by Nick DiCicco
(Photo: CNN)
This week, Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election. His victory marked a multitude of achievements and historic records for the city of New York. Not only is Mamdani now the youngest mayor of the city in over a century, but he is also only the second Democratic Socialist to hold the office, the first South Asian, the first African-born, and the first Muslim mayor in the city’s history. He also received more votes than any New York City mayoral candidate since the 1960s.
With all of these historic “firsts,” he has consistently received backlash and criticism for his political ideology and, unfortunately, for his religion. Political ideology is something we all carry that is worthy of critique and conversation. There is nothing wrong with arguing over Mamdani’s proposed policies and his ideology; however, there has been a lack of honesty regarding his beliefs.
Socialism and communism have become interchangeable terms amongst the American right, especially when referring to Mamdani. President Trump has frequently called Mamdani a “communist,” most recently saying, “If you wanna see what congressional Democrats wish to do to America, just look at the result of yesterday’s election in New York where their party installed a Communist as the mayor of the largest city in the nation.“
While there certainly are valid critiques of communism, the fear-mongering of the ideology has been a plague in our country since the 1910s, and it seems nowadays most Americans, including the president, do not even know what the ideology is, especially if they act as though socialism and communism are synonyms.
Without giving a lesson on political ideologies, the true definition of communism is, “the political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means of production (e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural resources of a society.”
Socialism, on the other hand, is “a social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources.“
While the definitions may seem similar, socialism calls for public ownership of industries, while communism calls for communal ownership of all property, which in practice often leads to full government control. The fear is often derived from not just the ideologies but the fact that often revolutions are necessary to overthrow capitalism. However, “democratic socialism,” the ideology Mamdani aligns with, aims to implement socialist policies through the means of voting.
Like I said before, criticizing and arguing against democratic socialism and Mamdani’s policies is good and expected. Even I question if some of Mamdani’s policy goals, such as government-run grocery stores and rent control, will end up being beneficial for the city; however, as long as he, the democratically elected mayor, implements these policies in a legal and appropriate way, then I am not sure why I, a resident of New Jersey, would or should care, especially when President Trump enacts his agenda by centralizing federal power.
But to call him a communist and put fear into the lives of people who do not even live in NYC is irresponsible, especially when trying to relate Mamdani’s policies to the rest of the Democratic Party, when Chuck Schumer, who is practically the head of the party, did not even endorse him.
Beyond his political ideology, another area of backlash to Mamdani is regarding his religion as a Shia Muslim. Throughout his campaign, Mamdani has been very open regarding his religion, publicly giving his religious background, being raised in a Hindu and Muslim home, and even making a campaign video tackling the issue of “Halalflation.”
In a country that was largely founded on the basis of religious freedom, someone in office being a Muslim should not be a problem, especially when Christians holding positions of power have not caused controversy. Unfortunately, with many recent situations, even outside of the election, Christianity seems to be the only religion deemed acceptable in the United States.
Whether it be trying to put the 10 Commandments in schools, the White House Faith Office, chaplains in Congress, or even many senators and presidents publicly praying, Christianity has clearly been a huge part of American politics. While there is nothing wrong with public officials praying, the separation of church and state begins to break when the government directly endorses a religion. But that is not what Mamdani is doing; he simply practices a religion that is not Christianity.
While I often criticize looking at people’s responses to politics online, unless they hold positions of power or are large influencers, upon scrolling X and Instagram after Mamdani’s victory, I noticed a wave of Islamophobia and hatred amongst many Christians, both people I personally know and, more importantly, well-known influencers.
Perhaps one of the most shocking posts I saw came from Benny Johnson, one of the leading right-wing influencers online with roughly 4 million followers on X, who practically scolded New Yorkers for electing who he called a “Muslim jihadist,” despite 9/11.
Another, this time from Representative Ted Cruz, misrepresenting both Mamdani’s ideology, and religion.
Not only this, but Christian Instagram accounts, @gospelspeakers, @reformedbychrist, @millicensedra, and @martinsedra, posted a picture spewing hatred against Islam.
This post and others like it were reposted by many Christians I know, who seem to not only want to look down on other religions in a country that should be open to all religions, but also vilify an entire religion.
If we start to judge an entire religion based on their extreme branches or historic atrocities, Christianity must also be labeled as a violent religion. Whether it be the Crusades, the European religious wars, colonization, the witch trials, slavery, modern neo-Nazi groups, or even the genocide of many civilizations such as the Canaanites or Amalekites mentioned in the Old Testament, millions of deaths and atrocities have been committed in the name of the Christian God and the Bible.
The same way that it is unfair to claim that all of these acts and wars represent Christianity as a whole, and stem from accurate interpretations of the foundational text, then it is ignorant to treat Muslims the same way, especially when this rhetoric can lead to discrimination and hate, which Muslims already disproportionately receive compared to other religions.
Mamdani’s victory marks a slate of historic milestones. With him being one of the further left political candidates, I think it is important to honestly pay attention to what works with his way of governing, not what his religion is. Communism and Islam have constantly been weaponized to instill fear in United States citizens, and it seems that even in 2025, some people find this an acceptable tactic. In a country that shows favor to Christianity, rather than putting other religions down and continually spewing hatred and lies about a religious group that already faces discrimination, I think it is important to exercise your duty as an American to support freedom of religion not just amongst citizens but political leaders as well.
overthinking with nick. 
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