Zohran Mamdani takes oath as New York mayor with historic Quran

Zohran Mamdani took the oath of office on Thursday, becoming the first Quran-using mayor of New York City.

Mamdani, the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the nation’s largest metropolis, sworn in at a private swearing-in ceremony held at a decaying subway station beneath Times Square using his grandfather’s Quran and a 200-year-old copy on loan from the New York Public Library (NYPL).

He intends to hold a Friday ceremony at New York City Hall in addition to two copies of the Quran that his grandfather and grandmother owned.

Arturo Schomburg, a Black historian and author who sold his collection of 4, 000 books to the NYPL in 1926, once owned the historic Quran, which was borrowed from the library. The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture was based on his research.

In 1870, Schomburg was the child of German and Afro-Caribbean parents. In the 1920s and 1930s, a period of intense cultural and intellectual flourishing in New York’s Black community, he was a key player in the Harlem Renaissance.

Because of its association with one of New York’s “most groundbreaking scholars and for its simple, functional qualities,” Mamdani chose Schomburg’s Quran, which the library praised.

According to the library, the Quran’s small size and black and red ink suggest that it was made for daily use. The library added that the edition’s “minute naskh script and binding, which feature a gilt-stamped medallion filled with a floral composition, suggest it was produced in Ottoman Syria in the 19th century.”

Hiba Abid, the curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, said, “The significance of this Quran extends far beyond the beauty of its pages.” It is regarded as a sacred book by the populace because of its originality and inclusion in the nation’s largest public library system.

The association with Schomburg and the Quran, according to Anthony W. Marx, president and CEO of the library, “symbolises a greater story of inclusion, representation, and civic-mindedness.”

One of the few US politicians to sworn in with the Quran is Mamdani. Although many former mayors have used a copy of the Bible, New York does not require mayors to take the oath of office with their hands on a religious text.

In a ceremony, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg used a 100-year-old family Bible, and Mayor Bill de Blasio used a Bible that was once owned by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mayor Eric Adams, who took the oath, also used a family Bible.

During his campaign, which focused on highlighting the diversity of New York, Mamdani’s faith and background as an American of South Asian descent from Uganda were at the forefront.

Mamdani also addressed the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11 and the rise in Islamophobia in the US in open conversation in viral social media videos. Other videos covered the experiences of regular New Yorkers, including many of its Muslim and immigrant communities.

Mamdani has also made a strong critic of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians and its Gaza-based genocidal war.

As a Democratic Socialist, critics like New York Representative Elise Stefanik criticized Mamdani’s background and left-wing politics, branding him a “jihadist Communist” and “terrorist” sympathiser.