Following anti-Muslim remarks made by opponents and critics of Democratic mayoral nominee, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36) over the course of his election campaign, as reported, and further to his response to those remarks during a press conference held outside the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx, located at 371 East 166th Street, north of the Melrose section of The Bronx on Friday, Oct. 24, Norwood News spoke to some Bronx Muslims about their experiences of Islamophobia, as well as with other Bronx non-Muslims on the mayoral election.

 

Kujegi, a Black, female Muslim, who said she is also a member of the Gambian community, and who Norwood News was directed to speak with by the Mamdani campaign, told us, “I think Islamophobia is a rising issue and has impacted Muslims, particularly Black Muslims in a different way as well because we have the compounding of already being Black in The Bronx and in New York City, and also being Muslim.”

 

Kujegi continued, “I think for many Muslims, when you are watching the television, whether it’s media outlets or political pundits, [they’re] saying things about the Muslim community, particularly about also Zohran Mamdani, and pointing and pitting Muslims against America, you know; to be American is to not be Muslim.”

 

She added, “I think that really makes things really hard for Muslims to want to feel like this is a place that we can call [our home] and so we have a Muslim [mayoral candidate] who identifies with the [Muslim] community, but he’s also a New Yorker, and all of his issues are about being a New Yorker, and making New York affordable, and making New York accessible to all of us, no matter our background.”

 

Kujegi said when Muslims see the assemblyman being pigeon-holed for his religious identity and other candidates being divisive about the topic, and “sort of pitting the community against each other,” it makes Islamophobia more pronounced. “I think many people navigate that,” she said. Asked if she feels Islamophobia has gotten worse since the assemblyman decided to run for mayor, she said, “Yes, in the media, and in the ways he’s being framed and even the position that he has been put in.”

She added, “He’s always asked about Israel and Hamas and he’s being asked to denounce Hamas but no one [else] is being asked. Why are we asking him to do that? Why is it that when you are Muslim, you are always being asked to denounce actions of other groups [who] identify with the faith or not. No one else.. no other religious group is being asked that so I think, again, we see Muslims being treated as second-class citizens where you have to denounce this group to show that you’re American, and not to show that you are the mayor of New York.”

 

Kujegi continued, “Zohran has always been somebody with integrity and he’s about respecting life and community for all people but he’s also about standing up for… against the genocide that we do see is happening so I do think that, God willing, if he is elected as our mayor, what a powerful opportunity for New York to stand up and say, ‘We have a Muslim mayor.’ We have a mayor who can be a mayor for all people. I think that’s what Zohran’s message is about. That’s what’s really inspiring for all of us here.”

 

Asked about outreach efforts to Muslim New Yorkers by current New York City Mayor Eric Adams via various mosque visits and round tables held with other faith leaders, Kujegi said, “Yeah, I think the current administration has done a number of mosques outreach…. I believe he visited this Masjid before, has also done “Faith in Your Borough” community events, so I do think there’s a lot of progress that can be built from this current administration and even the prior administration in terms of sort of the relationship between the Mayor offices and faith institutions like this Masjid, a really prominent place in the Gambian, African and Muslim community.”

 

She added, “And so we’re really grateful that we can sort of serve as a place of community building for Muslims here but also, hopefully, a place where everyone feels loved, and feels that they can participate in community life, voting is a huge part of that so we’re also.. religious institutions are a beautiful way to motivate people.”

Another young Muslim man we spoke to but didn’t manage to get his name said of Islamophobia, “It’s hard to remember like specific, personal… but you know in media or in the way that people might think when you’re Muslim in America, like you’re in a minority. That can be uncomfortable for people. I’m seeing that a lot in this election.”

 

Asked if people verbalize their attitudes towards Muslims, in his experience, or if it’s something unspoken, he said, “I think sometimes in the comments that are made. I think some of it is just ignorance. People don’t know. There’s also like a fear when people think of a Muslim in general, so some of that does manifest in the things that that person might say [like], “Oh, I didn’t expect that because…”

 

Norwood News also spoke to a Muslim woman who declined to be identified, lived in the local area, and who was selling skincare products outside the mosque on Friday. We asked her if she had ever been insulted because of her faith. She said, “No. Sometimes, you feel if you went to some places, you feel sometimes they .. it’s not like a… but sometimes you feel like that… but sometimes they don’t say it face to face, or if you went to some offices, they treat you like not similar to another person.”

 

Asked if she could give an example of how she’s treated differently, she said, “Sometimes, like, if you go to an office, there’s some people who don’t like Islam. You see that on their faces. They don’t like the Islam and they be treating you, sometimes there, not friendly, but sometimes you get good people.” Asked what type of office, she said like a bank or a place of employment.

 

The woman said she works as a home help aide and that sometimes when she arrives dressed in her usual clothes and her clients open the door, they treat her badly. She said sometimes the person doesn’t want her to take care of them but they don’t say that it’s because she’s Muslim. She said they just say they don’t need any help that day finally. Asked how many times that has happened to her, she said she has been doing the job seven years and it was “often.” She said she works as an home help aide all over the City and not just in The Bronx.

 

Norwood News also spoke to a local, female, non-Muslim resident, Zoraida, who was hanging out on the stoop of a building located opposite the mosque. Asked if it was a good neighborhood to live in and if she got on well with her Muslim neighbors, she said, “Yes, it is. No problem.” Asked if her neighbors were friendly, she replied, “They’re friendly.”

 

Of the mosque, she added, “It’s open all day until around nine in the evening. Everyone goes home when they come out and it’s ok. There’s no problems at all, thank God.” Asked if she was following the mayoral election, Zoraida said, “I don’t know much about politics.” We asked if she was going to vote, she said she was but declined to say for whom. Laughing, she added, “Somebody might not like it and they’re going to shoot me.” We asked what issues were important to her as a voter. She replied, “To me, everybody [politician] is the same. Once they’re up there [elected], they say they’re gonna do this, they say they’re gonna do that, and you don’t see anything happening.”

 

Asked if, in her opinion, Adams had done things that were positive for the City, Zoraida replied, “No, no.” [Click here to read our latest Inquiring Photographer feature for a broad overview of the mayor’s accomplishments.] We asked what kind of improvements she would like to see happen. “Well, there’s too much killing out here, too many guns on the streets,” Zoraida said. “They should do something about that… and the trains, so much happening…. why? That’s what they should worry about.”

Norwood News also spoke to one of Mamdani’s volunteers, Mushtaq Husnain, who was canvassing with others outside the mosque, and asked him what were the main concerns voters raised in their interactions with the Mamdani campaign, in his experience. “For the most part, the biggest issue is the cost of living crisis,” Husnain said. “That is irrespective of where we have.. that’s been the number one issue across the board. I don’t think there’s a second thing that even comes close. The buses don’t even come close to it.”

 

We asked, for clarity, if he was referring specifically to rental / housing costs and he said, “Rent, primarily rent, and even the grocery stores are not even in the realm of the rent, and I’ve worked on many different groups across the board and that’s by far the number one issue. I really can’t think of a second issue in my experience that has come up.”

 

Norwood News asked if voters were asking for more clarity on Mamdani’s housing policy or if they were just voicing their concerns about the cost of housing. “It’s mostly support on the issue,” Husnain said. “‘This is what we want,’ like that they agree with [him]. That’s probably the number one issue that has been discussed and I’ve been working on the campaign since January, volunteering and organizing.”

 

He said that held true across religious, ethnic lines. Husnain added that Islamophobia started to come up after Cuomo announced his run for mayor (in March). He said when he spoke to business people or voters in general, the issue of Islamophobia hadn’t come up until the primary season (in June).

 

Norwood News also spoke to another non-Muslim resident of the area, Patrick Ofori from Ghana, who was seated in a wheelchair outside a nearby building and asked if he wanted to say who he planned to vote for. He said Mamdani. “He’s a very nice man and I think he’s for everybody,” Ofori said. “From all his preaching and from everything that I hear him say on the TV, he’s a nice man. What’s Cuomo gonna do? He’s been there before.. touching women. He’s been there before. Hell no! I’m not voting for him. I’ll vote for this guy, Muslim guy.”

Ofori continued, “This morning, for instance, this woman here, a friend of mine, she saw me and she said, ‘Oh Patrick, look, the Muslim is coming today’ and she said, ‘Oh the one that is standing for the mayor.’ She said, ‘Are you going to vote for him?’ She asked me if I am a Muslim. I said, ‘No. I’m a Christian. What does it matter?’ She said, ‘I’m not voting for any Muslim.’ I said, ‘Look, you’re being prejudiced, ok? The man is for Muslim, Christian, everybody, Jews, that’s the reason why I want to vote for him. He’s for all of us, you know?”

 

Ofori continued, “So, I think he’s a good man. I’m going to give him a try and see what he can do. I’m not voting for anybody that I’ve voted for before.” Asked if he wanted to say who he had voted for before, he said, “I voted for Adams.” Asked if he felt the mayor had done a good job, Ofori replied, “No, I think he’s all about the mouth.. talking.. big talk.. that’s it, but I like this guy.”

 

We said Mamdani’s critics would say he is also talking a lot but has not perhaps accomplished a lot in terms of policy. Patrick replied, “He’s talking but you can tell from what he says… I believe him.” Former Republican U.S. President Ronald Regan was an actor before he entered politics and went on to become president. He is often celebrated as one of the greatest American presidents by Republicans, many of whom are predicted to vote for Cuomo, including Brooklyn City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (C.D. 48).

 

Norwood News asked Ofori if he believed Mamdani was a man of action and Patrick said. “Yeah, he will do it, and going after Trump as well. I love it! I will vote for him and everyone should vote for this guy!”

 

Mamdani was back in The Bronx on Wednesday, Oct. 29, for a press conference announcing his endorsement by the bodega association in the Belmont section of the borough and later campaigned with Assemblyman George Alvarez (A.D. 78) along Fordham Road. More to follow.

 

Editor’s Note: In a previous version of this story, we incorrectly reported that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his mayoral run in April. In fact, he announced his run at the beginning of March. We apologize for this error which has since been corrected.