New York City elected Shia Muslim Zohran Mamdani as mayor despite opponents weaponizing his interfaith background throughout the campaign. Mamdani is part of the Twelver branch of Shia Islam and was raised in a family celebrating Hindu festivals alongside Islamic traditions.
Twelver Shiism is mainstream Shiism, representing approximately 85-90% of all Shiites worldwide. This branch believes in twelve divinely appointed imams following Prophet Muhammad, with the twelfth imam in occultation since 874 CE. Twelver Shiites constitute the vast majority of Shiites in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan, as well as significant populations in Pakistan, India, and the Gulf states. The other main Shia branches – Ismaili (roughly 10-15% of Shiites) and Zaidi – split from this line over disputes about the succession of leadership after the early imams.
Video: Mamdani's victory speech in New York on Nov. 4, 2025
Mamdani is part of the Khoja Twelver Shia branch of Islam. The Khoja community represents a distinct branch within Twelver Shia Islam, rooted in South Asian history and culture rather than the Persian traditions more commonly associated with Shiism in the West.
However, Khoja Twelvers are not a separate theological branch but rather an ethnic and cultural subset within Twelver Shiism. While they follow the same theological principles and recognize the same twelve imams as other Twelver Shiites, Khojas maintain distinctive cultural practices rooted in their subcontinental origins, and for centuries, Khojas practiced a syncretic form of Ismaili Islam that incorporated elements of their Hindu heritage, including devotional songs (ginans) composed in local languages.
The community recognized the Aga Khan as their living imam.. They conduct some religious observances in Gujarati, Kutchi, or Urdu alongside Arabic, and their community organization reflects their unique historical journey from Hinduism to Ismaili Shiism and finally to Twelver Shiism in the 19th century. Today, Khoja Twelvers increasingly follow the same religious authorities as other Twelver communities worldwide while preserving their ethnic identity.
Khojas trace their ancestry primarily to the Gujarat and Sindh regions of what is now India and Pakistan. The community's name derives from the Persian word "khwaja," meaning master or lord. Historically, Khojas were a mercantile community who converted to Islam between the 14th and 19th centuries, with many initially following Nizari Ismaili Shiism before a significant portion transitioned to Twelver Shiism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This group rejected the concept of a living, present imam and instead accepted the Twelver doctrine that the twelfth imam remains in occultation (hidden) until his eventual return.
Born in Kampala, Uganda, and raised in New York from age seven, Mamdani openly discussed his religious identity. "I am a Shia Muslim," he stated, "but I was raised in an interfaith family. My mother's side of the family is Hindu, and I grew up celebrating Diwali, Holi and Raksha Bandhan. Though I identify as Muslim, these Hindu traditions and practices have shaped my worldview." This transparency created both support and opposition.
Key distinctions from Iranian Shiites
The Khoja community developed under British colonial rule in South Asia, creating distinct institutional structures and leadership patterns. Iranian Shiism evolved within a Persian imperial context and later under the influence of the Safavid dynasty's establishment of Shiism as a state religion.
While both recognize the same theological principles, Khojas historically followed different marjas (sources of emulation) and developed independent scholarly traditions, though many now follow mainstream Twelver scholarship.
Population in the United States
Precise demographic data on Khoja Twelver Shias in the US remains limited, as neither the US Census nor most surveys disaggregate Muslim populations by specific ethnic and sectarian categories. The broader South Asian Shia community, which includes Khojas, is estimated to number in the tens of thousands, concentrated in major metropolitan areas including Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.
The Khoja community maintains organized institutions across the US, including the Shia Imami Ismaili community (a separate branch) and various Twelver Khoja associations. However, many Khojas have integrated into broader South Asian American and Shia American communities.
