9/11 families push to ban Mamdani from 25th anniversary remembrance over 'hostile' record

Families of 9/11 victims are urging organizers to bar New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from attending this year's 25th anniversary remembrance ceremony in Lower Manhattan.

Several families of 9/11 victims published a petition urging the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which organizes the annual remembrance, to reconsider inviting Mayor Zohran Mamdani, citing a laundry list of criticisms of the Uganda-born socialist Democrat.

"Concerns have been raised about Mr. Mamdani’s public positions, associations, and responses to rhetoric that many perceive as hostile to these shared values," a Change.org petition organized by several victims' families states.

"Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy."

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Concerns listed include a "perceived reluctance" by Mamdani to unequivocally condemn phrases like "globalize the intifada" — a slogan associated with calls for the eradication of Jews.

They also expressed concern over Mamdani’s alleged support for or association with individuals either dismissive of American institutions or insufficiently critical of extremist ideologies.

A 2025 release by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, outlined one such association with a radical Bed-Stuy imam who hosted the Blind Sheikh, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and has made controversial statements about jihad.

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Siraj Wahhaj, born Jeffrey Kearse, hosted Mamdani at his At-Taqwa mosque during the campaign and received criticism at the time from former FBI agents for failing to condemn the cleric.

The victims’ families also called out Mamdani’s father, Columbia government professor Mahmood Mamdani, whom they cite as authoring a book shortly after the attacks in which he argued suicide bombers should be "understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism."

They wrote that Professor Mamdani’s book – "Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror" – also included a passage arguing a moral equivalency between the United States and Al Qaeda.

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When the passage was resurfaced in 2025, prominent New York billionaire Bill Ackman quipped on X that the "apple doesn’t fall far from the tree."

Fox News Digital reached out to both Mamdanis for comment.

While the mayor did not immediately return a request for comment, he told a reporter at an unrelated press conference Monday that he still plans to attend.

"I will proudly honor families the survivors the first resp forever impacted by that horrific terror attack by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration — reaffirming that we will never forget the solemn day...," he said.

Victims’ families also excoriated the mayor for supporting and standing with socialist candidates they said hold radically anti-American views, including the DSA-endorsed woman who defeated left-wing Rep. Adriano Espaillat in Washington Heights.

The petition noted Darializa Chevalier once tweeted that she nonchalantly wiped soiled hands on an American flag after running out of napkins.

"For 9/11 families, this is not simply a public ceremony—it is a deeply personal day of mourning. The presence of individuals whose words or associations are perceived as conflicting with the solemn purpose of the event risks detracting from that focus and causing additional pain," the consortium wrote.

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One organizer told the New York Post that mourning dignitaries from both parties will be welcomed, but emphasized they have all been involved in the healing process for years, citing former mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, former Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, D-Upper East Side.

A spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial and Museum told Fox News Digital it bears the "solemn responsibility of leading the nation in commemorating September 11, 2001, and honoring the 2,977 victims killed as their names are read aloud by their families. Our priority throughout the ceremony is to provide a dignified and supportive environment for the families."

"We have intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue," the spokesperson said.

"Government officials from across the political spectrum, including every sitting president, governor, and mayor since 9/11, have attended the ceremony simply to bear witness — they do not deliver remarks and are asked to remain in a designated area."

The petition comes amid elevated rhetoric directed at Mamdani as he prepares to take office before his first September 11 commemoration as mayor, as Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., and radio host Sidney Rosenberg both recently declared the mayor a "terrorist."