Mayor Zohran Mamdani — New York City’s first Muslim mayor — is facing a Muslim problem, with local Muslim activists planning to spill into the streets Tuesday night outside Gracie Mansion, where protesters will accuse the mayor of promoting what they describe as an extreme form of Islamism. At the same time, Mamdani is being attacked from the opposite direction by hardline anti-Israel activists who argue he has not gone far enough in support of Palestinian activism since taking office.

Anila Ali, president of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council (AMMWEC), said she plans to join Tuesday night’s protest because she believes Mamdani’s politics are alienating moderate Muslims and damaging relations between Muslim and Jewish communities in New York.

Ali described herself as part of a post-9/11 movement of “moderate Muslims” who reject Islamist extremism and believe Islam is compatible with coexistence, religious freedom, and life in America. She described Islamism as a hardline political ideology that merges religion and politics, and argued Mamdani represents a more radical version of Islam than the moderate faith practiced by the majority of American Muslims.

Ali said moderate Muslims do not identify with Islamist groups such as the Council on American Islamic Affairs (CAIR), which she accused of monopolizing public representation of Islam in America and promoting a hardline Islamist agenda. She argued that many moderate Muslims feel increasingly sidelined by activist groups and political organizations they believe do not represent their faith or values.

Criticism of Mamdani is not only coming from moderate Muslim and interfaith activists. Hardline anti-Israel activists have also attacked the mayor for not going far enough in support of Palestinian activism after taking office.

Nerdeen Kiswani, a Palestinian-American activist and co-founder of the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, criticized Mamdani for acknowledging Israel’s right to exist and for what she described as walking back his earlier defense of the phrase “globalize the intifada” and softening his stance after taking office. Kiswani’s group staged a Nakba rally in New York on May 15 where demonstrators chanted “globalize the intifada.”

The divide has turned Mamdani into a local flashpoint in a broader political battle playing out across the United States, where anti-Israel activism, Islamist movements and far-left groups have increasingly merged into overlapping protest coalitions.

Ali said Mamdani’s support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, his comments surrounding Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and his defense of slogans such as “globalize the intifada” have alienated many moderate Muslims and worsened tensions between Muslims and Jews in New York.

Ali described Mamdani’s politics as part of a “red-green alliance” between Islamist activists and the far left, and warned that New York risks following the path of British cities such as Bradford, Birmingham and Manchester — which she described as overtaken by extremism and division following decades of unaddressed Islamist radicalization and failures of multiculturalism.

The protest outside Gracie Mansion is being organized by End Jew Hatred alongside a coalition of Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups, including the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council and the Catholic League. Ali said the rally is intended to show Muslims, Jews and Christians standing together against what she described as extremist Islamist politics masquerading as mainstream Islam.

Ali still acknowledges that Mamdani retains strong support from progressive and pro-Palestinian activist groups that fueled his political rise. CAIR acknowledged Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond.

Michael Dorgan @M_Dorgan

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NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing growing backlash from Muslim activists — with protesters set to gather Tuesday night outside Gracie Mansion accusing the mayor of promoting what they describe as an extreme form of Islamism. Meanwhile, hardline anti-Israel activists attack him for saying Israel has the right to exist. “With Mamdani in office, we feel our religion is now hijacked once again and is being used by these Islamists,” protest organizer @anilaali told Fox News Digital. Ali, president of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council, accused Mamdani of worsening tensions between Muslims and Jews in New York through anti-Israel rhetoric and divisive politics.

#mamdani #israel #protest #graciemansion

Tuesday, May 27, 2026 View original thread on X →