For New Yorkers, this is both confusing and entertaining, as London has always been considered a sister city. They’re both English-speaking centres of finance, art, and culture with distinct boroughs and extensive public transport.
New Yorkers see London as a partner in Europe, with West End theatre being equivalent to Broadway. Seattle-born Jimi Hendrix began his musical career in London, while UK punks The Clash sang “I’m so Bored with the U.S.A.”, but demonstrated their love for New York in songs like “Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)”.
What the American far right means is that Mamdani’s victory is similar to the election of Sadiq Khan as mayor of London, despite the fact that Khan is well to Mamdani’s right.
They’re both South Asian Muslims, and the imagined perception on the global right is that London is no longer a British city, now taken over by unwashed hordes of violent immigrants.
Curry has replaced beans on toast. Nigel and Imogen are out, Mohammed and Fatima are in. The muezzin’s call to prayer rings louder than any church bell.
The far right pretends this has all contributed to a crime frenzy, although the Khan’s government claims violence is declining.
Britain’s far right cannot accept London’s South Asians as part of the city’s diverse fabric or tolerate the fact that they are a reminder of the UK’s history of colonisation in the Global South.
Their growing presence in the country and Sadiq Khan’s mayoralty in its capital are the final shame of the British Empire.
South Asian Muslims have long been a part of New York City’s identity. Halal carts might be more popular than hot dog stands.
However, Mamdani’s ascendence in New York politics, while fueled by a multiracial coalition, illustrates that two decades after intense Islamophobia struck the city following 9/11, Muslims have organised into a competitive power bloc.
This is frightening to the old order. Mamdani’s heartfelt speech about Islamophobia was effective largely because any New Yorker could easily relate to it.
It’s hard to forget the racist attack on the downtown mosque, widespread NYPD espionage in Muslim communities, and the maddening level of anti-Muslim rhetoric in local media.
Jewish groups demand protection for their communities, a call that is never considered controversial. However, there is little popular outcry in the press for protections for New York City Muslims.
Mamdani’s victory isn’t just a victory for socialist policies. It’s a response to the racist right that Muslim communities in the city refuse to be bullied anymore, and they have the power to fight back.
Perhaps just as important, with Mamdani on his way into power, Egyptians in Astoria, Bangladeshis in Jackson Heights, and Palestinians in Bay Ridge are asserting themselves politically but also situating their identities as representative of the city itself.
When Mamdani told The New York Times, for example, that one of his favourite restaurants is Kabab King, a small Queens hole-in-the-wall spot, it was a sign to South Asians that this city is theirs as much as pizza and bagels already define it.
For reactionaries in London and New York City, this appears as conquest or defeat, because equality for the colonised class always feels that way to the colonising class.
The differences between Sadiq Khan’s milquetoast liberalism and Mamdani’s uncompromising socialism should be significant. They are not made from the same political fabric.
However, what if their political success represents the uplifting of these communities from the UK to the US?
In that case, far-right fears that New York will turn into London should be something not just to laugh at but to celebrate.
Photographs courtesy of Ari Paul. All rights reserved.
