(RNS) — Halfway through Zohran Mamdani’s final rally in Queens on Oct. 26, a rabbi, an imam and a pastor took turns praising the 34-year-old democratic socialist who was leading polls heading into Election Day (Nov. 4) and would be, if he wins, the first Muslim to be elected mayor of the United States’ largest city.
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, emerita spiritual leader of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan, called for Muslims and Jews to build a shared future in the city. The Rev. Charles Galbreath, pastor of the Alliance Tabernacle, a historically Black Brooklyn church, commended the candidate’s advocacy for immigrant communities amid the Trump administration’s mass deportations. Imam Khalid Latif, a former Muslim chaplain of the New York Police Department and a member of the Muslim Democratic Club, saluted Mamdani’s continued focus on affordability amid harsh Islamophobic attacks.
The moment reflected the Mamdani campaign’s efforts to make inroads with New York’s diverse faith communities. Over the past year, the assemblyman has attended Friday prayers, Diwali celebrations in Queens, Baptist church services in Harlem and Sukkot observances in Hasidic Williamsburg.
A Twelver Shiite Muslim born to Indian parents in Uganda, Mamdani has alternately put his own faith on display, making an emotional Oct. 24 speech outside a Bronx Islamic center about it. “I would no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light,” he said.
The speech came days after his opponent former Gov. Andrew Cuomo laughed along when a radio talk show host suggested that Mamdani would cheer another 9/11. (Cuomo later said he disagreed with the sentiment.)
…