New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani sparked outrage after publicly campaigning with Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a figure named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured over 1,000, the New York Post reported.
Mamdani, the Democratic frontrunner in the mayoral race, posted a photo to X showing himself smiling alongside Wahhaj and Councilman Yusef Salaam (D-Manhattan) at Masjid At-Taqwa in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The image was shared just one day after the first mayoral debate.
“Today at Masjid At-Taqwa, I had the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century,” Mamdani wrote. “A beautiful Jummah.”
Wahhaj, 75, who leads the Muslim Alliance in North America, has publicly defended the perpetrators of the 1993 bombing, calling the FBI and CIA “the real terrorists”, according to the Post. He also testified in support of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the Egyptian cleric convicted of plotting terror attacks in the U.S., referring to him as a “respected scholar.”
In a sermon from the early 2000s, Wahhaj - born Jeffrey Kearse - called for a gun-free jihad in New York City, urging followers to “march through the city” and “let them hear your voice… until the whole city can’t sleep.” He spoke of raising an army of 10,000 Muslim men to “fight in the way of subhanahu wa ta’ala.”
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa condemned Mamdani’s association with Wahhaj, saying, “New York needs a mayor who protects New Yorkers from terrorism, not embraces terrorists.”
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent for mayor, criticized Mamdani for posing with Wahhaj.
“[Mamdani] is proud to be standing with an unindicted co-conspirator in the ’93 World Trade Center terror attack that killed New Yorkers?” Cuomo told the Post. “When people tell you who they are, you should believe them - and Zohran, wipe that smile off your face.”
Mamdani and Wahhaj did not respond to requests for comment.
Mamdani has faced heavy criticism due to his anti-Israel stance, which included his failure to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada" and his criticism of Israel on October 8, 2023 - just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
He also recently declared that he would stop using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism.
In addition, Mamdani has repeatedly accused Israel of war crimes in its battle against Hamas in Gaza.
This week, Mamdani avoided, during an interview with Martha MacCallum on Fox News, a question on whether Hamas should lay down its weapons and leave Gaza.
“I believe that any future here in New York City is one that we have to make sure that's affordable for all, and as it pertains to Israel and Palestine, that we have to ensure that there is peace. And that is the future that we have to fight for,” replied Mamdani.
Pressed on whether he believes Hamas should lay down its weapons and leave the leadership in Gaza, he said, “I don't really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international law. And that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, applies to anyone you could ask me about.”
Later, during the mayoral debate, Mamdani was clearer when asked what he thinks of Hamas and whether he believes the terrorist organization should disarm.
"Of course I believe they should lay down their arms... a ceasefire means ceasing fire," Mamdani replied.
He then said that this action is important for the end of the "genocide" in Gaza and the release of more humanitarian aid into the territory.