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The new mayor uses an edition symbolizing the history of New York City; to use two family Qurans during a public ceremony on Friday.
Zohran Mamdani on Thursday became the first New York mayor to take the oath of office using a Quran.
The first Muslim and South Asian mayor of the largest metropolis in the United States, Mamdani used his grandfather’s Quran and a 200-year-old copy on loan from the New York Public Library (NYPL) for the private swearing-in held in a disused subway station beneath Times Square.
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He then plans to use two copies of the Quran that belonged to his grandfather and grandmother for a daytime ceremony at New York City Hall on Friday.
The historic Quran, borrowed from the library, once belonged to Arturo Schomburg, a black historian and writer who sold his collection of 4,000 books to the NYPL in 1926. His collection became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Schomburg was born in Puerto Rico in the 1870s to parents of German and Afro-Caribbean descent. He later immigrated to New York and was a key player in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s – a period of intense cultural and intellectual blossoming within New York’s black community.
The library praised Mamdani’s decision to use the Schomburg Quran because of its connection to one of New York’s “most innovative scholars and for its simple, functional qualities.”
The Quran’s small size and black and red ink suggest it was designed for everyday use, the library said. The edition is neither signed nor dated, but “its tiny Naskh script and its binding, decorated with a gilded medallion filled with a floral arrangement, suggest that it was produced in Ottoman Syria in the 19th century,” adds the library.
“The meaning of this Quran extends far beyond the beauty of its pages,” said Hiba Abid, curator of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. “It is a Quran close to the people, not only because of its simplicity of manufacture, but also because it is part of the collections of the largest public library system in the country.”
Anthony W Marx, the library’s president and CEO, said the choice of the Quran and its association with Schomburg “symbolizes a greater story of inclusion, representation and civic spirit.”
Mamdani is one of the few American politicians to take an oath with the Quran. New York does not require mayors to take an oath by placing their hand on a religious text, but many former mayors have used a copy of the Bible.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used a 100-year-old family Bible in a ceremony, while Mayor Bill de Blasio used a Bible that belonged to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, also used a family Bible for his oath.
Mamdani’s faith and background as an American of Ugandan and South Asian descent were central to his campaign, which aimed to celebrate New York’s diversity.
In viral videos on social media, Mamdani has also spoken candidly about the effects of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and the subsequent rise of Islamophobia in the United States. Other videos featured the daily experiences of New Yorkers, including many Muslim and immigrant communities.
Mamdani also strongly criticized Israeli policies towards the Palestinians and its genocidal war against Gaza.
Critics like New York Rep. Elise Stefanik have focused on Mamdani’s background and left-wing politics as a democratic socialist, calling the new mayor a “jihadist communist” and a “terrorist” sympathizer.
Mamdani, however, pledged never to hide his origins during a campaign speech. “I will not change who I am, the way I eat or the faith I am proud to call my own,” he said during his campaign. “I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.”
