News Right Now: Fool Me Thrice

Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and current New York State Assembly member, has announced his bid for New York City Mayor. His candidacy has attracted attention across various communities, particularly among Muslims who see his rise as a sign of growing Muslim political representation in the West. Yet, his campaign raises serious questions about the relationship between Islam, identity politics, and the pursuit of leadership within a secular system that openly conflicts with Islamic values.

Mamdani’s platform focuses on typical progressive issues. He calls for affordable housing, expanded public healthcare, police reform, and increased protections for immigrant communities. His economic positions challenge corporate landlords and wealthy developers, and he has been vocal about redirecting city funds toward social services. On the surface, many of these positions may appear just and appealing to the broader Muslim community seeking fairness and equality in society.

However, Muslim political participation in America is not new, nor is it free from deep disappointment. We have seen the repeated failures of celebrated figures like Obama, Biden, and Trump—each promising hope, fairness, or change, yet each presiding over wars, drone strikes, systemic racism, and the continued marginalization of Muslims at home and abroad. Mamdani, despite his identity, operates within the same secular system that has consistently betrayed Muslims. His policies are wrapped in social justice language, but his participation does not challenge the very structure that oppresses the Ummah—it simply works within it.

One deeply concerning position Mamdani has taken is his support for investing $65 million in public healthcare specifically to expand gender-transition treatments for New Yorkers. Rather than standing on Islamic moral guidance, he has openly pushed for policies that completely contradict Islam’s stance on gender, identity, and human nature. This is not a minor issue, it is a direct promotion of practices forbidden in Islam. It demonstrates clearly that Mamdani’s political priorities are shaped by secular liberal ideologies, not by the Qur'an and Sunnah. His Muslim background is not his guiding compass, his political platform is.

We must remember that Islam has clear rulings regarding participation in secular systems that replace Allah’s laws with man-made laws. The act of seeking leadership within a framework that rejects Islam as the source of legislation is not something to celebrate. The Shariah teaches us that we must govern by what Allah has revealed, not by adapting Islam to fit a system that openly disregards divine guidance. Supporting such political paths ultimately leads to the dilution of Islamic principles under the false hope of inclusion and influence.

In the end, Islam is not an ethnicity, nor is it a cultural badge to wear in public office. Islam is a complete way of life—a system of governance, justice, and society that offers true solutions far beyond what secular democracy can provide. Muslims must stop settling for politicians who carry Muslim names but abandon Islamic values. Instead, we must work to revive Islam as an alternative, not a compromised supplement to a failing system. Let us remember the words of Allah (swt)

[وَلَا تَلۡبِسُوا الۡحَـقَّ بِالۡبَاطِلِ وَتَكۡتُمُوا الۡحَـقَّ وَاَنۡتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏]

"And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]." [Surah Baqarah verse 42]

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