At his first annual interfaith breakfast, Mayor Zohran Mamdani framed New York City’s sanctuary policies as a moral duty, quoting the Bible, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita and Buddhist teachings to urge protection for immigrants. Addressing nearly 400 faith and community leaders, he condemned recent federal immigration enforcement tactics and emphasized city protections for vulnerable residents. Mamdani signed Executive Order 13 to strengthen sanctuary rules, launched a "Know Your Rights" campaign distributing 32,000 multilingual materials, and honored activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti who died in confrontations with federal agents.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani Invokes Bible, Quran and Other Faith Texts to Defend NYC’s Sanctuary Status
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, during a Bloomberg Television interview at City Hall in New York Jan. 29, 2026.(Getty Images)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his first annual interfaith breakfast on Friday to cast the city’s sanctuary policies as a moral imperative rooted in diverse religious traditions. Speaking at the New York Public Library to nearly 400 faith and community leaders, Mamdani invoked passages from the Bible, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita and Buddhist teachings to argue that faith calls on New Yorkers to welcome and protect "the stranger."
"They arrive as if atop a pale horse, and they leave a path of wreckage in their wake. People ripped from their cars. Guns drawn against the unarmed. Families torn apart. Lives shattered — quietly, swiftly, brutally. If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?"
Mamdani — who said he was raised in an interfaith household by a Muslim father and a Hindu mother — emphasized the city’s religious diversity and argued that multiple faiths provide moral reasons to defend newcomers. He quoted Exodus 23:9 from the Torah: "Thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt," and referenced the Bhagavad Gita’s call to respond to the sorrows of others as if they were our own. He also cited Buddhist teachings on letting go of desire, hatred and ignorance to relieve suffering.
Turning to Islam, Mamdani described the faith as "built upon a narrative of migration," noting that the Prophet Muhammad fled persecution and found refuge in Medina. He quoted Surah An-Nahl 16:42 and referenced a prophetic saying about Islam's origins as "something strange," offering those who are strangers a hopeful message.
Protesters took over the lobby of a New York City hotel protesting ICE.
"If faith offers us the moral compass to stand alongside the stranger," Mamdani said, "government can provide the resources." He clarified that New York City will not check immigration status for families enrolling in the city’s universal childcare program, underscoring protections for vulnerable residents.
At the event the mayor signed Executive Order 13, which reaffirms and strengthens the city’s sanctuary laws and restricts federal immigration agents from entering city property without a judicial warrant. He also announced a new "Know Your Rights" campaign that will distribute 32,000 flyers and booklets in 10 languages to faith leaders and community organizations across the city.
Mamdani honored activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed in confrontations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol in Minneapolis last month, calling them examples of people who "cared for the stranger" even at great personal cost.
The mayor’s remarks framed sanctuary protections not only as policy decisions but as expressions of the city’s shared moral obligations across faith communities. The event combined scriptural appeals with concrete policy actions designed to protect immigrants and reassure communities across New York City.
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