Overall, you might agree that the New Year has not brought good news. It has not lifted our spirits. Soothsayers have warned us that it is likely to be a violent, chaotic year. That also seems to be the legacy that 2025 has left behind.
And so I was ready to write a column to project this sense of gloom. If you’ve read and heard the year-end reviews in the mainstream media, you’ll have the evidence to make a similar assessment. Even this wedding season allows guests to grumble amidst all the glamor and glitz.
But after midnight Thursday, while waiting for the live coverage of Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as the new mayor of New York City, I changed my mind. How could I have ignored this moment in history? Isn’t 2026 now Mamdani’s year?
We have already experienced the excitement and magic of how a 34-year-old Muslim of South Asian parents was elected mayor of the world’s leading city in a country that had elected Donald Trump as its president a year earlier. First it was the nomination of Mamdani in the Democratic primary and then the election itself. The world has witnessed a new kind of revolution in a democratic setting.
I would like to say that while we rejoice in the glory of Mamdani, we can leave the world behind for the moment. There was, however, an eerie reminder that the world cannot be left behind. It so happened that details of the tragedy, in which around 40 people were killed when fire tore through a bar in a Swiss ski resort, had emerged around the same time as the media reported that the inauguration was being held in New York.
In any case, anywhere in the world and especially in the United States, the beginning of a new era in New York was the news that mattered. For many, there would still be a sense of disbelief that such a young man, a self-proclaimed socialist and Muslim, was taking charge of the richest city in the world. This is how miracles happen.
I’m sure there will be millions in far corners of the world who watched that ceremony and were overcome with emotion – just like me. It’s really rare to have this experience, to feel like you’re an observer of history in the making. Yes, Sadiq Khan had also made history when he was elected mayor of London, the largest city in the world before New York – and I’ll get to that in a bit.
I need a break to say something about my fascination with New York, the ultimate city. Reading about it in literature and seeing its awe-inspiring grandeur in Hollywood movies in my youth had awakened a deep longing to visit the city and walk its streets. Now that I’ve gotten to know the city through my periodic visits, the allure and mystery of what it really is continues. I continue to read about it, mostly in memoirs and biographies. New York, New York.
What will Mamdani do with his promises? Let me return to the inauguration. In fact, before the public dinner, which was attended by thousands of shivering supporters, in sub-zero temperatures, a modest swearing-in ceremony was held just after midnight.
In his first speech as mayor, he said these headline-making words: “From today we will govern expansively and boldly”. He assured New Yorkers that he intended to implement his affordable agenda and would refuse to “reset expectations” for what government can and should do for the working class and the vulnerable. “I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist”, he said.
Separate reports in US and foreign media say he took his oath on a Koran. Senator Bernie Sanders administered the oath of office while Mamdani rested his hand on two Qurans held by his wife Rama Duwaji.
There are stories about where the two Korans came from.
As I said, history was also made when Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, was elected mayor of London. He had taken his oath on a Koran and this was widely noted and commented upon. He also made history again when he was elected mayor for a third term in 2024.
The occasion when he first took his oath on a Koran had happened earlier when he became a member of the Queen’s Privy Council in 2009. An anecdote about it was reported by the BBC and it became well known. Buckingham Palace called Sadiq Khan to ask if he wanted to be sworn in in front of the Queen and what kind of Bible he would like.
Sadiq Khan, as quoted by the BBC, said: “I swear on the Koran. I am a Muslim”. They said they did not have a Koran. Could he bring his own? In Sadiq’s words: “So I went to Buckingham Palace with my Quran and afterwards they returned it and I said, ‘No, can I leave this for the next person’?”.
On Thursday, after Mamdani, two other senior officials were sworn in. One of them said: “How remarkable that on these steps today we have three swearing-ins. One of a leader using a Koran, one of a leader using a Christian Bible and one of a leader using a Chumash or Hebrew Bible. I am proud to live in a city where this is possible”.
Sure. But so many of us who aren’t New Yorkers will be watching closely what these leaders do and how it will affect the rest of the country. What is already obvious is that the left is on the rise in New York. In his speech, Bernie Sanders thanked New York “for inspiring our nation” from coast to coast. Wish he could say this to the rest of the world.
The author is a senior journalist. He can be found at: [email protected]
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Pakinomist.tv’s editorial policy.
Originally published in The News
