Democratic mayoral nominee and still the mayoral frontrunner according to the latest polls, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36) was back in The Bronx on Friday, Oct. 24, for another press conference, this time, held outside the Islamic Cultural Center of The Bronx, located at 371 E 166th Street, north of the Melrose section of The Bronx, as he asked voters to reject tired Islamophobic tropes and reiterated that he aims to be a mayor “fighting for every single New Yorker.” Members of the press corps included international media outlets from the UK (BBC), France and Germany.
Surrounded by members of the Muslim community, and appearing visibly emotional as he paused at times to hold back tears as he recalled personal anecdotes shared with him by his family as a young Muslim growing up in New York City, the assemblyman said, “Six years ago, shortly after I’d announced I was running for State assembly, a well meaning Muslim uncle pulled me aside, [..] his eyes kind, his beard proud, and his face heavy with the implications of the unsaid.”
Mamdani said the uncle smiled softly, looked at him with care and in a quiet voice, told him he did not have to tell people [as a candidate] that he was Muslim. “I had not learned the lesson that he had been taught time and again, the lesson that safety could only be found in the shadows of our City, ” the assemblyman continued. “It is in those shadows alone where Muslims could embrace their full identities, and then, if we were to emerge from those shadows, that it is in those shadows that we must leave our faith.”…