New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani seems to be trying to milk his identity as a Muslim whenever he speaks to the Muslim community during his campaign.
Mamdani has come under scrutiny following questions about a personal story he shared while addressing Muslim voters. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, made the remarks outside a Bronx Mosque, where he spoke about what he described as “indignities” faced by Muslims in New York after the September 11 attacks.
Zohran is in the Bronx today, outside a mosque. He’s delivering a major address on Islamophobia in the mayoral race. He tears up as he recalls his aunt who said she stopped taking the subway after 9/11 because she wore a hijab and feared discrimination. pic.twitter.com/B39hXKkIzR
— Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan) October 24, 2025
Surrounded by Muslim community leaders, Mamdani said, “I want to speak to the Muslims of New York City.” In the next few seconds, in what seems like pretence to shed a few tears, he then spoke of the “memory of his aunt”, who stopped taking the subway after September 11. He said, “I want to speak to the memory of my aunt, who stopped taking the subway after September 11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab.” He also recounted allegedly being advised to conceal his religious identity when he first entered politics, describing these experiences as shared lessons among Muslim New Yorkers. Mamdani added that “over these last few days, these lessons have become the closing messages of Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Eric Adams.”
Zohran through tears: “My aunt stopped taking the subway after 9/11 because she did not feel safe in her hijab.”
Yes, she was the real victim of 9/11
pic.twitter.com/aILr4JtVvF— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 24, 2025
However, an examination of Mamdani’s family history appears to contradict the details of his story.
Ater extensive review, it appears Zohran Mamdani has three aunts – two of whom are Hindu (from his mother’s side), making the hijab reference inapplicable, while the only Muslim aunt, according to public records and biographical information, is not known to wear a hijab and has never been a resident of New York City.
Further reporting indicates that during the period in question, his aunt was living in Tanzania. Records show she resided there from January 2000 until at least December 2003, meaning she was not in New York City before, during, or after the 9/11 attacks.
The fact-checking investigation concludes that the individual Mamdani referred to as his aunt “who was scared of taking the bus wearing her hijab” is a person who, according to available information, does not wear the hijab and was not living in the United States at the time.
Zohran Mamdani’s aunt neither wears a hijab nor lived in NYC before, during, or after 9/11.
In fact, she lived in Tanzania from January 2000 to December 2003. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/BTug7BohKT
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) October 26, 2025
(Source: NDTV)
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