At midnight on New Year’s Eve, incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdami took his oath of office on the Qur’an, Islam’s most important religious text. He is the first Muslim to hold the position of Mayor of New York City.
One of the two Qur’ans used in the ceremony came from Mr. Mamdani’s grandfather. The other was lent by the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. According to the New York Times, the latter book was selected by Rahim and Rama Duwaji, Mamdani’s wife, with the help of Hiba Abid, curator of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at the NYPL.
Executed in red and black ink and thought to have been produced in the late 18th or early 19th century in Ottoman Syria, the Schomburg’s copy is modest in design and scale. As such, it was meant for everyday use, reflecting a central tenet of Mamdani’s winning campaign for mayor. “The significance of this Qur’an extends far beyond the beauty of its pages,” Abid said in a statement. “Its importance lies not in luxury, but in accessibility.”
The book was part of the personal collection of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (1874–1938), the Afro–Puerto Rican scholar, writer, and bibliophile who over his lifetime amassed over 4000 books, manuscripts, and other items pertaining to Black art, culture, and religion before selling them to the NYPL. It will go on public display for the first time on January 6 at NYPL’s main branch as part of a celebration of the Schomburg’s 100th anniversary.
