Shahana Hanif was angered when Muslim activist Anila Ali expressed solidarity with Jews and protested Mamdani’s weak response to antisemitic incidents
A Muslim New York City councilwoman became so enraged that a fellow Muslim woman had broken ranks and criticized Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s treatment of Jews that she told the woman she hoped Allah would damn her to Hell.
Councilwoman Shahana Hanif —an erotic poet who represents a far-left slice of Brooklyn—lashed out at Pakistani-American activist Anila Ali after Ali wrote on X on Tuesday evening that “We are on our way to join @endjewhatred to stand with the Jewish people and protest @NYCMayor’s refusal to stop religious freedom violations against the Jewish people, their intimidation and harassment under his leadership.”
The generally outspoken Hanif appeared to take particular umbrage at a fellow Muslim criticizing the city’s first Muslim mayor, a fierce critic of Israel who is under fire for his anemic efforts to stop a tide of antisemitic incidents across the city.
“May Allah condemn you to Jahannam,” Hanif scolded Ali on X—using the Arabic word for Hell.
Before entering the council, Hanif was known as a writer of erotic poetry.
In 2014, she performed a dramatic reading of her work at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in an event called “Lust, With Some Caution! An Evening of Erotic Readings.”
During the event, Hanif waxed about naked “make-outs” in Brooklyn’s family-friendly Prospect Park.
“We would walk deep into what was only greenery because I was always afraid that my father or some Bengali uncle or aunty would spot me without bra and catch a glimpse of my luscious 36 double Ds,” Hanif told titillated audience members.
Hanif added that she “envied the white women I had watched in porn. They knew how to maneuver the penis so comfortably … I pushed him to direct me but I guess his lack of response and happy moans meant I was doing okay.”
“All I could think about was masturbating,” Hanif recalled while being bedridden with what she said was lupus.
The poem, “Heavy Moans, Achy Joints,” remains online and you can read it here.
Hanif is a political protégé of Brad Lander, a far-left, anti-Israel figure who held the same seat on the council before moving on to comptroller and who is now a congressional candidate for New York’s 10th Congressional District. Polls show that Lander—who has the backing of Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.)—is heavily favored to oust the district’s sitting congressman, Rep. Dan Goldman, in the upcoming Democratic primary.
During her time in the council, Hanif has made a name for herself as one of the most anti-Israel members of the chamber.
In April 2023 she sparked widespread condemnation after voting against a resolution to establish an annual day to “End Jew Hatred”—she was one of just two lawmakers to oppose the idea.
In the days after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of Jews, Hanif wrote on X that “The root cause of this war is the illegal, immoral and unjust occupation of the Palestinian people. The occupation has brought violence toward Israelis and Palestinians for over 75 years.”
Hanif has been active in pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protest movements throughout New York City—including the ugly protests on Columbia’s Manhattan campus—in the years following the massacre.
Hanif did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Free Beacon.
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