NEW YORK (The Thursday Times) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined thousands of worshippers for Eid al-Adha prayers at Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx on Wednesday, wearing an Arsenal thobe that quickly became one of the most-shared images of Eid. The scene captured something simple and rare: a sitting mayor, in a football thobe, praying alongside his city on one of Islam’s most important days.
The Arsenal thobe
The thobe, styled in Arsenal’s red and white colours, was not out of character for Mamdani. He is a known Arsenal supporter and has worn the club’s colours at public events before, including the launch of New York City’s Soccer Streets initiative ahead of the FIFA World Cup. On Wednesday at Macombs Dam Park, the thobe blended faith, football and community into a single image that felt entirely like the mayor who wore it.
“I am honoured to be New York City’s first Muslim Mayor and I am determined to lead through solidarity.” Mayor Zohran Mamdani · X · 27 May 2026
New York’s first Muslim mayor
Mamdani, 34, has served as the 112th mayor of New York City since January 2026. He is the city’s first Muslim mayor, its first Asian American mayor, and the youngest person elected to the office in generations. He was sworn in at midnight on 1 January 2026 at an abandoned beaux-arts subway station in Manhattan, placing his hand on his grandfather’s Quran as he took the oath.
For Muslim communities across the United States and beyond, Wednesday’s prayers in the Bronx carried weight beyond the local. In a political climate in which Muslim identity has been repeatedly used as a wedge, New York City’s mayor prayed publicly, wore a thobe to Eid and said he leads through solidarity. That image travels.
