NYC Mayor Mamdani Urges Americans to “Look to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad” to Support Migration — “Each of Us Has Been a Stranger at One Point in Our Lives” — Crtitics Highlight Religious Hypocrisy — “You Can’t Even Visit Mecca Unless You’re a Muslim”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the United States should look to Islamic teachings and the Prophet Muhammad’s migration as a moral guide for immigration policy, remarks he delivered at the city’s annual interfaith breakfast where he also signed an executive order reinforcing New York’s sanctuary city policies, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
In prepared remarks released by City Hall, Mamdani said Islam is “a religion built upon a narrative of migration,” citing the Prophet Muhammad’s journey from Mecca to Medina and describing it as an example of welcoming those who arrive as strangers, according to the transcript. He said religious traditions share a responsibility to “stand alongside the stranger” and linked that principle to contemporary immigration debates.
NEW: NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani suggests America should take notes from the “Prophet” Muhammad when it comes to migration.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 6, 2026
“I consider my own faith, Islam, a religion built upon a narrative of migration.”
“The story of the Hijrah reminds us that Prophet Muhammad, was a stranger… pic.twitter.com/znH0dvOSE6
At the same event, Mamdani signed an executive order reaffirming New York City’s status as a sanctuary jurisdiction and directing city agencies to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement without judicial warrants, according to the mayor’s office. The order bars federal immigration officers from entering certain city facilities without a warrant and expands privacy protections for city residents, the statement said.
Mamdani said the measures were intended to protect immigrant communities and reduce fear created by federal immigration actions, according to the prepared remarks. The city will also distribute multilingual materials outlining residents’ rights in encounters with immigration authorities, the statement said.
Political analyst Ryan Girdusky responded to Mamdani’s comments by pointing to restrictions in Islam’s holiest city, writing on social media that non-Muslims are barred from entering Mecca. “You can’t even visit Mecca unless you’re a Muslim,” Girdusky wrote.
You can’t even visit Mecca unless you’re a Muslim https://t.co/PIA6NDOhv3
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) February 6, 2026
Girdusky publishes political commentary focused on national populism and immigration through his newsletter, National Populism. His post did not address Mamdani’s executive order directly but challenged the mayor’s use of Islamic history as a model for modern immigration policy.
Saudi Arabia restricts entry to Mecca to Muslims under national law, and non-Muslims are barred from crossing checkpoints into the city, according to Saudi authorities and academic descriptions of religious access rules.
The U.S. State Department reported in its 2022 International Religious Freedom Report on Saudi Arabia that the government “continued to prohibit the public practice of any non-Islamic religion.” The report said individuals whose beliefs differed from the state-promoted form of Sunni Islam remained vulnerable to detention, harassment or deportation.
The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Girdusky’s remarks or on comparisons to Saudi Arabia’s religious access rules.
