Twenty-five years after 9/11, New York’s Muslim community claims a public renaissance

When Dandia was 19, a police informant pretended to be a friend and infiltrated his family as part of a now-discredited NYPD program aimed at tracking Islamic extremism. The experience led him, together with civil-rights groups, to win a landmark settlement that limited such surveillance and created independent oversight. Since the attacks, the Muslim community in New York has grown from a handful of houses of worship to more than 100 mosques, and public prayers are now held in Times Square.

Mohammad Razvi, a Pakistani-born activist, founded the Council of Peoples Organization to aid Muslims who were harassed and even expelled after the attacks. The city’s political landscape reflects this shift: Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim, was sworn in as mayor on a Quran, and the upcoming opening of the state’s largest mosque underscores the community’s rising influence. Nevertheless, Islamophobia persists, illustrated by a far-right protest outside City Hall and a Republican senator’s demand that Mamdani be sent to Guantánamo. Dandia remains optimistic, noting that both institutional power and broader public acceptance of Muslims in New York have expanded.