Breaking Away from the Norm and Seeking Change out of the Box
(Translated)

https://www.al-waie.org/archives/article/20066
Al Waie Magazine Issue No. 472
Thirty-Ninth Year, Jumada I 1447 AH corresponding to November 2025 CE

The victory of Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, known for his strong opposition to US President Donald Trump, in the mayoral race of New York, the stronghold of capitalism and capitalists and the largest city in the United States, was a pivotal moment that caught the attention of many observers, decision-makers, and researchers. New York is a global center for finance, culture, art, fashion, and media, and is one of the largest and most diversified economies in the world. It is one of the most important centers of trade and finance in the world. It is the economic capital of the United States of America due to the large number of multinational companies and banks located there. It is home to the headquarters of the United Nations, the stock exchange, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to the extent that New York City is described as the cultural and economic capital of the world.

This victory is remarkable, given the importance and symbolic significance of New York City to politicians and decision-makers in America, and to both parties vying for power; the Republicans and the Democrats. The victory of Mamdani, who comes from a family with a Muslim name, and whose ideas shocked American decision-makers, was unprecedented. He disregarded the financial giants and capitalists of New York and America, as well as the lobbies and influential figures in the political sphere, most notably the Zionist lobby. He even relied on individual donations of less than forty dollars to fund his campaign, instead of the millions that candidates typically depend on from wealthy individuals, capitalists, and lobbyists. He did not hesitate to attack Trump, his party, and his policies, and he demonstrated his animosity towards capitalists, elites, and owners of large corporations. He also voiced his opposition to the war of the Jewish entity on Gaza and its crimes in Palestine, even threatening to seek the arrest of the Prime Minister of the Jewish entity, Benjamin Netanyahu, should he visit New York. Moreover, he championed the needs of the people, the poor, and those with limited incomes, pledging to do his utmost to ensure their rights and improve their circumstances.

In short, Mamdani is a man who brought ideas that went against the prevailing current in America, to the point that the US president, Donald Trump, was shocked by his election victory, and attacked him and everyone who voted for him.

Looking at the remarkable aspect of the event, we see something new that has begun to take shape in Western societies, after it had been forming for years and escalating in the last two years, especially because of the war on Gaza that exposed all the systems. It is the emergence of young generations who are turning against the old inherited values of the West, and drawing for themselves a new character and a different cultural orientation than what was prevalent, out of conviction that the old was a failure or bad, or at least the need to change it.

For example, Donald Trump, referring to the extent of the change in the global political climate and societal awareness, especially among younger generations, stated: “Twenty years ago, Israel had the most powerful lobby I have ever seen. No politician could voice even the slightest criticism. Today, this is no longer the case. It’s amazing. They had total control over Congress, and now they don’t, you know, I’m a little surprised to see that.” Trump added, “There was a time where you couldn’t speak bad, if you wanted to be a politician, you couldn’t speak badly. But today, you have AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) plus three, and you have all these lunatics, and they’ve really, they’ve changed it.”

Even Mamdani’s victory brought back to the table the discussion of Donald Trump’s own victory in the American presidential elections. Many people linked the two men because they both brought new ideas that were somewhat revolutionary compared to the old and familiar. Trump, that arrogant billionaire, lacking diplomacy and the protocols usually found in political circles, won the elections contrary to many of the expectations that accompanied the presidential race. Many people examined the reasons for the victory of Trump, with his bad reputation and history. The strongest of these explanations was that Trump came with new and unfamiliar ideas and addressed the area of feeling of the American people, the economy and the poor living conditions. They pinned their hopes on him to get them out of their deteriorating economic situation, by talking about the priority of America and Americans, and making America great again, which many considered thinking out of the box, the same term that the Trump administration later used as a characteristic. Then, the hopes of the American people in Trump and his program began to decline, less than a year after he took office, and the New York municipal elections came as an expression of the disappointment in Trump and his programs.

The common denominator between the two men’s election victories is that both of them came up with ideas that the American people saw as a break away from the norm, which is the reason for the deterioration of their conditions and the decline in their living standards. This was like the beginning of a revolt against capitalism, and an expression of disinterest in the prevailing system, which the majority felt was designed in favor of the big fish, major capitalists, at their expense. This is the beginning of the shattering of the idol of democracy and capitalism, which the world has been burned by since its rise.

If what happened in America and New York is a remarkable and prominent event, it is not the only one of its kind. However, it stood out because it is a country that enjoys some freedom and the ability to express itself. Moreover, those feelings and tendencies exist, and to a greater extent, in other societies and among other peoples, especially the peoples in Muslim countries. Yet, the state of oppression and dictatorship is what prevents people from wanting change and expressing it, or being able to bring it about.

Indeed, the Muslims’ feeling of need for change and desire to be rid of the existing situation in their country is more intense and stronger, because they experience the bitterness and hardship of life more than others, more than America, whose people are considered prosperous in comparison to them, and because they are driven by Shariah convictions and divine commands to change and transform into the Islamic system that their Lord (swt) has chosen for them as a way of life.

The Muslims’ conviction that capitalism is corrupt and evil is more advanced than that of other peoples. It is of course accompanied by a sense of feeling that reinforces and strengthens that conviction, and is driven by Shariah convictions. The conviction among the peoples of the West, especially the American people, who are pioneers in capitalism and democracy, constitutes a true expression of the need of all humanity for an ideology that saves it from the tyranny of the ruling elites and oligarchy and their control over the necks of people with legislation, laws, and systems that have destroyed people and brought them to the wellsprings of hardship.

While this is true in terms of economic and material needs, it is even more evident in social, humanitarian, and moral aspects after capitalism has plunged peoples into spiritual, moral, and humanitarian emptiness and has made their lives difficult and deprived them of peace and tranquility.

There is no doubt that the ruling elites, since the conflict between right and wrong, have feared the people’s thinking of deviating from the norm that they themselves established in order to perpetuate their dominance and power. People have always found it difficult and challenging to think outside the box. Allah (swt) says,

[وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ قَالُوا بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا أَلْفَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءَنَا ۗ أَوَلَوْ كَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ]

“And when it is said to them, ‘Follow what Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘Instead, we will follow that which we found our fathers doing.’ Even though their fathers did not understand anything, nor were they guided” [TMQ Surah Al-Baqarah: 170]. These are Bani Israeel who criticized our Prophet Musa (as) for deviating from what was customary. Allah (swt) said,

[فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُم مُّوسَىٰ بِآيَاتِنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالُوا مَا هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّفْتَرًى وَمَا سَمِعْنَا بِهَٰذَا فِي آبَائِنَا الْأَوَّلِينَ]

“Then when Musa came to them with Our clear signs, they said, ‘What is the matter with you?’ This is nothing but fabricated magic, and we have never heard of such a thing among our forefathers” [TMQ Surah Al-Qasas: 36].

And as Thamud said to their prophet, Salih (as),

[قَالُواْ يَٰصَٰلِحُ قَدۡ كُنتَ فِينَا مَرۡجُوّٗا قَبۡلَ هَٰذَآۖ أَتَنۡهَىٰنَآ أَن نَّعۡبُدَ مَا يَعۡبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَا وَإِنَّنَا لَفِي شَكّٖ مِّمَّا تَدۡعُونَآ إِلَيۡهِ مُرِيبٖ]

“They said, ‘O Salih, you were among us a man of promise before this. Do you forbid us to worship what our fathers worshipped? And indeed, we are, concerning that to which you invite us, in grave doubt’” [TMQ Surah Hud: 62]. And as the people of Madyan said to their Prophet Shu’ayb (as),

[قَالُواْ يَٰشُعَيۡبُ أَصَلَوٰتُكَ تَأۡمُرُكَ أَن نَّتۡرُكَ مَا يَعۡبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَآ أَوۡ أَن نَّفۡعَلَ فِيٓ أَمۡوَٰلِنَا مَا نَشَٰٓؤُاْۖ إِنَّكَ لَأَنتَ ٱلۡحَلِيمُ ٱلرَّشِيدُ]

“They said, “O Shu’ayb, does your prayer command you that we should abandon what our fathers worshipped or that we should not do with our wealth as we please? Indeed, you are the forbearing, the rightly guided” [TMQ Surah Hud: 87].

Thinking out of the box is not easy because leaving the familiar is difficult. People usually think about change within the familiar, until they begin to lose confidence in the familiar and the established. Then they move to thinking about change outside the familiar, which is what humanity needs most these days.

Humanity's realization of the corruption of democracy and capitalism, and before them socialism, and its need for a change to save it, is a promising development. It is a natural consequence of the experiences people have had with these principles and systems, which have caused them misery, hardship, and a loss of happiness and peace. This is in accordance with Allah (swt)'s words,

[وَمَنۡ أَعۡرَضَ عَن ذِكۡرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُۥ مَعِيشَةٗ ضَنكٗا وَنَحۡشُرُهُۥ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ أَعۡمَىٰ]

“And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a life of hardship, and We will raise him up on the Day of Resurrection blind” [TMQ Surah Taha: 124].

O Allah (swt), grant the Islamic Ummah and all of humanity a leader who will deliver them from the darkness of democratic capitalism and the oppression of ruling elites, and guide them to the justice of Islam and the leadership of the Muslims. There is no hope for the Islamic Ummah, nor for all of humanity, to escape its current misery and hardship except through the return of Islam as a way of life.