New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has become the target of a petition created by families whose loved ones died in the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The petitioners are attempting to prevent him from attending the 25th 9/11 remembrance ceremony. Some of them claim that his political beliefs would make his presence disrespectful, and that he is too “unamerican”. As at Tuesday morning there were over 23,000 signatures on this petition.
One of the petition signers, who pleaded anonymity, lost her husband on 9/11, and said to reporters, “I feel anyone who attends this 25th pivotal anniversary should be one of us. We just want a little time for ourselves, and we don’t want someone just coming in, who just came into office, who wasn’t really there.”
Other signers critiqued Mamdani’s “lack of action for 9/11 families”. The petition asks organizers of the remembrance ceremony to carefully consider Mamdani’s participation, saying that “concerns have been raised about his public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile.”
Many people are pushing back against this petition however, calling out the inaccuracies in it and putting pressure on its supporters to consider whether their position is because Mamdani’s beliefs are actually “anti-American” or if the real reason for the petition is because the mayor is a Muslim.
Mayor Mamdani was born in Uganda in 1991 and moved to New York City at the age of seven, in the year 1998, debunking the argument that he “wasn’t here” for 9/11. Another claim being called out is that he hasn’t done anything to support 9/11 victim’s families. The fact, his supporters argue, is that the seeming lack of action by the mayor, who is in his first term is not a reflection of neglect, as the majority of New York City Mayors, since the tragedy, have not had a petition written against their attending the ceremony, even when they, too, have not done anything to support the families.
Most critics of the petition claim that it is just racist, due to Mamdani being a Muslim man. This same argument came up during the mayoral election when many conservatives in New York City and surrounding areas, as well as in Washington, including senators, representatives, and the president, critiqued Mamdani with either explicit or implicit racist remarks, especially about his being a Muslim.
There were arguments and protests stating things like “DID WE ALREADY FORGET 9/11” or “SO WE ARE GOING TO LET THEM DO IT AGAIN”, which were attacks aimed at Mamdani’s religion. But his supporters say Mayor Mamdani has never once supported the actions of Al Qaeda and associates on 9/11, and that he has never condoned acts of violence. Yet people are attempting to have him barred from the ceremony with incorrect information and implicit allusions to his religious background, one that is the separating factor from other post 9/11 New York City mayors that haven’t had petitions signed against them attending the ceremony.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum said that “we have intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics. Government officials from across the political spectrum have attended the ceremony simply to bear witness.” The petition organizers plan to ask the city council for help in barring Mamdani, but a final decision has not been taken.
