By Soraya Deen

New Yorkers need a mayor who can govern the city, not someone serving as the figurehead of a protest movement. Leadership requires more than slogans and rallies; it demands the ability to unite a diverse city and deliver real solutions.

Zohran Mamdani has emphasized his Muslim identity on the campaign trail and aligned himself with activist groups that use religion and ideology to advance political causes. Faith and identity can be part of a candidate’s story, but they cannot substitute for policies, competence, or vision. New York’s mayor should represent all communities, not just one.

There are approximately one million Jewish residents in New York City, the second-largest Jewish community in the world.  For this community, the stakes are immediate and personal. When a candidate for mayor supports campaigns to divest from Israel, he is not merely taking a stand on foreign policy. He is embracing a tactic designed to isolate and delegitimize the world’s only Jewish state, a tactic that, in practice, fuels antisemitism here at home. Allowing such a candidate to rise this far signals how protest-driven ideology has begun to replace moral clarity in our politics. No honorable leader, whatever their faith or ideology, could advocate divestment from Israel without acknowledging its real-world consequences: dismantling Jewish life in the Middle East and emboldening hate against Jews everywhere.

For every New Yorker walking the streets today, the consequences of leadership are tangible. Decisions made at City Hall ripple through neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces, shaping whether our children grow up in safety or fear. Leadership is not about ideology, it’s about protecting lives, communities, and values.

Even national leaders have warned about the dangers of blurring politics with extremist ideology. Secretary Rubio recently underscored his government’s intention to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, as have Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Russia, noting that splinter groups adopting its ideology can also be destabilizing. When political candidates align themselves with organizations linked, even indirectly, to extremism, they risk undermining trust in democratic institutions.

Leadership demands balance: acknowledging Palestinian suffering while firmly condemning terrorism, and supporting the right of Israel and its citizens to exist and thrive, even if one advocates for changes in its government policies.

Religion should never be a qualification for office. A healthy democracy depends on electing leaders for their ability to govern, not for their religious identity or their role in a protest movement. Highlighting faith or aligning with ideology may mobilize a base, but it divides the broader public.

Even more concerning is Mamdani’s unwillingness to speak out against Hamas. His silence not only raises questions about where he stands on violence, but also risks normalizing terrorist activity and giving the impression of endorsing extremism, leaving the community without clear moral guidance.

New York needs a mayor who can bring people together, address crime, housing, and economic challenges, and speak with moral clarity. Protests have their place, but the mayor’s office is not it. Elevating a protest candidate who excuses extremists abroad and fuels division at home would not only fail the city, it would endanger it. New Yorkers must choose leadership over ideology: a mayor who unites rather than divides and governs with integrity rather than agitates from the sidelines.

Soraya M. Deen is a Muslim lawyer, community organizer, and interfaith advocate. She is the founder of Muslim Women Speakers, a network addressing extremism and anti-Americanism, and works to build bridges across communities.

Soraya M. Deen

Community Organizer, Lawyer.

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