Anti-Muslim Activists Target NYC’s First Muslim Mayor with Hate Campaigns

Progressive activists celebrated Zohran Mamdani’s historic election as New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor as a triumph of American pluralism. But his victory has triggered a wave of racist misinformation and conspiracy theories from anti-Muslim and hard-right groups who portray his win as an existential threat to the city and nation.

The hateful rhetoric targeting Mamdani fits into a pattern of religious and racial fearmongering that has characterized the organized anti-Muslim movement since its emergence after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Then, as now, these activists focused on New York City as ground zero for their campaigns, framing Muslims as enemies in what they describe as a civilizational conflict with white Christian America.

The attacks began immediately after Mamdani, a New York State Assembly member, defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary in June. Brigitte Gabriel, leader of the anti-Muslim group ACT for America, wrote on social media: “Sharia Law will be coming to the United States. We must do everything to stop it.” Anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller described Mamdani as “a jihadi socialist who wants to globalize the intifada, globalize 9/11, and believes capitalism is a danger.”

Robert Spencer, another prominent anti-Muslim figure, appeared on “The Glazov Gang” online program to claim Mamdani’s victory represents the “suicide of the west.” Spencer predicted an increase in “jihad activity” in New York, causing wealthy residents and those concerned about safety to flee the city. On his blog Jihad Watch, Spencer went further, claiming “Mamdani’s victory is an indication of how much of a victory 9/11 was for the global jihad.”

While anti-Muslim sentiment existed in America before 2001, it wasn’t until after the 9/11 attacks that it became a core organizing principle for segments of the hard right. The terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people spawned a network of disinformation peddlers who demonized Islam and its adherents. Led by figures like Spencer and Gabriel, this movement portrays Islam as an existential threat to American society.

Though the organizational strength of anti-Muslim hate groups has declined in recent years – with ACT for America losing many chapters and the group Understanding the Threat shutting down due to legal and financial problems – their influence persists. Only 31 active anti-Muslim hate groups operated in the country in 2024, but their rhetoric continues to find support from right-wing politicians and media outlets.

Conservative politicians often exploit anti-Muslim bias to justify intrusive national security policies and restrictive immigration measures. Meanwhile, white Christian nationalist institutions reinforce anti-Muslim sentiment by portraying Islam as incompatible with American values.

The current campaign against Mamdani echoes a pivotal moment for the anti-Muslim movement: the 2010 controversy over the proposed Park51 Islamic center in lower Manhattan. Geller and Spencer led protests against what they dubbed the “ground zero mosque,” characterizing it as a “triumphal monument” on “conquered land.” That campaign became a template for opposing Islamic centers across the country.

Tom Trento of the anti-Muslim group The United West recently connected these two moments, saying: “The ground zero mosque was inevitable. We stopped it. Well, we have another problem…If [Mamdani] becomes mayor, there won’t be one ground zero mosque. There’ll be numbers of ground zero mosques, and the call to prayer will come from every way over that hallowed ground.”

After Mamdani’s November 4 election victory, the rhetoric intensified. Frank Gaffney claimed the new mayor “may prove to be a horseman of the apocalypse,” while John Guandolo declared “Another American city lost to jihadis.” Gabriel wrote she was “devastated” that New York elected “someone who supports the terrorists who flew planes into the World Trade Centers.”

Some critics have gone further, questioning the legitimacy of Mamdani’s win. Daniel Greenfield, writing for FrontPage Magazine, suggested the election was “dubious” and possibly “stolen…by Islamic terrorists.” Greenfield later published an article employing demographic alarmism, lamenting that New York “has been redefined by waves of Muslim mass migration” and claiming the city “has no character, no tradition and no roots.”

The campaign against Mayor-elect Mamdani demonstrates how the anti-Muslim movement continues to exploit tragic events and demographic changes to advance a hateful agenda. It also reveals how various factions of the hard right opportunistically use bigotry to achieve their political goals, particularly in a city that remains symbolically important in America’s ongoing struggle with pluralism and inclusion.