NEW YORK — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a New York City mayor has used Islam’s holy text for the ceremony and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.
The 34-year-old Democrat was sworn in inside a long-closed subway station beneath City Hall, becoming the first Muslim, first South Asian and first African-born person to hold the position.
These milestones — along with the historic Quran — reflect the longstanding and vibrant Muslim community in the nation’s most populous city, according to a scholar who helped Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, select one of the books.
Most of Mamdani’s predecessors took the oath on a Bible, although the pledge to uphold the federal, state and city constitutions does not require any religious text.
While Mamdani focused heavily on affordability during his campaign, he was outspoken about his Muslim faith. He frequently appeared at mosques across the five boroughs as he built a base of support that included many first-time South Asian and Muslim voters.
Two Qurans were used during the subway ceremony: his grandfather’s Quran and a pocket-sized version dating to the late 18th or early 19th century. It is part of the collection at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
That copy symbolizes the diversity and reach of the city’s Muslims, said Hiba Abid, the library’s curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.
“It’s a small Quran, but it brings together elements of faith and identity in New York City history,” Abid said.
For a subsequent swearing-in at City Hall on the first day of the year, Mamdani will use both his grandfather’s and grandmother’s Qurans. The campaign hasn’t offered more details on those heirlooms.
The manuscript was acquired by Arturo Schomburg, a Black Puerto Rican historian whose collection documented global contributions of people of African descent. While it is unclear how Schomburg obtained the Quran, scholars believe it reflected his interest in the historical relationship between Islam and Black cultures in the United States and Africa.
Unlike ornate religious manuscripts associated with royalty or elites, the Quran Mamdani used is modest in design. It has a deep red binding with a simple floral medallion and is written in black and red ink. The script is plain and readable, suggesting it was created for everyday use rather than ceremonial display.
Those features indicate the manuscript was intended for ordinary readers, Abid said, a quality she described as central to its meaning.
“The importance of this Quran lies not in luxury, but in accessibility,” she said.
Because the manuscript is undated and unsigned, scholars relied on its binding and script to estimate its origin, placing it in the late 18th or early 19th century during the Ottoman period in a region that includes what is now Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
Abid said the manuscript’s journey to New York mirrors Mamdani’s own layered background. Mamdani is a South Asian New Yorker born in Uganda, while Duwaji is American-Syrian.
The meteoric rise of a Muslim democratic socialist also brought a surge of Islamophobic rhetoric, amplified by national attention on the race.
In an emotional speech days before the election, Mamdani said the hostility had only strengthened his resolve to be visible about his faith.
“I will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I’m proud to call my own,” he said. “I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.”
The decision to use a Quran has drawn fresh criticism from some conservatives. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama wrote on social media, “The enemy is inside the gates,” in response to a news article about Mamdani’s inauguration. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, has designated Tuberville as an anti-Muslim extremist based on past statements.
Such backlash is not new. In 2006, Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, faced condemnation from conservatives after he chose to use a Quran for his ceremonial oath.
Following the inauguration, the Quran will go on public display at the New York Public Library. Abid said she hopes attention surrounding the ceremony — whether supportive or critical — will prompt more people to explore the library’s collections documenting Islamic life in New York, ranging from early 20th-century Armenian and Arabic music recorded in the city to firsthand accounts of Islamophobia after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“This manuscript was meant to be used by ordinary readers when it was produced,” Abid said. “Today it lives in a public library where anyone can encounter it.”
Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz in New York and Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed.
