NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Quotes Jadakiss at Swearing-In Ceremony

Zohran Mamdani was officially sworn in as mayor of New York City just after midnight Thursday, Jan. 1. Later in the day, politicians and other supporters gathered at City Hall for a larger ceremony. New York City's first Muslim mayor, first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa, Mayor Mamdani is also the city's youngest mayor (age 34) since the late 19th century.

Mamdani referenced Jadakiss when describing how his government will serve New Yorkers.

“Throughout it all, we will – in the words of Jason Terrance Phillips, better known as Jadakiss or J To the Muah – ’be outside,’” Mamdani said. “Because this is a government of New York, by New York and for New York.”

Mayor Mamdani’s term begins after a historic campaign, in which he made affordability a buzzword and a campaign priority. The public oath of office was administered by Bernie Sanders, and Mamdani was sworn in on the Quran. He gave a speech days prior to the election, where he affirmed his faith and said hostility has only strengthened his resolve. 

“I will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I’m proud to call my own,” he said. “I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.”

According to the Associated Press, the Quran will go on public display at the New York Public Library. Hiba Abid, curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, says she hopes attention surrounding the ceremony — whether supportive or critical — will prompt more people to explore the library’s collections documenting Islamic life in New York.

“This manuscript was meant to be used by ordinary readers when it was produced,” Abid said. “Today it lives in a public library where anyone can encounter it.”