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... Zohran Mamdani's election as New York City's next mayor has become something larger than a historic first for many Muslim New Yorkers " it marks a rare moment of visibility and unity across the city's Muslim community, and a particularly meaningful one for Shia Muslims, who have often felt sidelined, even within their own faith, they told NBC News.

That sense of possibility crystallized for Fizza Jaffari the night Mamdani won.

She recalled watching the election returns from a cafe in Astoria, a diverse Queens neighborhood with a large Muslim population, when cheers erupted and car horns blared as Mamdani made history, not just as the city's first Muslim mayor, but as the first Shia Muslim to hold the office.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime type of moment," Jaffri, 33, told NBC News. "I haven't really experienced that, especially because we're not always in these high-power offices."

As Mamdani prepares to take office on Jan. 1, Shia Muslim New Yorkers say his election is already reshaping conversations about faith, identity and belonging. ...

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... For Mamdani, the moment is rooted in lessons passed down by his paternal grandparents on justice, dignity and standing against oppression through his Shia identity.

"They didn't just teach me what it meant to be Shia. They didn't just teach me what it meant to be a Muslim," Mamdani told NBC News in an interview at his office.

"They also used those lessons to teach me what it meant to be a good person." ...