By Imam Shamsi Ali
Let me be as clearer as possible in the beginning, I am a proud American Muslim and a proud New Yorker. I am a citizen of this country and a resident of Queens, New York, just like all other New Yorkers. I am someone who has spent most of his life time working to better our great city, someone with a clear record of loving his country, loving his City deeply precisely because it upholds dignity, freedom, and equal justice for all. This is my home to stay, to live, to build a family and to give back as other New Yorkers do.
And for this very reason I condemn to the fullest the recent Islamophobic statements by New York City Councilwoman Vicki Paladino, calling for the “expulsion of Muslims from Western nations,”. I call upon all New Yorkers particularly those of elected officials to unequivocally condemn it. Such rhetoric is not merely offensive; it is un American and dangerous. This hateful rhetoric has absolutely no place in the City of New York.
New York City is home to more than one million Muslims; who are teachers, police officers, doctors, small business owners, sanitation workers, and public servants who contribute every day to the life and prosperity of this city. To vilify an entire faith community is to attack the very fabric of New York itself. It is to deny the lived reality of who we are as a city: diverse, resilient, and united by shared civic values.
Such a rhetoric that targets an entire community does not exist in a vacuum. It inflames tensions and divisions at a time when New Yorkers must come together to confront real challenges the city is facing; public safety, housing affordability, education, and economic opportunity. Words matter. When elected officials traffic in dehumanizing language, they normalize hate and embolden those who are already inclined toward intolerance and violence.
I know this reality personally. As a person lived the life of post 9/11 tragic event in our City, I experienced hate, bigotry and Islamophobia. I understand truly how rhetoric could become action, how words spoken casually or cruelly can turn into threats, harassment, and violence. That is why these statements are not only unacceptable they are profoundly and dangerously irresponsible.
Hence targeting the American Muslim community is divisive, shameful, and morally indefensible. Councilwoman Paladino’s remarks are not an isolated lapse in judgment; they are part of a well-documented pattern of racist and inflammatory outbursts that have no place in our city or our politics. And to allow such behavior to continue without consequence undermines public trust and sends a chilling message to communities who already feel vulnerable.
As Islamophobic rhetoric intensifies nationally, so too does violence. Anti-Muslim hate crimes have surged in recent years, revealing how normalized hostility toward Muslims has become in segments of American political discourse. The backlash against figures like Zohran Mamdani, who is very soon to be NYC Mayor, is not an isolated episode. It is a manifestation of deeply entrenched narratives that endanger lives and fracture communal cohesion.
This is a moment for leadership, not silence. The outgoing Speaker’s call for disciplinary action is a necessary step, but it must be followed by a clear and sustained commitment to confronting hate wherever it appears.
As my interfaith colleagues use to remind us all “An attack on anyone is an attack on everyone”. I often remind my fellow New Yorkers, the strength and the beauty of our City rest in the solidity of the bridges it has. These bridges do not only connect between the boroughs of the city, but between the peoples of those boroughs.
That is the moral foundation of our city and country. Do not break those bridges to disconnect people of our city. That’s unpatriotic. The time has come to stand up and say out loud and without hesitation: Not on my watch, and not on our great City of New York.
Hate cannot be allowed to define us. Unity must!
Jamaica Hills, 23 December 2025
An Imam and Director of Jamaica Muslim Center, and an Interfaith Activist