The Islamist axis in the Middle East celebrated the election of Zohran Mamdani as New York's first Muslim mayor. Jaber al-Harmi, editor-in-chief of the Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq close to Doha's government, wrote, "victory for the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York, capital of the Zionist lobby, which represents the largest stronghold of the Jewish community in the world, despite smear campaigns and despite his rivals, who received hundreds of millions from the hundreds of billions supporting the Israeli entity."
Video: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani
He added, "Mamdani – of African-Asian origin – is the first Muslim to win this position. Previously, he described what happened in Gaza as barbaric war crimes and genocide. He supports the boycott movement against Israel. No one imagined two years ago this major shift against the Zionist narrative. The steadfastness of Gaza's residents and its resistance turned the tables against the Zionists and exposed their colonialist settlement project to the entire world."
Gazan network activist Mahmoud al-Amoudi, who supports Hamas, reacted to the victory, "Considering the city, the candidate, the slogans and issues he promoted, which until recently could have ended his political life or brought his life to an end – despite this, he won. The meaning is that we moved from the stage of slogans and solidarity to the stage of practical influence and change. When Netanyahu said they would change the face of the Middle East he was right, despite being a liar. Accordingly, not only the Middle East, but the face of the world will now change gradually. But they will bring no change except Gaza. The most important gain is that the narrative from which the occupier feeds has begun to shift in favor of the Palestinians."
Saadia Mufarreh, a Kuwaiti media figure, also addressed the Muslim mayor's election, "Zohran Mamdani's victory is not just a passing electoral event, but breaking a long wall of political and media hegemony. He is the first Muslim mayor in its history despite the Zionist lobby's campaigns against him. This moment marks the beginning of a shift in American sentiment. He may not be a true representative of the Islamic trend, according to his positions or actions, but his personal details do not measure the symbolism in his victory, but by what it reveals about deep change in American sentiment toward the idea of identity and justice, and the retreat in the Israeli lobby's influence on voter decisions."
Beyond this, a Palestinian analyst close to Hamas, Ibrahim al-Madhoun, claimed that "Mamdani broke everything considered eternal laws – he was a candidate who announced his support for the Palestinian issue, and the Zionist defamation campaign failed to undermine him. He proudly announced his faith and being Muslim, and was not shaken in the face of attempts to harm him." Alongside this, al-Madhoun, who resides in Turkey, added, "We should not raise expectations. We do not demand that he do anything for us. His moral position on the Gaza genocide is enough for us now, and that he reminds us and the world of the Gaza tragedy. His victory confirms something important – the domestic situation in America can change. A new generation, which does not know the old formula equating patriotism with Tel Aviv policy. This generation can support our people's right to freedom and dignity. This is not limited only to Zohran; look at the young generation in the Democratic and Republican parties."
