PHOTO: An artistic rendition from the Interfaith service at St. Nicholas
After a week of 9/11 controversies—from the Kassem pen to the smiles at Ground Zero—Archbishop Elpidophoros recasts Mamdani at St. Nicholas as a symbol of reconciliation.
By Helleniscope’s Editorial Team
For Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 25th anniversary of September 11 began in controversy and ended with Archbishop Elpidophoros welcoming him at St. Nicholas National Shrine.
More than 100,000 people had signed a petition asking Mamdani to stay away from the Ground Zero ceremony. Their objections went well beyond the fact that New York now has its first Muslim mayor.
Critics pointed to Mamdani’s association with Hasan Piker, who notoriously declared that “America deserved 9/11.” They also focused on Mamdani’s chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem.
Kassem once represented Ahmed al-Darbi, an al-Qaeda member who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker. Al-Darbi was also the brother-in-law of Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the terrorists who hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon. Kassem was doing the constitutionally legitimate work of a defense attorney, and representing a terrorist does not make the attorney one. But symbolism matters—particularly around September 11.
Yet Kassem and his team were given responsibility for helping draft Mamdani’s 9/11 executive orders. After signing the orders establishing a Day of Remembrance and strengthening emergency preparedness, Mamdani had the ceremonial pen passed to Kassem. Former FDNY Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who led the department on 9/11, was among those who found the gesture offensive. Here is the incident:
Then came Ground Zero.
During the solemn reading of the victims’ names, cameras caught Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez smiling and apparently laughing together.
This sparked a wave of criticism…
Their defenders correctly point out that the television clip lasted only about four seconds and had no audio. We do not know what was said or what prompted the smiles. But that defense misses the point.
Nearly 3,000 names were being read while relatives stood nearby, grieving husbands, wives, children, and parents. This was not a political reception or a campaign rope line. It was Ground Zero on September 11.
Whatever produced the laughter, the moment displayed a remarkable failure of judgment and situational awareness. Public officials should not need an aide to remind them that while the names of murdered New Yorkers are being recited, levity—even for four seconds—is inappropriate. The image was jarring precisely because the occasion was so solemn.
Hours later, Mamdani entered a dramatically different setting.
At St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, the only church destroyed in the attacks, Archbishop Elpidophoros presided over an interfaith memorial attended by Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders, first responders, survivors and victims’ families.
Mamdani was given a prominent role. He spoke of September 11 as “the darkest day” in the city’s history, praised heroism and sacrifice, and presented the rebuilt St. Nicholas as a symbol of New York’s resilience.
Elpidophoros supplied the larger moral framework.
Standing in the reconstructed church at Ground Zero, the Archbishop called for an end to intolerance and hatred and celebrated New York as a “magnificent and glorious mosaic of the one human family.” It was a beautiful message, as fake as Elpidophoros ever gave – and he has done his best over seven years.
It was also a remarkably effective whitewash.
The disputes that had surrounded Mamdani all week disappeared: Piker, Kassem, the ceremonial pen, the petition from 9/11 families and, only hours earlier, the astonishingly tone-deaf smiles at Ground Zero.
At St. Nicholas, Mamdani was recast not as a controversial politician whose judgment deserved scrutiny, but as a symbol of reconciliation and interfaith harmony.
That may be Elpidophoros’s understanding of the mission of the National Shrine. But reconciliation should not require amnesia. A church built from the ruins of September 11 ought to be capable of welcoming a Muslim mayor without pretending that legitimate questions about that mayor’s choices are expressions of religious intolerance.
There is, however, another side of Mamdani’s 9/11 record that deserves acknowledgment.
Three days before the anniversary, his administration released approximately 170,000 pages of previously unavailable city records dealing with toxic air, asbestos, public health and the government’s response after the attacks. More documents are scheduled for release in the coming year. The records include material concerning what officials knew about the dangers around Ground Zero and how the city considered its potential legal liability.
We have to note that, in a general climate that questions how much the US government knew before 9/11, with revelations – IN THE OFFICIAL 9/11 REPORT – of “some” people known by the FBI who had “shorted” airline stocks days, hours before 9/11, that was a genuine public service. Survivors, first responders and their advocates had fought for years to obtain many of these records. Mamdani deserves credit for opening them.
Which makes the irony of his presence in the 9/11 events even sharper.
SOURCES:
- Kassem / ceremonial pen: Mamdani had the 9/11 executive-order pen passed to chief counsel Ramzi Kassem, who had represented convicted al-Qaeda member Ahmed al-Darbi. Read the report
- Mamdani and AOC at Ground Zero: Cameras captured the two smiling during the reading of victims’ names; defenders said it was a brief greeting and the clip lacked context. Read the report
- St. Nicholas remarks: Mamdani called 9/11 “the darkest day” in New York’s history and praised sacrifice, resilience and rebuilding at the interfaith memorial. Official transcript
- Elpidophoros’s message: The Archbishop framed the service around rejecting hatred and division and embracing New York’s religious diversity. Official remarks
- 9/11 archives: Mamdani’s administration released more than 170,000 pages of city records concerning air quality, health risks and the government response after the attacks. NYC records announcement
September 13, 2026, www.helleniscope.com, n.stamatakis@aol.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
There has never been one major Muslim head of state or major Islamic institution making an explicit collective apology along the lines of “We apologize to the American people for what was done in the name of Islam.” That distinction is real. An exanple is Mamdani who spoke about the 2,753 New Yorkers killed, the first responders, those subsequently killed by 9/11-related illnesses, and thensaid New Yorkers have a “sacred obligation” to remember the dead and their sacrifices. BUT no apology from Mamdani as a Muslim, no statement accepting any Muslim responsibility, and no discussion in those remarks of the Islamist ideology or religious motivation of al-Qaeda. Instead he giggled and smiled with AOC at the memorial ceremony. as for the other giggler Elpidoktonos – conspicuously absent from his address was never identifying who attacked America or why. He does not say al-Qaeda, Islamist, Islamic extremism, jihadism, or even explicitly describe the perpetrators as terrorists.
Elpi is a fake. His prayers are fake. It’s a really big show. What fools we mortals be.
Elpi the ANAXIOS Loser & endlessly despised. Never will he be loved & revered by the faithful like Archbishop Iakovos!
Do you truly expect him to comment or speak against his own faith and religious beliefs? Let’s get serious. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing and he will never betray his mother land turkey and all she stands for.
Elpidophoros’ remarks were less heartfelt than Mamdani’s; he wears the American flag when it suits him but he is always a Turk first. Perhaps Mamdani kept his words tightly organized because way too much is now known about 9/11 and hopefully it will eventually come out. The person handling the controversial pen is Jessica Tisch, the NYPD Police Commissioner, who has ZERO experience as a NYPD cop, but whose family is very familiar with the dancing Israelis of 9/11/2001. No more Middle Eastern Wars for Israel!
Elpi the ANAXIOS Loser & endlessly despised. Never will he be loved & revered by the faithful like Archbishop Iakovos!
AGREE, but are any of the other bishops any different? Absolutely not. Bartholomeos=-0, and all the rest 0x0=0. None are worthy or capable of administering any organization, never mind a church. Autocephaly NOW so we can pick our leaders. No TURKS. I’M ONLY AMERICANS. GREEKS YES, but not as important as being ORTHODOX. AMEN. AYUTOCEPHALY NOW. YOU HEAR US BARTHOLOMEOS?!!??
Why Kiss Turkish Born ,Arch/Orthodoxy hands who are obliged to serve Turkey’s best interests?? as they are
loyal civil citizens by serving in the Turkish Military. This is an Anathema/Blasphemous to Hellenic Orthodox Christians!
Greek Americans need to recalibrate their true identity with the wake-up mission to free themselves from Turkish Oppression from deceptions through the political trappings from The Archdiocese ,who are impotent to clarify their positions. We are apathetic people who fund this ominous mess as
Loyal Patriotic Hellenic Orthodox Christian Parishioners !