by Jon Brown, Christian Post
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will take his oath of office on multiple versions of the Quran when he’s sworn in as the city’s first Muslim mayor on Thursday.
Mamdani, 34, will use his grandfather’s Quran and one that belonged to Afro-Latino author and historian Arturo Schomburg for a private swearing-in ceremony at midnight on Jan. 1, according to The New York Times.
The initial swearing-in will be administered by State Attorney General Letitia James in an abandoned subway station beneath City Hall.
For the public swearing-in of the self-described democratic socialist at City Hall later on Thursday, which will be administered by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Mamdani will use Qurans that belonged to his grandfather and grandmother.
Hiba Abid, who serves as the New York Public Library’s curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, told the NYT that she helped Mamdani pick out Schomburg’s Quran to use for the inauguration ceremony. Schomburg was not a Muslim, but had an extensive collection of historic books.
“It’s a highly symbolic choice because we’re about to have a Muslim mayor swearing in using the Quran but also a mayor who was born on the African continent, in Uganda,” Abid said. “It really brings together here elements of faith, identity and New York history.”
Some pushed back against Mamdani’s use of the Quran, including former U.S. Rep. David Brat, R-Va., who warned Islam is antithetical to the foundational belief system that built the United States. He also suggested some on the Left see Islam as an ally because of its antipathy toward Christianity, which restrains their political agenda.
“They do not like Christianity because it keeps them from their globalist ambitions and big-government ambitions,” he said during a Wednesday episode of Steve Bannon’s “The War Room.