Zoran Mamdani, a Democratic candidate for mayor in New York City, was campaigning on Friday alongside Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who has not been indicted but is associated with the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.
Mamdani took to social media to highlight his association with Wahhaj, referring to him as “one of the country’s leading Islamic leaders and a cornerstone of Islam,” and noted the long-standing presence of this community in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Wahhaj has a controversial history, having previously urged violence against the U.S. and being implicated in the 1993 WTC plot, which was a forerunner to the 9/11 attacks. The New York Post remarked on Mamdani’s decision to campaign with such a controversial figure, noting Wahhaj’s noted homophobia and connections to terrorism.
Mamdani was seen smiling alongside an imam who has publicly called for jihad and has been linked to several terrorist activities.
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At 75, Wahhaj has led organizations including the Muslim League of North America and was pursued by authorities as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 bombing that resulted in six fatalities. He has publicly criticized the FBI and CIA, labeling them as “real terrorists.”
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Andrew Cuomo, a former governor and mayor now running as an independent, targeted Mamdani for appearing with Wahhaj, especially given his ties to terrorism and a history of anti-LGBT rhetoric.
Wahhaj denies any terrorist affiliations.
In a troubling incident, Wahhaj’s son was arrested in 2018 for holding starving children captive in New Mexico and training them for potential school shootings.
Also present with Mamdani was New York City Councilman Yousef Salam (D-Manhattan), who was part of the Central Park Five, a group exonerated after being wrongfully accused of serious crimes and often referenced by Democrats in discussions attacking President Trump.
Mamdani’s background is marked by extremist views; his father, the scholar Mahmoud Mamdani, has previously defended suicide bombings as a legitimate warfare tactic and has authored a recent biography of Idi Amin, the notorious Ugandan dictator.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News.
