New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) wore a hijab for an event at the Islamic Cultural School of New York in a display that has since gone viral.
“I want to thank his excellency Mr. (Ambassador Tareq) Albanai, to thank him for welcoming me and making me feel part of the family, and to our imam, and the other executives who are a part of this organization,” Hochul said.
The Islamic Cultural Center School honored Hochul’s appearance in a Facebook statement. “It was an honor to welcome New York Governor Kathy Hochul to the Islamic Cultural School of New York today.”
“Governor Hochul joined our community at ICCNY for Friday Jumaa, where she addressed the congregation, before visiting the Islamic Cultural Center School of New York. She toured the school, stepped into our classrooms and learned more about the community we are so proud to serve,” the statement read. “Her visit was a meaningful recognition of the role ICCS plays in New York as a community partner serving and bringing together New Yorkers from across our diverse city and state.”
“We are grateful to Governor Hochul for spending time with our community and for her continued commitment to ensuring that every New Yorker feels safe, respected, and supported.”
With the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks nearing, families of the victims have called for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to be banned from participating in events due to his links to those holding a radical Islamic ideology. Mamdani has also “endorsed candidates such as Aber Kawas, who described 9/11 as an attack ‘a couple of people did in the context of U.S. capitalism, racism, white supremacy, and Islamophobia,’ and who also expressed sympathy for Ahmed Ferhani, who pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up a Manhattan synagogue,” a petition reads.
