New York City’s newly-inaugurated mayor, foreign-born Muslim Zohran Mamdani, sparked outrage after defying American immigration policies with citations to what many deem also run counter to the founding ideals of the nation when he did so by rejecting Christianity and focusing on Islamic teachings as well.
The moment came during a press conference when the Muslim mayor of New York City embraced protecting illegal aliens through sanctuary city policies. He said teachings from his religious book gave examples of strangers helping one another, then went a step further by saying that the outlook of helping others was a role the government could then play by providing resources.
Mamdani’s speech began by referencing Buddhism, whose tenets against desire, hatred, and ignorance he deemed relevant somehow in the context of a nation being allowed to determine which non-natives are allowed in a given country. “I think of the freedom from suffering that Buddhism teaches us is only possible if we remove the three poisons of desire, hatred and ignorance from our daily lives. We need not accept suffering as unchangeable. We need not treat hatred as the natural state. We have the power to set ourselves free,” he declared.
The boy mayor then segued into the main crux of his argument, citing Islam as a reason for open borders and resisting the deportation of violent, criminal illegal aliens. While Americans want to see politicians enforce the nation’s laws by focusing on the Constitution, Mamdani chose his foreign faith instead,
“I consider my own faith Islam, a religion built upon a narrative of migration,” he said. “The story of the Hijra reminds us that Prophet Muhammad saw them, was a stranger too, who fled Mecca and was welcomed in Medina Surah Nahal 1642 tells us, as for those who immigrated in the Cause of Allah after being persecuted, we will surely bless them with a good home in this world.”
He continued: “Or as the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Wasallam said, Islam began as something strange, and will go back to being strange. So glad tidings to the strangers.”
Finishing, Mamdani then made the case for a symbiotic relationship between Islam and government, which some could construe as harkening to Sharia Law. “If faith offers us the moral compass to stand alongside the stranger, government can provide the resources let us create a new expectation of city hall where power is wielded to love, to embrace and to protect, we will stand with the stranger today.”
Watch Mamdani’s speech below:
Featured image: Screen shot from embedded video