Zohran Mamdani officially sworn in on a Quran full of symbolism

NEW YORK (AP) — Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani took his midnight oath of office on a centuries-old Quran, marking the first time a mayor of New York City uses Islam’s holy text to be sworn in and underscoring a series of historic firsts for the city.

The 34-year-old Democrat became mayor in a long-closed subway station beneath City Hall, the first Muslim, first South Asian and first African-born person to hold that position.

These milestones — as well as the historical Quran — reflect the longstanding and vibrant Muslim residents of the nation's most populous city, according to a scholar who helped Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, select one of the books.

Most of Mamdani's predecessors were sworn in on a Bible, although the oath to uphold the federal, state and city constitutions does not require the use of any religious text.

And while he has focused heavily on the issue of affordability during his campaign, Mamdani was outspoken about his Muslim faith. He frequently appeared at mosques across the five boroughs as he built a base of support that included many first-time South Asian and Muslim voters.

Two Qurans were to be used during the subway ceremony: his grandfather's Quran and a pocket-sized version that dates back to the late 18th or early 19th century. It is part of the collection at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

That copy of the Quran symbolizes the diversity and reach of the city's Muslims, said Hiba Abid, the library's curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

“It’s a small Quran, but it brings together elements of faith and identity in New York City history,” Abid said.

For a subsequent swearing-in ceremony at City Hall on the first day of the year, Mamdani will use both his grandfather's and grandmother's Qurans. The campaign hasn't offered more details on those heirlooms.

The manuscript was acquired by Arturo Schomburg, a Black Puerto Rican historian whose collection documented the global contributions of people of African descent. While it is unclear how Schomburg came into possession of the Quran, scholars believe it reflected his interest in the historical relationship between Islam and Black cultures in the United States and across Africa.

Unlike ornate religious manuscripts associated with royalty or elites, the copy of the Quran that Mamdani will use is modest in design. It has a deep red binding with a simple floral medallion and is written in black and red ink. The script is plain and readable, suggesting it was created for everyday use rather than ceremonial display.

Those features indicate the manuscript was intended for ordinary readers, Abid said, a quality she described as central to its meaning.

“The importance of this Quran lies not in luxury, but in accessibility,” she said.

Because the manuscript is undated and unsigned, scholars relied on its binding and script to estimate when it was produced, placing it sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century during the Ottoman period in a region that includes what is now Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan.

Abid said the manuscript’s journey to New York mirrors Mamdani’s own layered background. Mamdani is a South Asian New Yorker who was born in Uganda, while Duwaji is American-Syrian.

The meteoric rise of a Muslim democratic socialist also brought a surge of Islamophobic rhetoric, amplified by national attention on the race.

In an emotional speech days before the election, Mamdani said the hostility had only strengthened his resolve to be visible about his faith.

“I will not change who I am, how I eat, or the faith that I’m proud to call my own,” he said. “I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light.”

The decision to use a Quran has drawn fresh criticism from some conservatives. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama wrote on social media, “The enemy is inside the gates,” in response to a news article about Mamdani’s inauguration. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil-rights group, has designated Tuberville as an anti-Muslim extremist based on past statements.

Such backlash is not new. In 2006, Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, faced condemnation from conservatives after he chose to use a Quran for his ceremonial oath.

Following the inauguration, the Quran will go on public display at the New York Public Library. Abid said she hopes attention surrounding the ceremony — whether supportive or critical — will prompt more people to explore the library’s collections documenting Islamic life in New York, ranging from early 20th century Armenian and Arabic music recorded in the city to firsthand accounts of Islamophobia after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“This manuscript was meant to be used by ordinary readers when it was produced,” Abid said. “Today it lives in a public library where anyone can encounter it.”

Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz in New York and Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed.

This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in New York. (Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library via AP)

This photo provided by The New York Public Library shows the Schomburg Quran on Dec. 16, 2025 in New York. (Jonathan Blanc/The New York Public Library via AP)

Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as mayor of New York City at Old City Hall Station, New York, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Zohran Mamdani hugs his wife Rama Duwaji after he is sworn in as mayor of New York City at Old City Hall Station, New York, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Attorney General Letitia James, center, arrives for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's swearing-in ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Swiss investigators are probing what caused a fire in a bar at an Alpine ski resort that left dozens of people presumed dead and another 100 injured during a New Year's celebration.

Most injuries, many of them serious, occurred when the blaze swept through the crowded bar less than two hours after midnight Thursday in southwestern Switzerland.

The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue. Overnight, its crowded Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of potentially one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies.

Crans-Montana is less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Sierre, Switzerland, where 28 people, including many children, were killed when a bus from Belgium crashed inside a Swiss tunnel in 2012.

Here’s what we know about the deadly fire:

The blaze broke out around 1:30 a.m. Thursday inside the Le Constellation bar amid the holiday celebration.

Axel Clavier, a 16-year-old from Paris survived the blaze by using a table to push a plexiglass window out of its casing, allowing him to escape the “total chaos” inside the bar. One of his friends died and “two or three were missing,” he told The Associated Press.

He said he hadn’t seen the fire start, but did see waitresses arrive with champagne bottles with sparklers, he said.

Two women told French broadcaster BFMTV they were inside when they saw a male bartender lifting a female bartender on his shoulders as she held a lit candle in a bottle. The flames spread, collapsing the wooden ceiling, they told the broadcaster.

People frantically tried to escape from the basement nightclub up a narrow flight of stairs and through a narrow door, causing a crowd surge, one of the women said.

A young man at the scene said people smashed windows to escape the fire, some gravely injured, reported BFMTV. He said he saw about 20 people scrambling to get out of the smoke and flames, likening what happened to a horror movie.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, said Mathias Reynard, head of the regional government of the Valais Canton.

While officials said Thursday it was too early to determine the fire's cause, investigators have already ruled out that it could have been an attack.

Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage, said Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, at a news conference.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families.

“Several tens of people” are feared dead, Gisler added.

The Swiss officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a French firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

Victims suffered from serious burns and smoke inhalation. Some were flown to specialist hospitals across the country.

Authorities urged people to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require the already overwhelmed medical resources.

With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region’s snowy peaks and pine forests, Crans-Montana is one of the top venues on the World Cup circuit.

The resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers, including Lindsey Vonn, for their final events before the Milan Cortina Olympics in February.

The town’s Crans-sur-Sierre golf club, down the street from the bar, stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course.

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Dazio reported from Berlin and Leicester reported from Paris. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)