Ramadan at the FDNY
Anger rising at prayer rugs placed next to memorials for the 343 firefighters killed on 9/11.
The placement of Muslim prayer rugs in front of the FDNY’s memorial plaque for firefighters killed on 9/11 has angered members who contend the Ramadan observance disrespected the fallen heroes.
Last week, the FDNY Islamic Society, a fraternal group of Muslim employees –“in coordination with the FDNY and the Mayor’s Office,” officials say – hosted an iftar, an evening meal to break the daily fast during the month of Ramadan.
The city’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, attended the event at fire department headquarters with Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore and roughly 125 FDNY members and guests.
The celebratory meal at Metrotech Plaza took place in the FDNY auditorium, like in prior years. The FDNY posted photos of the March 4 event inside the meeting room.
For the first time in memory, however, participants placed more than a dozen prayer rugs in the FDNY lobby, an unofficial photo shows – next to a large memorial plaque with the names of firefighters killed in the line of duty, including the 343 who perished in the World Trade Center terror attacks.
A microphone stands next to the prayer rugs stretched out end to end.
On an opposite wall, not shown, another plaque displays the names of 409 FDNY members who have died of cancer and other illnesses linked to the toxic smoke and dust at Ground Zero, the decimated World Trade Center site, after the terror attacks.
The unofficial photo has spread on social media.
NYC Councilmember Joann Ariola, R-Queens, said her office has received more than 20 complaints from 9/11 first responders and relatives of FDNY members killed or sickened on 9/11.
“As someone who respects the sacrifices made by all FDNY members, I believe the Muslim group involved, along with city leadership (including the Mayor), showed a real lack of sensitivity,” an active firefighter wrote.
“The auditorium, already in use as a dining hall, could easily have served a dual purpose for any ritual or gathering—keeping the memorial lobby untouched and focused on its solemn role. We owe it to the fallen and their families to treat that space with the utmost respect and inclusivity that truly honors everyone who served.”
Ariola said in a statement, “This is a building full of conference rooms and meeting spaces, and they had the entire auditorium for their event. Why, of all places, did they choose a hallway directly in front of a 9/11 memorial?”
She added, “It is a memorial, and should be sacrosanct, not a space for people to be congregating regardless of religion or rationale.”
FDNY spokeswoman Amanda Farinacci said in an email the department “routinely marks religious occasions in support of its affinity groups and this one was no different.”
“The ceremony followed the traditional iftar, breaking the fast immediately at sunset and after the Maghrib prayer,” Farinacci said, referring to the fourth of five daily prayers in Islam.
“Due to capacity issues inside the auditorium, the rugs were placed in the lobby.”
There was no “intended disrespect,” she said.