Democrat New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani faced renewed scrutiny after sharing a social media post featuring a photograph with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The image, taken at Masjid At-Taqwa in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, on October 2025, depicted Mamdani smiling alongside Wahhaj, a figure linked to extremist ideologies.
Mamdani described Wahhaj as “one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders” and a “pillar of the Bed-Stuy community,” despite Wahhaj’s history of associating with violent Islamist figures. Wahhaj previously defended Omar Abdel Rahman, the convicted “blind sheikh” who plotted the 1993 bombing, and made inflammatory remarks advocating for Islamic militarism. In a 2017 sermon, he declared, “I pray one day Allah will bless us to raise an army… We had made intention to raise an army of 10,000 men in New York City.”
Wahhaj also praised jihad in a 1991 speech, stating, “If you have faith in Allah and a knife! If Allah wants you to win, you will win!” He further claimed, “The Americans are not your friends… Your friend is Allah.” These statements, along with his ties to terrorist groups, have drawn repeated criticism.
Mamdani, an Ugandan-born Democratic Socialist following the radical Twelver sect of Shia Islam, currently leads in the mayoral race against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. His association with Wahhaj has intensified questions about his political affiliations and ideological leanings.
