“Terrorist supporter”, “antisemite”, “foreign invader”. These are just a few of the anti-Muslim racial tropes frequently hurled at Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim-American frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race.
While such overt anti-Muslim racism recalls the rapid surge in Islamophobia after 9/11, race-baiting against religious minorities has a far longer history in American politics. One need look no further than the grandparents of today’s Irish, Italian, and Jewish-American politicians. The similarities between the anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish race-baiting of a century ago and the rampant anti-Muslim attacks against Mamdani today are glaring.
That they come from members of communities once excluded from politics on account of their Irish, Italian, Jewish or Catholic identities offers another lesson: deploying racism against the newest wave of immigrants has long been the price of entrance into America’s political elite.
To read the full analysis by Professor Sahar Aziz, click here.
