Mamdani faces a Muslim problem ahead of Gracie Mansion protest
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a Muslim problem with local Muslim activists planning to spill into the streets Tuesday night outside Gracie Mansion, where protesters will accuse the mayor of...
By Fox News · Fox News
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing a Muslim problem with local Muslim activists planning to spill into the streets Tuesday night outside Gracie Mansion, where protesters will accuse the mayor of promoting what they describe as an extreme form of Islamism. Meanwhile, Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor, is also facing criticism from hardline anti-Israel activists who argue he has not gone far enough in support of Palestinian activism after taking office. Anila Ali, president of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, said she plans to join Tuesday night’s protest because she believes Mamdani’s politics are alienating moderate Muslims and damaging relations between Muslim and Jewish communities in New York. "With Mamdani in office, we feel our religion is now hijacked once again and is being used by these Islamists," Ali told Fox News Digital in a video interview. MAMDANI BACKS CANDIDATE WHO CALLED 9/11 ‘A TERROR ATTACK A COUPLE OF PEOPLE DID’ Ali described herself as part of a post-9/11 movement of "moderate Muslims" who reject Islamist extremism and believe Islam is compatible with coexistence, religious freedom and life in America. She described Islamism as a hardline political ideology that merges religion and politics, and she argued Mamdani represents a more radical version of Islam than the moderate faith practiced by many American Muslims. She said moderate Muslims don't identify with Islamist groups such as the Council on American Islamic Affairs (CAIR), which she accused of monopolizing public representation of Islam in America and promoting a hardline Islamist movement. Ali said many moderate Muslims feel increasingly sidelined by activist groups and political organizations they believe do not represent their faith or values. "Zohran Mamdani is their success story. The Muslim Brotherhood, they backed him," Ali told Fox News Digital in a video interview. ZOHRAN MAMDANI SAYS HE WILL DISCOURAGE 'GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA' PHRASE How…