Opinion | The racist, Islamaphobic attacks against Fateh and Mamdani are shameless and gaining traction

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Hardly had our tears dried from the brutal killing of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, when another wave of hate followed. This time, the primary targets are two young political trailblazers who happen to be Muslim: Zohran Mamdani, who recently won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, and Omar Fateh, who is running for mayor of Minneapolis.

The same hostility that took the lives of the Hortmans now appears in a different form as a steady stream of racist and Islamophobic attacks. This rhetoric is not confined to fringe groups. It is public, shameless and gaining traction.

Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles tweeted, “Zohran ‘little muhammad’ Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED. Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings.”

Forget that Mamdani is a U.S. citizen. He is being called a foreigner.

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik called Mamdani “an antisemitic, jihadist, Communist candidate.” A prominent media personality claimed he was “literally supported by terrorists.” And President Donald Trump, in his usual bombastic style, called Mamdani a Communist lunatic and commented that Mamdani looks “terrible,” his voice is “grating” and he is “not very smart.”

Other social media posts mocked Fateh’s Somali heritage, asking how to “send them back” and sharing an image of him as a pirate from “Captain Phillips.” Conservative political strategist Joey Mannarino made explicitly racist comments about Fateh’s appearance, stating, “I can tell by the shape of his head he’s a Somalian. Somalians should not be running for office in the United States of America. He should run for mayor in Mogadishu.”

These words are meant to dehumanize and question his right to exist in public life. Minnesota is home to several young and emerging leaders who have been recently elected to office. When young candidates like Fateh and Mamdani are vilified simply for running, it sends a chilling message to young people from immigrant families who might otherwise step into public service.

No other religious group in America is subjected to this level of public hate without consequence. Both men have responded with dignity to this racist, Islamophobic, xenophobic blitz with patience, character and high moral ground.

Mamdani and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander cross-endorsed each other in the mayoral primary. Lander, who is Jewish, nailed it when he said, “We are not going to let anyone divide Muslim New Yorkers and Jewish New Yorkers.”

In a similar vein, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who is also Jewish, defended Fateh against these attacks and affirmed that his competitor is a proud American running because he loves his city.

These attacks on Mamdani and Fateh show how deeply entrenched this playbook of hate has become. At a time of rising violence against elected officials, we cannot look away. Disagreement and debate are the foundations of democracy, but hate has no place in it.

Regardless of our political differences, our shared humanity must shine through. Having spent over 30 years in interfaith bridge building and educational outreach to nearly half a million Minnesotans, I have seen that hate is often born of fear of the unknown. I have also observed that the fear of the unknown can be overcome through education, authentic encounters and learning from firsthand sources. That is how we reclaim our country’s promise.