Story perspectives

Petition Urges Mayor Mamdani to Skip 9/11 Memorial

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 6:47 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Mayor Zohran Mamdani faces calls to skip the 9/11 25th-anniversary memorial.
An online petition signed by over 100,000 9/11 families urges Mamdani not to attend.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said Mamdani should not attend without condemning terror groups.
Mamdani gave a ceremonial 9/11 pen to chief counsel Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented al-Darbi, an al-Qaeda convict.

History

Historical Context

The September 11, 2001 attacks by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people and caused the World Trade Center towers to collapse. The tragedy reshaped U.S. political discourse and spurred the creation of annual city memorial ceremonies in New York. Decades later, petitions to alter those ceremonies illustrate continuing debate over how the nation commemorates the event.

1 of 2

Story summary

Mayor Zohran Mamdani faces calls to skip the 9/11 25th-anniversary memorial.
An online petition signed by over 100,000 9/11 families urges Mamdani not to attend.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said Mamdani should not attend without condemning terror groups.
Mamdani gave a ceremonial 9/11 pen to chief counsel Ramzi Kassem, who previously represented al-Darbi, an al-Qaeda convict.

1 / 2