Candidate for NYC mayor targeted by anti-Muslim online posts

Anti-Muslim online posts targeting New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani have surged since his Democratic primary upset this week, including death threats and comments comparing his candidacy to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, advocates said on June 27.

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Mr. Zohran Mamdani would be the city's first Muslim and Indian American mayor if he wins the November general election.

WASHINGTON —

There were at least 127 violent hate-related reports mentioning Mr. Mamdani or his campaign in the day after polls closed, said Cair Action, an arm of the Council on American Islamic Relations advocacy group, which logs such incidents. That marks a five-fold increase over a daily average of such reports tracked earlier in June, Cair Action said in a statement.

Overall, it noted about 6,200 online posts that mentioned some form of Islamophobic slur or hostility in that day-long timeframe.

Mr. Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and a 33-year-old state lawmaker, declared victory in June 24's primary after former New York governor Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat.

Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mr. Mamdani would be the city's first Muslim and Indian American mayor if he wins the November general election.