"Belongs To All New Yorkers": Mamdani Took Oath On This 18th-Century Quran

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Tuesday that one of the Qurans he used to take his oath as the city's first Muslim mayor will be placed on display at the main branch of the New York Public Library.

Mamdani said the 18th-century Quran, which belonged to Black scholar and activist Arturo Schomburg, was copied in Ottoman Syria and written in black ink with red markings to indicate divisions in the text. It features no ornate decoration, which makes it easy to use by everyday readers.

"When I swore in at midnight at the old City Hall subway station last week, I had the honour of doing so on Arturo Schomburg's 18th-century Qur'an," he wrote on X.

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"This manuscript was copied in Ottoman Syria, and is written in black ink with red highlighting the text's divisions - no ornate decoration, it belonged to the everyday reader, and it now belongs to all New Yorkers as part of our City's next chapter," he added.

When I swore in at midnight at the old City Hall subway station last week, I had the honor of doing so on Arturo Schomburg's 18th-century Qur'an.

This manuscript was copied in Ottoman Syria, and is written in black ink with red highlighting the text's divisions - no ornate… pic.twitter.com/7wHu787LSo

— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 6, 2026

The library put the Quran on display with slogans: "The People's Qur'an" and "Making history at City Hall." The display also shows pictures of Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, during his private midnight oath ceremony. There is also a close-up of the Qur'an with Mamdani's hand on it and a picture of Schomburg, the original owner.

The display was opened on January 6 in the McGraw Rotunda at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on 42nd Street. New York Public Library President Anthony Marx said, "This specific Qur'an, which Arturo Schomburg preserved for the knowledge and enjoyment of all New Yorkers, symbolizes a greater story of inclusion, representation, and civic-mindedness."

Hiba Abid, the NYPL curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, said the Qur'an is important for more than just its beauty. He said, "Qur'an is close to the people, not only because of its simple craftsmanship, but also because it is part of the collections of the nation's largest public library system."

The Quran was on loan from the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture for Mamdani's oath. Schomburg collected texts related to Islam, including this Qur'an, and sold his 4,000-piece library collection to the NYPL in 1926.