By Melissa O’Rourke
Democratic New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani appeared arm-in-arm Friday with a Muslim cleric linked to the architects of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and other terror plots.
Prosecutors had named Imam Siraj Wahhaj — who previously called for an Islamic state in America — among dozens “who may be alleged to be co-conspirators” in the trial of several men convicted of planning a terrorism campaign which included the 1993 World Trade Center attack. The attack killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others.
Despite Wahhaj’s history, the socialist Muslim mayoral candidate visited his Brooklyn-based mosque and described Wahhaj as a “pillar” of the community.
”Today at Masjid At-Taqwa, I had the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century,” Mamdani wrote Friday on X. (RELATED: Mamdani’s Wife Mourns Death Of Pro-Hamas Influencer Who Cheered Oct. 7 Massacre)
Three children of Wahhaj were sentenced to life in prison in 2024 on charges including terrorism, kidnapping, and conspiracy to murder for organizing a jihadist training compound in New Mexico authorities say was used to plot attacks against the U.S. government. Wahhaj told reporters he helped police find the training compound by reporting its location to the authorities.
Wahhaj served as a character witness in 1995 for Omar Abdel-Rahman, a cleric who later served a life sentence, according to media reports and court documents. Prosecutors said Abdel-Rahman helped orchestrate plans to murder hundreds of Americans, attack a U.S. military installation, and assassinate Egypt’s president at the time.
Wahhaj testified he had met Abdel-Rahman on multiple times and described him as a “respected scholar.” By that time, Abdel-Rahman had already founded an Egyptian militant group which the State Department later designated a terrorist organization.
Several people connected to the World Trade Center bombing also attended or visited Wahhaj’s Brooklyn mosque around the time of the massacre.
“In time, this so-called democracy will crumble, and there will be nothing. And the only thing that will remain will be Islam,” Wahhaj once said in a sermon, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Wahhaj posted an Instagram video on June 16 endorsing Mamdani for mayor and calling him a “very good candidate.” Moreover, Wahhaj contributed $1,000 to the super PAC Unity and Justice Fund, just days before it funneled most of its money to a PAC solely backing Mamdani’s mayoral bid, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.
Mamdani currently leads the New York City mayoral race with 52% support among likely voters, followed by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an Independent, at 28% and Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa at 14%, according to an Oct. 16 Beacon Research/Shaw & Company Research survey.
Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment. Wahhaj also could not be reached for comment.
Mamdani has called for pulling police out of high crime areas. He denounced the New York Police Department [NYPD], writing, “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer, and a major threat to public safety. What we need is to Defund The NYPD.” Mandani also said that “Queer liberation means defund the police.”
Zohran Mamdani has called for emptying jails, because “VioIence is an artificial construct.”
Mamdani has called for having the government run grocery stores, even though such stores lose money, cost taxpayers, and result in increased food waste and reduced choices of food. Mamdani also proposed arbitrary, extreme restrictions on rent that would leave landlords with too little money to maintain housing units, which could turn much of New York into a slum.
Not all Democrats support Mamdani. Laura Gillen, a House Democrat on Long Island, criticized Zohran Mamdani, saying, “Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City. His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs. Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing. He is the absolute wrong choice for New York.”
