As the New York Post reported, Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is facing mounting criticism after gleefully campaigning with Imam Siraj Wahhaj — a Brooklyn cleric once named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing — and appearing alongside City Councilman Yusef Abdus Salaam, a figure whose past remains mired in controversy.

Mamdani, a self-described socialist, posted smiling photos on X from his visit to Wahhaj’s Bedford-Stuyvesant mosque, where he described the imam as “a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community.” The New York Post reported that Wahhaj, 75, has long been accused of extremist ties, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and fiery sermons calling for “jihad” in New York City.

During the 1990s, Wahhaj was identified by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the bombing that left six dead and more than 1,000 injured. Though he denied involvement, the New York Post noted that Wahhaj publicly defended the men convicted of the attack, calling the FBI and CIA “the real terrorists.”

According to the Post, Wahhaj has also referred to homosexuality as “a disease of this society” and once preached that “if a man is found with another man, kill them both.” Intelligence assessments cited by the paper reveal Wahhaj urged his followers to “make [LGBTQ people] feel uncomfortable” while discouraging open violence.

Mamdani’s willingness to embrace such a controversial figure drew outrage from critics. “The fact that Mamdani stands with this imam is disqualifying,” Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa told the New York Post. “New York needs a mayor who protects New Yorkers from terrorism, not embraces terrorists.”

The New York Post further reported that Wahhaj testified in defense of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman — the “blind sheikh” convicted for plotting multiple terror attacks in the 1990s — calling him a “respected scholar.” Intelligence sources quoted by the Post say Wahhaj’s past sermons invoked militant imagery and calls for “an army of 10,000 Muslim men” to march through New York.

In 2018, the Post reported, Wahhaj again drew headlines when three of his children were arrested at a New Mexico compound, accused of training minors for violent jihad. While Wahhaj insisted he was the one who alerted police, prosecutors said his ideology heavily influenced the group’s radical beliefs.

Councilman Salaam’s presence at the event also stirred backlash. Though exonerated in the Central Park Five rape case, Salaam’s behavior on the night of the 1989 “wilding” attacks was far from innocent — he was among the roving groups of teens who harassed and robbed people throughout Central Park.

Neither Mamdani nor Wahhaj responded to requests for comment, the New York Post reported.