New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has faced a massive backlash on social media for saying that his aunt feared travelling on a subway in a hijab following the 9/11 attacks. Amid the row, he went into firefighting mode, saying the aunt in question was one of his father's distant cousins.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the 34-year-old said he was talking about Zehra, whom he addressed by the first name. "I was speaking about Zehra fuhi , my father’s cousin, who passed away a few years ago," said Mamdani, adding that he affectionately called his aunt.

Fuhi means paternal aunt in Urdu and Hindi. Mamdani's campaign did not provide the full name of Zehra.

Last week, Mamdani delivered an emotional speech and recounted how Muslim New Yorkers, including his aunt, h

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