Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville was referring to Mamdani’s oath to the Koran. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has documented his history of anti-Muslim statements.
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“The enemy is at the gate,” Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville wrote on social media after learning that Zoran Mamdani had become the first New York City mayor to be sworn in using the Quran.
The Quran is Islam’s main religious document, similar to the Christian Bible. Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor of New York, the largest city in the United States.
Tuberville, a conservative soccer coach turned politician, has a history of anti-Islamic comments, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
On Dec. 14, a Republican lawmaker wrote about X, “Islam is not a religion. It’s a cult. Islamists are not here to assimilate. They are here to conquer.” A few months ago, Mr. Tuberville gave a speech on the Senate floor holding up an “No Sharia” poster. Sharia is Islamic religious law.
“One of the reasons why Sen. Tuberville continues to express such dangerous hatred of American Muslims and complete ignorance about Islam is that he has rejected months-old invitations from Alabama’s Muslim community to visit a mosque in Birmingham, learn about America’s Muslim membership, and ask him anything that concerns him,” CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Mitchell said in an official statement in October.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, has criticized Islamophobic rhetoric from his political opponents.
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
