The Quran used by Zohran Mamdani at his swearing-in ceremony on January 1 is now on display in New York.
The 18th-century manuscript was one of two Qurans Mamdani placed his hand on when he was sworn in at the stroke of midnight to become the first Muslim mayor of New York City. The other Quran belonged to his grandfather. A third Quran belonging to his grandmother was used at his inauguration later in the day, when Mamdani took another oath at New York City Hall.
The centuries-old Quran was selected by Mamdani's Syrian-American wife, Rama Duwaji, who held the books as he took his oath alongside New York Attorney General Letitia James. It was on loan from the New York Public Library's Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture, named after Arturo Schomburg, a Puerto Rican historian whose collection documented the global contributions of people of African descent.
Now dubbed “the People's Quran”, it is on display at New York Public Library's main branch at Bryant Park, along with pictures from the swearing-in ceremony held at a decommissioned subway station under New York City Hall.
The 18th-century Quran at New York Public Library's Bryant Park branch. Photo: Zohran Mamdani / Instagram
“The Quran is Islam’s most sacred text, believed to be the literal Word of God.
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