ADRIENNE GRUNWALD FOR M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE Magazine Magazine United States United States United States By Clément Ghys Published on March 19, 2026, at 8:00 pm (Paris), updated on March 20, 2026, at 4:17 pm Subscribers only Long ReadThe election of the young Democrat, a Shiite of Indian descent, has highlighted the vitality of the Muslim community in the nation's largest city. This new generation of believers, shaped by 9/11 and champions of a progressive Islam, is part of a cultural and intellectual ferment reminiscent of the emergence of New York's Jewish identity more than half a century ago. Hiba Abid arranged to meet on a February day on the second floor of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, in the heart of Manhattan. In a vast hall with a ceiling covered in frescoes and gilding, Abid, the curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at the institution, proudly pointed to a display case. She read the label: "The People's Qur'an." This copy of Islam's sacred book, the only item on display, was on loan from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. "This work is very precious, it dates from the late 18th century and appears to come from Ottoman Syria," said Abid. On December 31, Abid was tasked with bringing this special Quran to the disused Old City Hall subway station in southern Manhattan, where Zohran Mamdani, newly elected as mayor at 34 years old, took the oath of office at midnight, marking the start of his term. American tradition dictates that newly elected officials swear on a book of their choice. Almost all choose a religious text and, in the vast majority of cases – since Christianity is predominant in the United States – the Bible. But Mamdani, born in Uganda to a Shiite Indian family, chose the Quran. On this last day of 2025, in front of a small group of about 20 officials and relatives, in the old subway station chosen by the newly elected official to symbolize his commitment to restoring the city's failing public transport, Abid handed the book to the city's new first lady, Rama Duwaji. She brought it to her husband and placed it on a copy that had belonged to his grandfather. New York's first Muslim mayor then recited the ritual phrase: "So help me God." In the afternoon, he repeated the oath, this time with two copies of the Quran belonging to him, on the steps of City Hall, before thousands of people who had braved the freezing temperatures. You have 91.27% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.