Petition Details and Mayor's Response
The petition states that its objection is not based on the mayor's religion but on what it describes as "public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to these shared values." It specifically highlights Mamdani's connections to Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj, described by petitioners as radical, and his appointment of Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented a terrorist convicted in an Al-Qaeda tanker bombing plot.
The petition also references the mayor's father, political scientist Mahmood Mamdani, and his 2004 book "Good Muslim, Bad Muslim," in which he argued the 9/11 attacks should be "understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism." The mayor has previously acknowledged that his father significantly shaped his own worldview.
In response, Mamdani dismissed the petition as an effort to exclude him from the ceremony. "I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year's 9/11 commemoration reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day felt by all of us who call this city home," he said earlier this week.
