Left-leaning socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appeared this week with Brooklyn imam Siraj Wahhaj, a gay-hating Islamic figure who was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and has previously been linked to extremist rhetoric, including calls for “jihad” in the United States.
Mamdani, who is considered a leading Democratic contender in the race, was photographed smiling and standing beside Wahhaj at the imam’s Bedford-Stuyvesant mosque. The image was posted to Mamdani’s X account a day after the first mayoral debate.
Also appearing in the photo was Councilman Yusef Salaam (D-Manhattan), a member of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” who was elected to the City Council in November 2023.
“Today at Masjid At-Taqwa, I had the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century. I was also joined by CM @dr_yusefsalaam of Harlem. A beautiful Jummah,” he wrote of the weekly prayer.
