Middle finger to Columbus, pic with anti-Israel cleric, questions on al-Qaeda terrorist: When Mamdani landed into controversy for social media posts

Zohran Mamdani has won New York mayoral polls. During the campaign, he was caught up in controversy over his old social media posts and his visit to a Brooklyn mosque. His old social media posts include showing the middle finger to a statue of Christopher Columbus in Astoria and a series of tweets in which he appears to be defending US cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who was linked to the terrorist group al-Qaida. He had also visited a Brooklyn mosque whose cleric had last year called for the “annihilation of Israel" and praised Hamas.

Mamdani shows middle finger to Christopher Columbus in Astoria

In a tweet from June 2020 that has resurfaced on X after Mamdani's victory, he was seen showing a middle finger to Christopher Columbus in Astoria and had written, "Take it down", calling for the removal of the statue. He was running for state office at that time. A report on the Times of India quoted Angelo Vivolo, the president of Columbus Heritage Coalition, saying that he will never support Mamdani. "We will defend Columbus Day and Columbus statues," he said. According per the report, left-wing politicians tend to target Columbus statues and Columbus Day because of how the explorer treated Native Americans when he sailed to North America.

Mamdani appears to defend Anwar al-Awlaki in old posts

In yet another post from 2015 that has resurfaced now, Mamdani shared an article about the FBI’s surveillance of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born cleric later linked to the terror group al-Qaida and wrote on X (then Twitter), “Why no proper interrogation of what it means for the FBI to have conducted an extensive survey into Awlaki's private life?” In another post, he said, “How could Awlaki have ever trusted the FBI to not release surveillance, especially if he continued to critique the state? Why no further discussion of how Awlaki's knowledge of surveillance eventually led him to al-Qaeda? Or what does that say about the efficacy of surveillance?”

Al-Awlaki, born in New Mexico to Yemeni parents and was a well-known imam at mosques in San Diego and Virginia. According to a report by the New York Post, he had contact with three of the September 11, 2001, hijackers. He was also connected to multiple attacks and plots, including the Fort Hood shootings in November 2009. After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the FBI began monitoring him. In 2004, he went back to Yemen. In mid-2006, he was arrested by the Yemeni authorities and spent approximately one and a half year in jail. Post his release, he became hostile towards the US government, and by 2010, he appeared numerous times in the videos of al-Qaida. In 2010, Awlaki was placed on the US government’s official targeted-killing list, as authorised by President Barack Obama. That designation meant that, despite his US citizenship, Awlaki was considered a military enemy of the United States. On September 30, 2011, the Central Intelligence Agency used two drones to target Awlaki in Yemen, killing him.

Zohran Mamdani in the Brooklyn mosque

His visit to Brooklyn mosque also raised questions. In a video from inside the mosque, Mamdani can be seen standing beside cleric Sheikh Muhammad Al-Barr at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge. “It was a privilege to join Jummah prayers at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge today,” Mamdani captioned a post on January 17 this year. The post went viral as it was made five months after Al-Barr in a sermon at the same mosque, was heard appealing God to “liberate Palestine from the occupiers and the plunderers” and “annihilate” the occupiers. “Oh Allah, those who occupied their lands, and those who betrayed and deserted them, and those who spilled their blood,” Al-Barr said in Arabic, according to New York Post.

Zohran Mamdani's victory

Zohran Mamdani has created history as he won New York City Mayoral elections to become the first Indian-American of Muslim faith to win the race. Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary earlier this year, was facing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an independent candidate, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the key mayoral election. Mamdani will take office on January 1, 2026, becoming the city's youngest mayor in more than a century. Thanking the voters for the mandate, Mamdani said that New York will be the light in political darkness of the country. He directly addressed US President Donald Trump, took a swipe at now defeated Andrew Cuomo and then, came straight to the main point - his vision to make New York city “affordable and accessible.”