Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani will take his midnight oath on the centuries-old Koran, marking the first time a New York City mayor has used Islam’s holy text to take the oath of office and underscoring a number of historic firsts for the city.
When the 34-year-old Democrat becomes mayor of the long-shuttered subway station below City Hall, he will be the first Muslim, the first South Asian and the first African-born person to hold the post.
Those milestones — as well as the historic Koran he will use for the ceremony — reflect the long-standing and vibrant Muslim residents of the country’s most populous city, according to a scholar who helped Mamdani’s wife, Ram Duwaja, select one of the books.
Most of Mamdani’s predecessors took an oath on the Bible, although the oath to uphold the federal, state, and municipal constitutions does not require the use of any religious text.
And while he focused heavily on the issue of affordability during his campaign, Mamdani was open about his Muslim faith. He made frequent appearances at mosques in the five boroughs as he built a support base that included many East Asian and Muslim voters.
A look at the 3 Qurans that Mamdani will use
During the subway ceremony, Mamdani places his hand on two Korans: his grandfather’s Koran and his pocket version, which dates from the late 18th or early 19th century. It is part of the collection of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library.
This copy of the Koran symbolizes the diversity and reach of the city’s Muslims, said Hiba Abid, the library’s curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies.
“It’s a small Quran, but it brings together elements of faith and identity in New York’s history,” Abid said.
For the subsequent swearing-in ceremony at City Hall on the first day of the year, Mamdani will use both his grandfather’s and grandmother’s Korans. The campaign did not offer more details about those legacies.
One long journey of the Qur’an to Mamdani’s hand
The manuscript was acquired by Arturo Schomburg, a black Puerto Rican historian whose collection documented the global contributions of people of African descent. Although it is not clear how Schomburg came to the Qur’an, scholars believe it reflected his interest in the historical relationship between Islam and black cultures in the United States and throughout Africa.
Unlike the ornate religious manuscripts associated with royalty or elites, the copy of the Qur’an Mamdani will be using is modest. It has a deep red binding with a simple floral medallion and is written in black and red ink. The script is clear and legible, suggesting that it was created for everyday use rather than ceremonial display.
These features indicate that the manuscript was intended for common readers, Abid said, a quality she identified as central to its significance.
“The significance of this Quran is not luxury, but accessibility,” she said.
Since the manuscript is undated and unsigned, scholars have relied on its binding and writing to estimate when it was created, placing it sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century during the Ottoman period in an area that includes modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan.
Abid said the manuscript’s journey to New York reflects Mamdani’s own layered background. Mamdani is a South Asian New Yorker who was born in Uganda, while Duwaji is American-Syrian.
Identity and controversy
The meteoric rise of the Muslim democratic socialist has also brought a wave of Islamophobic rhetoric, heightened by national attention to race.
In an emotional speech days before the election, Mamdani said the hostility only strengthened his determination to be visible about his faith.
“I will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith I proudly call my own,” he said. “I will no longer seek myself in the shadows, I will find myself in the light.”
The decision to use the Koran drew fresh criticism from some conservatives. U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama wrote on social media, “The enemy is within the gates,” in response to a newspaper article about Mamdani’s inauguration. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a rights group, has labeled Tuberville an anti-Muslim extremist based on earlier statements.
Such resistance is not new. In 2006, Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, faced condemnation from conservatives after choosing to use the Koran for his swearing-in ceremony.
After the inauguration, the Quran will be on public display at the New York Public Library. Abid said she hopes the attention surrounding the ceremony — whether supportive or critical — will prompt more people to explore the library’s collections documenting Islamic life in New York, from early 20th-century Armenian and Arabic music recorded in the city to first-hand accounts of Islamophobia after the 9/11 attacks.
“This manuscript was meant to be used by common readers when it was created,” Abid said. “Today she lives in a public library where anyone can meet her.”
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