Mosque Scare Turns Political Firestorm After Dems Leave Out One Key Detail

A masked man holding a BB gun at a Queens mosque touched off a political controversy over the weekend after top New York Democrats rushed to frame the incident as an anti-Muslim hate crime — only for it to emerge that the suspect himself may be Muslim.

Police say Sheikh Haque, 33, of Buffalo, burst into the Muslim Center of New York during Friday prayers on July 3, brandishing what looked like a real firearm in front of dozens of worshippers gathered for services around 1:30 p.m. A congregant quickly wrestled him to the ground, and he was held down with help from an off-duty MTA worker, a cab driver, and an NYPD officer until police arrived. The weapon turned out to be a BB pistol. No shots were fired and no one was hurt.

Haque was charged with weapons possession and menacing. Police have not filed hate crime charges, and it remains unclear what prompted the disturbance.

That didn’t stop a wave of elected officials from immediately casting the episode as an act of bigotry against Muslims. Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted on X that a “terrifying situation” had unfolded for “Muslim New Yorkers,” thanking the bystanders who intervened and declaring that “every New Yorker should be able to observe their religion without fear or intimidation.”

New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James went further, calling the incident “horrific under any circumstances” and urging New Yorkers, “We must stand united against Islamophobia.”

Today, a masked individual reached into his pocket to pull out what appeared to be a deadly weapon during Friday Prayers at the Muslim Center.

This is horrific under any circumstances, especially when a community is joining in prayer.

We must stand united against Islamophobia. https://t.co/yGdC3XdcKs

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) July 3, 2026

Rep. Grace Meng and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats, echoed similar sentiments, with Schumer saying he was troubled by what he called another possible attack targeting a house of worship.

Critics online slammed Mamdani once Haque’s background surfaced, accusing officials of jumping to conclusions and exploiting the incident for political messaging before basic facts — including the suspect’s own religious identity — were established. The backlash spread quickly across social media, with numerous commentators mocking the rush to label the episode a hate crime.

The guy with the gun was also Muslim. Convenient fact to leave out. What a snake.

— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) July 5, 2026

Sunni on Shia or Shia on Sunni?

— Katya Sedgwick (@KatyaSedgwick) July 5, 2026

Why didn't you share the name of the attackers, Zohran? pic.twitter.com/8qDGrIixfH

— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) July 4, 2026

Tell us about it. pic.twitter.com/dK4YUq8PfF

— Sarah ???? (@cosmopterix) July 5, 2026

The flap comes months after Mamdani made fighting Islamophobia a signature issue, arguing in past remarks that anti-Muslim bigotry gets a pass in American politics that other forms of hate do not. Months after his ascension to the mayoral position, Mamdani said of Islamophobia, “I think there’s an unabashed nature to it, and it has been echoed from the highest offices in this country and they do so without any sense of shame. And what is remarkable about Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bigotry is not that it is bigoted, for there is so much bigotry in this country, it is that there are very few who speak up in opposition to it, the manner in which it has become normalized.”

In his race for the mayoralty, Mamdani said, “For as long as we have lived, we have known that no matter what anyone says, there are still certain forms of hate that are acceptable in this city. Islamophobia is not seen as inexcusable.”

The incident also follows separate criticism of the mayor over his stance on Israel, after he compared the Jewish state to Saudi Arabia on religious freedom grounds — a comparison that drew accusations of ignoring Israel’s protections for religious minorities and its Arab citizens’ political rights, while sidestepping harsher criticism of Iran’s treatment of religious minorities.

As of Sunday, Haque’s arraignment in Queens Criminal Court remained pending.