Mamdani faces a Muslim problem ahead of Gracie Mansion protest

Meanwhile, Mamdani, New York City's first Muslim mayor, is also facing criticism from hardline anti-Israel activists who argue he has not gone far enough in support of Palestinian activism after taking office.

Anila Ali, president of the American Muslim & Multifaith Women's Empowerment Council, said she plans to join Tuesday night's protest because she believes Mamdani's politics are alienating moderate Muslims and damaging relations between Muslim and Jewish communities in New York.

Ali described herself as part of a post-9/11 movement of "moderate Muslims" who reject Islamist extremism and believe Islam is compatible with coexistence, religious freedom and life in America.

She described Islamism as a hardline political ideology that merges religion and politics, and she argued Mamdani represents a more radical version of Islam than the moderate faith practiced by many American Muslims.

"Zohran Mamdani is their success story. The Muslim Brotherhood, they backed him," Ali told Fox News Digital in a video interview.

However, criticism of Mamdani is not only coming from moderate Muslim and interfaith activists. Hardline anti-Israel activists have also criticized the mayor for not going far enough in support of Palestinian activism after taking office.

Kiswani also criticized Mamdani for what she described as walking back his earlier defense of the phrase "globalize the intifada" and softening his stance on Palestinian activism after taking office.

"I don't think he or any politician is doing enough in support of Palestinian liberation," Kiswani said.

The divide has turned Mamdani into a local flashpoint in a broader political battle playing out across the United States, where anti-Israel activism, Islamist movements and far-left groups have increasingly merged into overlapping protest coalitions.

"They start with the Jewish people - that's not where they're going to end," Ali said.

Ali said that Mamdani still retains strong support from progressive and pro-Palestinian activist groups that helped fuel his political rise.

Tuesday's protest outside Gracie Mansion, Ali said, is intended to show Muslims, Jews and Christians standing together against what she described as extremist Islamist politics masquerading as mainstream Islam.

Ali also described Mamdani's politics as part of a "red-green alliance" between Islamist activists and the far left.

She warned New York risks following the path of British cities such as Bradford, Birmingham and Manchester, which she described as overtaken by extremism and division. The cities have long been at the center of debates in the United Kingdom over immigration, Islamist extremism, segregation and multiculturalism.

"The radical Islamism, it's just unbearable to see what's happened to the UK," she said.

The protest is being organized by End Jew Hatred alongside a coalition of Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups, including the American Muslim & Multifaith Women's Empowerment Council and the Catholic League.

CAIR acknowledged Fox News Digital's request for comment. Mamdani's office did not immediately respond.