OPINION:
Last week, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the 112th mayor of New York City. Mr. Mamdani is a “socialist democrat.” He doesn’t hide it. In fact, he campaigned openly as a neo-Marxist proponent of wealth redistribution, government-run grocery stores, government-owned housing and government-controlled transportation.
Mr. Mamdani is a graduate of the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He believes in the intersectional conflict of the proletariat versus the bourgeoisie and the utopian dreams of no borders, no private property and no possessions. It’s John Lennon’s one-world government where “all the people are living life as one” under the watchful eye of a Maoist Big Brother who obviously knows better than we peons about what we should be able to buy, where we should be able to live and which God we should be able to worship.
Speaking of worship, in addition to being a Marxist, Mr. Mamdani is a devout Muslim. As such, he chose to be sworn into office with his hand placed on not one but two Qurans. One was his grandfather’s, and the other was printed during the days of the Ottoman Empire and Islam’s dominance over much of southeastern Europe and Northeast Africa.
Now, because the Big Apple’s new mayor specifically chose to pledge his fidelity to God and to the people of New York with his right hand reverently placed on these two “sacred texts,” shouldn’t someone be asking him what he believes about this book and its actual teachings?
For example, does Mr. Mamdani believe in capital punishment for all atheists, Jews, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists who refuse to convert to Islam? Does he adhere to his holy book’s instructions to “kill all infidels” (Surah 2:191)? Does he plan on “lying in wait to capture and besiege the disbelievers” (Surah 9:5), and does he think it is a moral good to “maim and crucify” all New Yorkers who don’t subscribe to his Quran and dare to criticize his Muslim faith (Surah 5:33, 8:12)?
How about all those who voted for him who think they are his allies — you know, those purple-haired useful idiots who came out in droves to secure his victory at the polls? Does Mr. Mamdani subscribe to Surahs 3:28, 3:85, 8:65 and 9:123, which make it quite clear that such people are not “the friends of Allah,” that they are “stupid,” and that he, as a good Muslim, is obligated to “fight them” and “make war with them” at every turn? Does he believe in the directive of Surah 47:4 to “not seek peace” with such people but rather to “behead them” when he catches them?
What of Surah 5:51, which says, “O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies,” and Surah 9:73, “O Prophet, fight against the disbelievers and the hypocrites and be harsh upon them. … Their refuge is Hell, and wretched is their destination.” Does Mr. Mamdani believe this? Is this part of his governing worldview?
Or Surah 9:29, which tells him to “fight against those who do not believe in Allah … and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth [i.e., Islam]” and to “[fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled”? Does the new mayor plan on imposing these Quranic instructions on all of the citizens of New York?
Of course, the Hadith has additional sayings. Instructions such as “The stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him’” and “You [true Muslims] are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind. … Bring [the infidels] with chains on their necks till they embrace Islam.”
What does the good mayor think of all this? Does he consider these teachings to be as exemplary as he does those from the book upon which he just pledged his oath to New York and God?
Oh, and one last question: Why the second Quran, the one from the days of the Ottoman Empire, a time when rape, slavery, misogyny, genocide, wife beating, honor killings, child marriage and forced religious conversions were institutionalized under Shariah across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe? Why this particular copy of the Quran, Mr. Mamdani? Is it because you subscribe to the way this specific copy of the Quran was used to justify all the above?
We’re just asking questions, Mr. Mayor. Curious minds want to know.
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host. He is the author of “Not a Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth” (Regnery). He can be reached at epiper@dreverettpiper.com.
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