Eighteen years ago, ventriloquist Jeff Dunham introduced the character “Achmed the Dead Terrorist.” Dunham asked Achmed what his occupation was. “A suicide bomber,” he replied. Dunham responded, “So, you finished your job?” Achmed asked why he said that. “Well, you’re dead!” Dunham answered. “No, I’m not!” Achmed retorted. Dunham pointed out, “You’re a skeleton.” To which Achmed replied, “It’s a flesh wound.” When the crowd laughed at Achmed, he yelled back, “Silence! I kill you!” This only made the crowd laugh more.

Achmed has brought a lot of laughs to audiences over the years. Fast-forward to today, though, and Zohran Mamdani, a radical socialist and Muslim, is the leading candidate to become the next mayor of New York City. I won’t call him a terrorist. However, Mamdani protested against Israel after Hamas’s horrific attacks on October 7, 2023. He refuses to condemn the use of the term “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a call for the nation of Israel to be wiped out from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. He also refuses to refute “Globalize the intifada,” which means kill Jews anywhere in the world. He co-founded the local chapter of Students for Palestine at Bowdoin College.

Mamdani is a very slick character with a big smile and evasive answers to questions about past statements. He has mesmerized New Yorkers, especially those who are thrilled about all the free stuff he is promising, which he says will come easily from taxing the rich. Let’s throw in taxes for white neighborhoods, too!

He’s a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, as is New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That says a lot right there. He has been anti-police, which he now denies. He says he is not anti-Semitic, but his past tells a different story. He even proudly shared photos of a radical Muslim cleric who supported the organizer of the first World Trade Center bombing.

Over and over again, when pressed about past radical comments, Mamdani has refused to answer, deflecting questions by saying he is focusing on the needs of New Yorkers. As good as Fox News’s Martha MacCallum is, she couldn’t get a straight answer from him in a recent interview. And as much as I love Martha, she did not try to nail him down on all of the contradictions from his past.

Mamdani is one of the most radical politicians in my lifetime, and he’s on track to become the mayor of America’s largest city. Not only that, but New York City is the financial capital of the nation, if not the world. What happens there can have global impacts. As a Muslim, Mamdani is very familiar with the term “taqiyya,” which allows Muslims to be less than honest when dealing with their enemies. That’s a nice way of saying, “You can lie if it helps your cause.”

It’s hard to believe that as radical as his past is, Mamdani has fooled so many people. It’s not just in New York City — mayoral candidate Omar Fateh in Minneapolis is every bit as radical. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is not a Muslim, but he is, in my opinion, a borderline communist. There are many others.

How have we lost sight of what happened on 9/11 so easily? How have we forgotten the tens of millions who died in the 20th century under communist regimes? Our education system has dumbed down generations of our youth.

“Achmed the Dead Terrorist” is funny to watch. Mamdani, AOC, and other Democratic socialists who sympathize with jihadists are no laughing matter. It’s time for Christians to battle this evil on our knees. We need spiritual discernment if we are to continue as a Republic.

Something to pray about!
Semper Fidelis