New York City - In the Bronx's Morrisania neighbourhood, you often hear a familiar refrain: “Mamdani, Mamdani, Mamdani”.

Home to a fast-growing West African community - including many new-immigrant Muslims - Morrisania is among many areas where identity issues of race converge with the needs of the working class ahead of New York’s November 4 mayoral election.

Many in this community are counting on 34-year-old candidate Zohran Mamdani to win.

After all, a victory for Mamdani over former Governor Andrew Cuomo would mark a series of historic firsts for New York City - its first Muslim mayor, the first born in Africa, and the first person of South Asian descent to lead the largest city in the United States.

It is a fact that has sparked hope - and grim reminders of entrenched Islamopho

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