‘New York is constantly being renewed’: how Muslim creatives are changing the city’s cultural landscape

From the election of Zohran Mamdani to buzzy restaurants and nightlife, Muslim New Yorkers are creating a growing imprint on the city

• This is Muslim New York: artists, thinkers and politicos on defining a new era for the city

Real power in America is often built at dinner tables. That adage is particularly relevant to the past few years in New York City, where Muslims and non-Muslims have come together at Iftar and Eid events, marking the moment and reimagining traditions. In Chinatown lofts and Bushwick studios, Muslim artists and writers have gathered to pass around plates of papri chaat and basboosa. Some of these dinners have made the pages of Vogue and glowing New Yorker write-ups. The New York Times even described Eid morning prayers in Washington Square Park as the “Muslim Met Gala”.

At one Eid al-Fitr event in Bushwick last April, the guest list featured hosts Ramy Youssef, Hasan Minhaj and Zara Rahim, and guests such as Kareem Rahma, Rashid Khalidi, Cynthia Nixon and David Byrne, among others. After dinner, Zohran Mamdani – who was still an outside bet and yet to secure the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor – took the mic. “New York City is at a historic crossroads. Does it want to look to the future,” he asked, “or look to the past?” Six months later, the question was answered resoundingly.

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