Mamdani Campaigns With Unindicted Terror Co-conspirator

By COLlive reporter

New York City mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani is under fire after appearing in a photograph at a Brooklyn mosque standing arm-in-arm and smiling with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, a longtime local religious leader who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The image emerged shortly after the first mayoral debate and prompted criticism of Mamdani’s choice of associations.

Wahhaj, 75, who also heads the Muslim Alliance in North America, was fingered by prosecutors as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 WTC bombing, which left six people dead, and has publicly defended the plotters of the attack against the FBI and CIA, whom he at the time dubbed the “real terrorists.”

“The evidence demonstrates that Mamdani’s political trajectory has not only been supported by activist movements but also reinforced by endorsements and alliances noted in figures with a documented history of extremist views and activities, posing a direct national security threat to New York City and the U.S.,” according to the report.

In the post on X, Mamdani told followers he had met “one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community” at Masjid At-Taqwa, and called it “a beautiful Jummah.” Wahhaj, 75, who leads the Muslim Alliance in North America and founded the mosque, has publicly defended extremist figures and once urged a “gun-free jihad” march through New York, according to intelligence reports.

Mamdani, the 33-year-old state assemblyman representing Queens (District 36) and a self-described democratic socialist, is the democratic frontrunner in the upcoming election against former governor Andrew  Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis  Sliwa. His campaign for mayor is built on proposals such as fare-free city buses, universal child care, city-owned grocery stores, rent freezes on rent-stabilized units, and higher taxes on millionaires and corporations.

Mamdani has refused to clearly affirm that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. He has said he supports “Israel’s right to exist as a state with equal rights for all,” but not specifically “as a Jewish state.” He has also declined to unequivocally condemn or repudiate the slogan “globalize the intifada,” which many Jewish and pro-Israel groups view as a call to violence or at least glorifying violent uprising.

Some Jewish leaders and analysts have argued that his positions diminish the legitimacy of Israel, make Jewish voters uneasy, and raise questions about his ability to represent and protect Jewish New Yorkers.

“The fact that Mamdani stands with this imam is disqualifying,” said Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa.

“New York needs a mayor who protects New Yorkers from terrorism, not embraces terrorists.”