historic-quran-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/484092\/","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York mayor with historic Quran | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

Zohran Mamdani on Thursday became the first New York City mayor to be sworn in using a Quran.<\/p>\n

The first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the United States\u2019 biggest metropolis, Mamdani used his grandfather\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 a period of intense cultural and intellectual flourishing within New York\u2019s Black community.<\/p>\n

The library praised Mamdani\u2019s decision to use Schomburg\u2019s Quran because of its connection to one of New York\u2019s \u201cmost groundbreaking scholars and for its simple, functional qualities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis photo provided by the New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on December 16, 2025, in New York [Jonathan Blanc\/The New York Public Library via AP Photo]<\/p>\n

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 \u201cminute 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\u201d, the library added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe significance of this Quran extends far beyond the beauty of its pages,\u201d said Hiba Abid, curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. \u201cIt 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\u2019s largest public library system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony W Marx, the library\u2019s president and CEO, said the choice of Quran and its association with Schomburg \u201csymbolises a greater story of inclusion, representation, and civic-mindedness\u201d.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, also used a family Bible for his oath.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis photo provided by the New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on December 16, 2025, in New York [Jonathan Blanc\/The New York Public Library via AP Photo]<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Mamdani has also been a firm critic of Israel\u2019s policies towards Palestinians and its genocidal war on Gaza.<\/p>\n

Critics like New York Representative Elise Stefanik homed in on Mamdani\u2019s background and left-wing politics as a Democratic Socialist, calling the incoming mayor a \u201cjihadist Communist\u201d and \u201cterrorist\u201d sympathiser.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, however, pledged to never hide from his background during a campaign speech. \u201cI will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I\u2019m proud to call my own,\u201d he said during his campaign. \u201cI will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The incoming mayor will take his oath of office with two family editions of the Quran and a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":484093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,90,405,403,50,5226,5225,5228,5227,80,55039,67,586,132,5230,68,72,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-484092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-elections","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-newyork","14":"tag-newyorkcity","15":"tag-ny","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-race-issues","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-us-canada","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115818332435728040","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}