Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration partnered with a Muslim civil-society nonprofit to provide taxpayer-funded “Islamophobia Awareness” training for NYPD officers despite the group’s previous campaign against federal funding for the National September 11th Memorial & Museum. The Muslim Community Network previously lobbied Congress to pull federal funding from the museum, alleging that some of its exhibits “demonize Islam and Muslims.” The organization also received millions of dollars from New York City while offering safety training and police-encounter guidance to participants in anti-Israel protests.
The latest partnership was arranged through the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, which operates within Mamdani’s newly created Office of Community Safety. State Assemblyman Alex Bores secured a $70,000 grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for the program. The money funded the “Islamophobia Awareness and Cultural Competency Training Initiative,” conducted in partnership with the Muslim Community Network.
Participants included members of the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and the department’s Quality of Life Teams. The program also reached New York City Public Schools employees, Taxi and Limousine Commission personnel, and workers from several mayoral offices. The training taught participants about the roots and effects of Islamophobia before moving into what the administration called “agency-specific guidance.”
The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice announced the program’s completion on July 14th. Deputy Mayor for Community Safety Renita Francois called the training part of the Mamdani administration’s effort to address the “root causes of bias.” The announcement didn’t release the curriculum, identify the Muslim Community Network instructors, or explain whether participating employees were required to attend.
The Muslim Community Network’s history has drawn scrutiny to its role in police training. The New York Post reported that MCN previously lobbied Congress to withdraw federal funding from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at Ground Zero. The organization claimed that portions of the museum “demonize Islam and Muslims.” The museum is devoted to documenting the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
MCN board president Debbie Almontaser has also built an extensive role in New York City’s public education system. Her company, Bridging Cultures Group, received more than $1 million from the city’s Department of Education between 2012 and 2026 for training and consulting work, according to the Post. Its offerings included teacher instruction centered on Islamophobia following 9/11, giving Almontaser another role in how city employees and educators discuss the attacks and their aftermath.
That relationship previously drew controversy when Bridging Cultures conducted workshops for school employees about the Israel-Hamas war. Jewish teachers accused the program of presenting an anti-Israel account that emphasized Palestinian suffering while failing to give comparable attention to Israelis killed during the October 7th attacks and the hostages taken by Hamas. The Post reported that some planned sessions were canceled following complaints from educators.
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Almontaser had already become a public figure in 2007, when she resigned as principal of the newly created Khalil Gibran International Academy amid an uproar over “Intifada NYC” T-shirts produced by Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media. The group used office space at Saba: Association of Yemeni Americans, where Almontaser served as a board member, but Almontaser wasn’t a member of the group. When questioned about the slogan, she offered the excuse that “intifada” came from an Arabic word meaning “shaking off,” while acknowledging the term’s association with Palestinian violence and saying she didn’t believe the shirts were intended to promote harm.
MCN itself received nearly $2.5 million in New York City Council discretionary funding between 2014 and 2024, according to another Post investigation. During the 2024 anti-Israel campus demonstrations, the organization offered protesters safety training and guidance concerning encounters with police. It also advised activists to refuse police searches and warned them against being “fooled” by the “good cop/bad cop” technique.