Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor prompted warm and humorous reactions across the Arab world because he is married to Rama Duwaji, who is of Syrian descent, and because of his Muslim identity and support for Palestinian causes. Viral campaign clips of Mamdani speaking Levantine Arabic, eating knafeh and visiting bodegas helped personalise his appeal to immigrant communities. Commentators from Syria, the West Bank, Iran and Tunisia responded with pride, cautious hope for Palestine and critical reflections on their own politics. Born in Kampala and raised partly in Cape Town, Mamdani will become the city’s first Muslim and first openly socialist mayor when he takes office in January.
“Our Brother‑in‑Law”: How Zohran Mamdani’s Win Sparked Warmth and Debate Across the Arab World
Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York City mayor prompted warm and humorous reactions across the Arab world because he is married to Rama Duwaji, who is of Syrian descent, and because of his Muslim identity and support for Palestinian causes. Viral campaign clips of Mamdani speaking Levantine Arabic, eating knafeh and visiting bodegas helped personalise his appeal to immigrant communities. Commentators from Syria, the West Bank, Iran and Tunisia responded with pride, cautious hope for Palestine and critical reflections on their own politics. Born in Kampala and raised partly in Cape Town, Mamdani will become the city’s first Muslim and first openly socialist mayor when he takes office in January.
01:20, 07.11.2025Politics
Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City, has inspired an outpouring of affection and humour across the Arab world — in large part because he is married to Rama Duwaji, a designer and illustrator of Syrian descent, and because he is a Muslim who has voiced support for Palestinian causes.
Why Syrians claim him
Duwaji, 30, was born in Texas to Syrian parents and spent part of her childhood in Dubai. Many Syrians have therefore embraced Mamdani as a symbolic family member, jokingly dubbing him “our brother‑in‑law” on social media.
“I love how Syrians are now calling Zohran Mamdani our brother‑in‑law,” wrote Karam Nachar, editor‑in‑chief of the independent Syrian outlet Al Jumhuriya. “The poor man thought he was marrying one Syrian woman! No, habibi Zohran, you belong to the entire nation now.”
Campaign moments that connected
Viral clips from Mamdani’s campaign helped personalise his appeal. In one video the 34‑year‑old greets New Yorkers in fluent Levantine Arabic while pouring mint tea and jokes, “Now, I know what you're thinking — I might look like your brother‑in‑law from Damascus.” He savours a slice of Palestinian knafeh and promises support to immigrant small businesses.
Another short clip shows him in a bodega — the small corner shops many immigrant families run — addressing a cat named Egypt and offering the owner a rent freeze in near‑perfect Egyptian Arabic. These moments resonated with immigrant communities across the city.
Regional reactions: pride, hope and critique
Responses across the region were varied but intense. Abdel Karim Bakkar, a Syrian scholar with millions of followers, praised Mamdani for speaking up for “the marginalised, the working class, and the poor.” In the occupied West Bank, young Palestinians described the victory as surprising and uplifting: “A Muslim mayor in a city with more Jewish residents than Tel Aviv — that’s incredible,” one student said.
Rami Kukhun, a humanitarian worker in Nablus, said the result offered “a bit of hope,” suggesting the attention on Palestine could influence political debates in ways that might benefit Palestinians, directly or indirectly.
In Iran, state and independent outlets widely covered the story and emphasised Mamdani’s Shi'a background. Elsewhere, commentators used his success to reflect on domestic politics: in Tunisia, former radio host Haythem El Mekki warned that Mamdani’s migrant‑welcoming stance would be criminalised back home, posting to his large social audience that such positions would attract harsh punishment under the current government.
Background and next steps
Mamdani was born in Kampala and later lived in Cape Town before moving to the United States with his family; he became a U.S. citizen in 2018. He will be New York City’s first Muslim and first openly socialist mayor when he takes office in January. In his victory remarks he pushed back against former President Donald Trump’s anti‑immigration rhetoric and celebrated the city’s diversity.
Why it matters: Beyond the symbolism, the reaction in the Arab world highlights how identity, language and small cultural gestures — a shared dessert, a familiar dialect, a bodega visit — can turn a local political victory into a transnational moment of recognition, pride and debate.