ISIS Didn't Endorse Mamdani, Despite What You May Have Seen on Social Media

Although he won the New York City mayoral race, it's fair to say that Zohran Mamdani dealt with his fair share of racist attacks over the course of his campaign. He is the first muslim man to be elected mayor of America's biggest city, and in the final days of the campaign, rumors began to circulate that he had actually been endorsed by ISIS.

The terrorist organization, which operates out of the Middle East but has claimed responsibility for some attacks on American soil, is not the kind of group that you'd want to endorse your campaign, especially if you're already facing Islamophobic attacks. Here's what we know about whether ISIS endorsed Mamdani.

ISIS did not endorse Mamdani and has made no statement celebrating his victory. A fake statement that purports to be from the group has been circulating on social media, and makes reference to "Operation Manhattan Project," and while it doesn't name Mamdani or even discuss his election, many have drawn the conclusion that the statement, which has not been corroborated by any official outlet, was about his election.

What seems like the likeliest explanation is that those who are opposed to Mamdani's candidacy have instead created a fake document that's designed to suggest that he is somehow in league with a terrorist organization. There is no evidence that that's the case, and Mamdani has not said anything that should lead people to suspect that he is a secret terrorist waiting to destroy America.

Part of the reason some people are worried about Mamdani's victory is that he has made his views on Israel very clear. Although the New York mayor doesn't have much direct influence over foreign policy, this became a major issue in the campaign and led to frequent allegations that Mamdani was antisemitic, even though he made it very clear that he wanted to represent Jewish New Yorkers as well as the rest of the city.

Per the BBC, Mamdani said that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, that he believes Israel to be an apartheid state, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested. When he is asked about his opposition to Israel, and why it doesn't necessarily mean that he's antisemitic, Mamdani has explained that it's the state's oppression he is opposed to.

"I'm not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else, I think that in the way that we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country in the world," he explained. Israel has long claimed that all of its citizens have equal rights, but its actions in Gaza and the West Bank suggest that it has not always lived up to that claim.

Mamdani is a muslim, but that doesn't mean he's a radical, and it doesn't mean that he was endorsed by ISIS. To suggest otherwise, simply because of his views, is a form of Islamophobia.