Zohran Mamdani was elected Mayor of New York on Tuesday. The 34-year-old, far-left state lawmaker will be the first Muslim and first South Asian mayor. Mamdani had vowed to transform city government, restore power to the working class, and push back against a hostile Trump administration.
Virginia State Senator Ghazala Hashmi also became the first Indian American and first Muslim to win statewide office in Virginia with her victory in the lieutenant governor’s race.
Here is a list of influential Muslim politicians in the United States:
1) Zohran Mamdani: Zohran Mamdani was born in Uganda and moved to New York at the age of seven. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science and Bowdoin College, where he studied Africana Studies. He co-founded Students for Justice in Palestine. Mamdani is the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and scholar Mahmood Mamdani.
A staunch Muslim, Mamdani made his faith central to his campaign, visiting mosques and releasing a video in Urdu on the cost-of-living crisis.
Mamdani is married to Syrian artist Rama Duwaji. Formerly a housing counsellor in Queens, he ran a progressive campaign focused on affordability and safety, proposing bold, untested reforms for New York City.
2) Ghazala Hashmi: Ghazala Hashmi is a former college professor. She was born in Hyderabad and moved to the US at age 4, settling in Georgia with her family. Hashmi is the first Indian American and first Muslim to win statewide office in Virginia with her victory in the lieutenant governor’s race.
3) Keith Ellison: Keith Maurice Ellison was born on 4 August 1963. Ellison is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2019 as the 30th Attorney General of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labour Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2019. He served as Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017 to 2018 and was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007.
In 1982, Ellison converted from Catholicism to Islam. He was a 19-year-old and was attending Wayne State University. He was inspired to convert after a friend invited him to a prayer service, and he found that Islam's principles helped inform his views on social justice and change.
In Congress, Ellison built a reputation as a progressive leader. In 2007, he made history by becoming the first Muslim member of Congress and took his ceremonial oath on a Quran.
4) Andre Darryl Carson: Andre Darryl Carson is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 7th congressional district since 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, Carson is the grandson of his predecessor, U.S. Representative Julia Carson, whose death in office triggered a special election. He was the second Muslim to be elected to Congress, after Keith Ellison.
5) Ilhan Abdullahi Omar: Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district since 2019. Omar is a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019, representing part of Minneapolis.
6) Rashida Harbi Tlaib: Rashida Harbi Tlaib is the first Palestinian American woman to serve in Congress. She is an American lawyer and politician who has served as a U.S. Representative from Michigan since 2019, representing the state’s 12th congressional district since 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
