Which U.S. states currently have Muslim mayors and which cities do they govern?
Executive summary
As of the 2025 election cycle, multiple U.S. cities are led by mayors who are identified in reporting as Muslim — most prominently Zohran Mamdani in New York City and Abdullah Hammoud in Dearborn, Michigan [1] [2] [3]. Counting beyond those two depends on local reporting and directories cited by advocacy groups that list dozens of Muslim winners across several states, including New Jersey, Maryland and others, but available sources do not provide a single, definitive nationwide roster of every Muslim mayor [4] [5].
1. Two headline cases: New York City and Dearborn — historic and widely reported
National and international outlets report Zohran Mamdani’s November 2025 victory as New York City’s first Muslim mayor; multiple sources note his November 4, 2025 election and historic firsts for the city [1] [6] [7]. Dearborn’s Abdullah Hammoud — re‑elected in November 2025 — is repeatedly identified as the city’s first Muslim and Arab American mayor and as mayor since 2022 [2] [3]. These two names appear across independent outlets and summaries as the most prominent Muslim mayors of large U.S. cities in 2025 [2] [3].
2. Broader wave: advocacy groups and specialty outlets report many local Muslim victors
Advocacy and community outlets report a record number of Muslim Americans elected in 2025: sources claim about 42 Muslim officeholders won seats across the U.S., including “five mayors” and officials spanning at least nine states such as New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Maryland [4] [5]. Those reports indicate the phenomenon is widespread at the municipal level, especially in states with larger Muslim populations like New Jersey and Michigan [4] [7].
3. Where the record ends: no single definitive, source‑verified national list in these materials
The documents provided include claims and partial lists but do not produce a single authoritative federal registry of every Muslim mayor by state and city. Multiple sources reference directories to come (for example, CAIR’s planned 2025–2026 Directory) or present snapshots and illustrative cases rather than exhaustive lists [5] [4]. Therefore, a comprehensive state‑by‑state catalog is not present in the available reporting [5] [4].
4. States repeatedly named in coverage — what reporting identifies
Coverage and compilations cite at least nine states where Muslim candidates won offices in 2025: New York, Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina — and indicate mayors are among those winners — but these pieces do not always name each mayor and city in every state [4]. New Jersey is singled out as having many municipal Muslim officeholders historically, and local reporting points to multiple Muslim mayors there over time, though the specific 2025 mayoral names and cities are not enumerated in these sources [7] [4].
5. Local nuance matters: small cities, suburban towns, and major metros differ
The available reporting shows a mix: major metropolises (New York City) and mid‑sized or smaller municipalities (Dearborn, Hamtramck, College Park referenced in reporting) are part of the narrative [2] [8] [4]. For example, Hamtramck, Michigan is described as a city with a Muslim‑majority local government and as having a mayoral race in 2025 that guaranteed a Muslim mayor even before final certification in one report [5] [8]. But specific lists of every city and mayor are not assembled in the provided material [5].
6. Competing narratives and potential agendas in the sources
Community outlets and advocacy groups celebrate the electoral gains as a milestone and emphasize representation and resilience [4] [5]. Some opinion and international outlets frame these wins as part of a wider “wave” of Muslim political ascendance [9] [10]. Those sources may have implicit agendas to highlight progress and counter Islamophobia; conversely, some conservative outlets criticize or highlight backlash elements in coverage [10]. Readers should note these divergent framings when interpreting claims about how many mayors and where they serve.
7. What reporting does not say (limitations you should know)
Available sources do not provide a definitive, state‑by‑state accounting naming every Muslim mayor and their city across the United States for 2025; nor do they confirm an exact national tally of Muslim mayors broken down by state [4] [5]. For a complete, verifiable list, sources point to CAIR’s upcoming directory and local election records rather than the materials provided here [5].
8. Practical next steps if you want a full state-by-state list
Consult CAIR’s 2025–2026 Directory of Elected Muslim Officials when published and cross‑check municipal clerks or election certification pages for each city. Use the named, verifiable anchors from these reports (Zohran Mamdani — New York City; Abdullah Hammoud — Dearborn) as starting points to build a sourced roster [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not include the comprehensive roster you asked for, so direct verification from local records is required [5] [4].