New York City mayoral candidate and socialist Zohran Mamdani took a photo with Brooklyn Imam Siraj Wahhaj at a campaign stop on Friday. Wahhaj is listed as an unindicted alleged co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Then U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White listed Wahhaj alongside 171 people in 1995. The bombing killed six people and injured more than 1,000. Six terrorists were convicted of carrying out the terrorist actions.
“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. I was also joined by CM @dr_yusefsalaam of Harlem. A beautiful Jummah,” Mamdani wrote in a post on X.
Mamdani appears smiling in the photo with Wahhaj and New York City councilman Yusef Salaam.
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. I was also joined by CM @dr_yusefsalaam of Harlem. A beautiful Jummah. pic.twitter.com/4kcN4CGlUk
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) October 18, 2025
Wahhaj testified as a character witness for one of the conspirators, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, in 1995. He said he respected Rahman for memorizing the entire Quran.
“He memorized the entire Quran, 114 chapters, that’s why I respect him,” the Daily Mail reported that he said.
“He has memorized the many statements of Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him. And he is bold, as a strong preacher of Islam. So he is respected that way,” he added.
He also drew controversy for the actions of his children. His namesake son was arrested in New Mexico for child abuse in 2018, and was allegedly training children to commit acts of violence.
Mamdani has campaigned on a progressive platform that includes fast and free buses, government-run grocery stores, and free childcare. If he wins against Republican Curtis Sliwa and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, he’ll also be the city’s first Muslim mayor.
The socialist has drawn attacks related to his faith. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who may run for governor against Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) in 2026, has called him a “jihadist.”
Stefanik commented on Mamdani’s appearance with Wahhaj, saying he was “campaigning with a terrorist” and relating Hochul to the event.
“Kathy Hochul’s endorsed Jihadist Mayoral candidate praised and campaigned with the unindicted co-conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center terrorist attack,” Stefanik said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner. “Mamdani is a jihadist who is openly campaigning with terrorists and praising this terrorist as ‘one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders’ and a ‘pillar of the community.’”
He’s favored to win in November. A recent poll showed Mamdani with 52% support among likely voters, with Cuomo sitting at 28% and Sliwa at 14%. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the campaign last month, drew just 2%.
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When asked for comment, Cuomo’s campaign referred the Washington Examiner to a later press briefing for the former governor, where he was likely to answer questions relating to Wahhaj and Mamdani.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Mamdani’s campaign, but received no response.