You scroll through his campaign page, crowds cheering, signs waving, chants echoing, and one thing becomes instantly clear: Zohran Mamdani has captured the city’s heart. But what truly stands out is the diversity of the people who fill those frames. Among them are Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, all united in support of a man who now sits at the helm of New York City. And so arises a question that many have quietly wondered: What faith does Mayor Mamdani himself follow, and how has it failed to become a barrier in his rise to power?Mamdani’s victory has come to symbolize something larger than politics. For the city’s working class and immigrant communities—who make up roughly 40 percent of New York’s population, his ascent represents a break from the old guard, a challenge to the entrenched establishment that long seemed to serve corporate interests over the people who elected them.
Born in Kampala, Uganda, and raised in New York from the age of seven, Mamdani has spoken candidly about his religious background. “I am a Shia Muslim,” he told The Indian Eye, “but I was raised in an interfaith family. My mother’s side of the family is Hindu, and I grew up celebrating Diwali, Holi and Raksha Bandhan. Though I identify as Muslim, these Hindu traditions and practices have shaped my worldview.”
How his faith has worked both for and against him?
His openness about his identity has made him both a target and a symbol. Mamdani has faced waves of Islamophobic attacks from both Republicans and Democrats, as well as criticism from some pro-Israel Jewish groups over his vocal anti-Zionist stance. Yet he has refused to retreat. “My main rival, Andrew Cuomo, has run a campaign of naked bigotry and racism,” Mamdani said at a press event. For many Muslim New Yorkers, Mamdani’s story hits close to home. After the September 11 attacks, the city’s Muslim population, estimated by Al Jazeera to account for a quarter of all Muslims in the United States, faced years of harassment and discrimination. Mamdani has often recalled that era, sharing how his own aunt was too afraid to wear her hijab on the subway after the towers fell.Islamophobia has trailed him throughout his campaign. “I get messages that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim,” he told CBS News earlier this year, tearing up as he spoke. Far-right figures, including conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, falsely claimed that Mamdani wanted to bring Shariah law to New York City.But Mamdani’s faith has also become his strength. His honesty about who he is, and what he believes, has resonated deeply with many voters. It signals empathy, an understanding of what it means to live as a minority, and a quiet defiance in the face of prejudice. Even his vocal criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, a stance that might have alienated him in a city with a large Jewish population, has not fractured his base. Instead, it has reinforced his image as a leader guided by conviction rather than convenience.With his win, Mamdani has written history and set precedents for future generations. He has ensured his voters that his legacy won’t be defined by “the greatest campaign ever run,” but by what happens after the victory. His faith, both personal and political, seems to rest not only in religion, but in the people who believed enough to make him mayor.
