Tipsheet

Just Days After ISIS-Inspired Terror Attack in NYC, Here's What Mayor Mamdani Is Up To

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  March 12, 2026 11:00 AM

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted a Ramadan dinner Wednesday night at Gracie Mansion with fellow Muslims to break their fast. Videos from the gathering circulated online showing a group of men praying, saying “Allahu Akbar,” and eating on the floor. 

The event came just days after the mayor issued a stronger condemnation of anti-Islam protester Jake Lang, who had demonstrated outside Gracie Mansion, than of the ISIS-aligned terrorists who hurled an improvised explosive device at the protest.

Some have even accused one of the guests of flashing the ISIS salute, a raised index finger, while inside Gracie Mansion.

However, the gesture made by the guest can simply be an expression of devotion, indicating a reference to Allah as seen by some Muslim athletes after a victory.

Typically, the ISIS-associated gesture is made with a person’s right hand, whereas the man inside the mayor’s mansion appeared to use his left. What he actually intended remains unclear.

This comes just days after Mamdani hosted Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Hamas protester from Columbia University, for Ramadan. The Trump administration has attempted to deport him several times, but was blocked from doing so by the federal court system.