Camilla Jessen
Stephen King defends Muslim mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Stephen King is not staying silent.
Following Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City’s first Muslim mayor, the 34-year-old has faced a wave of criticism, much of it centering not on his policies but his religion and background.
Now, bestselling author Stephen King is firing back at the hate.
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and Queens-based Assembly member, secured 50.4% of the vote, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in one of the most closely watched mayoral races in the country.
Islamophobic backlash ignites
While supporters have praised Mamdani for breaking barriers and energizing young and immigrant voters, others online have spread racist and Islamophobic rhetoric, with some linking his faith to the 9/11 terror attacks—despite the fact that Mamdani was a 10-year-old child when the tragedy occurred.
One widely condemned post on X showed an image of the Twin Towers with the caption: “How the hell does the city that experienced the biggest Islamic terrorist attack in history vote for a Muslim mayor?”
King reposted the tweet and responded bluntly.
“Um, he didn’t do it. He was 10 at the time.”
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Thousands applauded King for calling out the bigotry.
“People vote on his record and policies, not on bigoted generalizations,” one person commented.
Another wrote: “It’s like saying no Christian should be elected because of the Oklahoma City bomber.”
Mamdani: “I refuse to apologize”
The new mayor addressed the smears directly in his victory speech Tuesday night:
“I am Muslim. I am a Democratic Socialist, and most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this. We have bowed at the altar of caution and paid a mighty price… We will leave mediocrity in our past.”
This article is made and published by Camilla Jessen, who may have used AI in the preparation
