One is a former al-Qaeda leader, the other a US mayor. Guess which was invited to the White House
- Written by Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University
Two prominent young Muslim figures have had an exceptional rise to power this year: Ahmed al-Sharaa in Syria and Zohran Mamdani in New York City.
While sharing a common religion, their political stories couldn’t be more different. As has US President Donald Trump’s treatment of them.
Trump has embraced al-Sharaa as a former Islamist...
