The worldviews of two ambitious, Left-leaning Muslim politicians were shaped nearly a decade ago during a year of political turmoil.

In May 2016, Sadiq Khan became mayor of London as Britain voted to withdraw from the European Union, a retreat from global influence fuelled in part by anger about migration. That same year, the presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont inspired Zohran Mamdani, this year’s Democratic candidate for mayor of New York, who joined a generation of progressive activists energised by the senator’s embrace of democratic socialism.

Since then, the men have been living in separate political worlds an ocean apart. Mamdani proudly champions the progressive Left’s agenda, while Khan has governed as an establishment centrist.

But both have been thrust into prominence — and sometimes attacked in the same breath — as they navigate the nationalist and xenophobic movements that have built across the US, Europe and beyond. Both have had to increase their personal protection in response to the threats.

If Mamdani is elected mayor of New York on Tuesday, the two largest cities in Britain and the US would be led by liberal, Muslim sons of immigrants, both of whom would have risen to power in part by resisting a Rightward lurch in their countries.

“We’re in a moment of populist, far-Right uprising in both countries. And the centre Left has had the stuffing knocked out of them,” said Matthew McGregor, the chief executive of 38 Degrees, a progressive London-based think tank. And yet, he added, “Sadiq and Zohran are unusual and inspiring in a way in which they are seeking to use the power of their respective cities to drive progress forward.”

Their political arcs are similar. Mamdani has made affordability the centrepiece of his efforts to win City Hall. Khan has focused on affordable housing, public transportation and environmental initiatives like curbing traffic congestion and preserving
air quality.

And they both have become targets of vitriolic attacks by President Donald Trump, who won the White House for the first time in 2016. The President has called Mamdani a “pure communist” and Khan a “stone cold loser”. His followers say the successes of the two men foreshadow the end of Western civilisation.

But in many ways, Mamdani and Khan are as different as they are similar.

Khan was born in London to Pakistani working-class immigrant parents and lived in public housing with his seven siblings — an upbringing that inspired his approach to politics. Mamdani, who immigrated to the US from Uganda as a child, is the son of a university professor and filmmaker and has described his childhood as “privileged”. His father’s writings and teachings helped inform his democratic socialist identity.

They also are from different generations. Khan, 55, has spent more than two decades in office as a centrist, establishment figure from the country’s Labour Party. Mamdani, 34, engineered a long-shot primary victory in June that upended assumptions about New York’s electorate; inspired young, Leftist voters; and built a multiracial coalition.

The two men have spoken only once, and only briefly, according to senior advisers for both leaders. During their conversation, Khan congratulated Mamdani for his victory in the Democratic mayoral primary and expressed his pride in seeing a young talent achieve political success.

Both Mamdani and Khan have seized on the diversity of their cities to shape their campaigns and approaches to governing. But they have faced different pressures from voters, especially on the issue of what to say about the war in Gaza and the treatment of Palestinians.

Perhaps the biggest similarity between Khan and Mamdani is the vitriol they inspire on the Right in both countries.

A White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, said in a statement that “London and New York City are microcosms of what can happen when Left-wing policies are allowed to reign, unchecked by common sense,” and added that “America’s cities should look towards President Trump’s law-and-order policies, not the liberal agenda embraced by socialists like Mamdani”.

“London is a major capital in the world. What Sadiq says is of consequence. What the President of the United States of America says is also of consequence,” Asif Hussain, a former senior adviser to Khan and deputy director on his 2024 re-election campaign said. “And I think one thing that Zohran will need to be aware of is, once you’re in that position, it’s not just a regional, mayoral role. It’s a global role.”

New York Times News Service