After Mamdani's win, this is what another history-making Muslim leader wants you to know

Fresh off an eight hour flight from the UK to Washington, DC, on Wednesday, the man who became the first Muslim to lead a western nation greeted a small group of Muslim community members with this: "Zohran Mubarak".

The phrase - a play on the festive Eid greeting using the name of New York City's mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, elicited cheers and applause. 

But Humza Yousaf, the former leader of Scotland, wasn't just here on this pre-scheduled trip to celebrate the victory of a young, brown, progressive Muslim just like him. He had come to listen, impart advice and build networks.

"You are not guests of the west. You are building the west," he told the room of Mamdani's record-breaking election win just 24 hours earlier. 

Yousaf was adamant that, despite institutionalised bullying, threats, and loyalty tests, Muslim Americans cannot buckle under the weight of what he described as the mainstream embrace of the far right. 

It was a statement of defiance in the face of relentless anti-Muslim attacks targeted at the next mayor of the largest and most influential city in the US.

Now with Mamdani taking office, it's going to get much worse, Yousaf warned, drawing on his personal experience.

"When I was first minister, the death threats we received were so credible, we had to have that additional security and protection for our family too," he later told Middle East Eye. "So it's a reality, whether it's in the United Kingdom, United States, or, I'm afraid, across most of the world that we live in, amplified by the hatred that people can indulge in via social media".

That's why, he said, "support networks" such as "peer-mentor" programmes are in order, which is precisely why he's decided to meet with Muslim-American movers and shakers as he embarks on a US tour that will take him from Washington, DC, to Chicago, Phoenix, and then Los Angeles. 

With two decades of political experience behind him, he hopes to use that to build up the next generation of Muslims in public service. 

"We have the scars from that, metaphorically speaking. And therefore, I think we're able to advise others who are thinking of going into politics". 

Building a transatlantic alliance

Yousaf served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from March 2023 to May 2024 - meaning his tenure included the first eight months of Israel's genocide in Gaza - an issue he has been very outspoken about.

On 10 October 2023, three days after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, Yousaf revealed that he is "sick with worry" for his in-laws, who were visiting Gaza at the time.

Yousaf's wife, Nadia el-Nakla, is of Palestinian heritage. 

It was not until nearly a month later that they were able to leave Gaza and go back to Scotland.

'It’s incumbent on us that we build a transatlantic alliance to tackle anti-Muslim hatred'

- Humza Yousaf, former Scottish First Minister

Yousaf told MEE on Wednesday that his in-laws are "traumatised for life", and that the safety of Nadia's cousin Sally in Gaza, and Sally's children, is now the focus for his family. 

In mid-October 2023, the SNP was among the earliest political parties in the region to call for a ceasefire. 

In February 2024, Yousaf urged the UK government to suspend arms sales to Israel, given concerns that the transfer of weapons and ammunition could violate international humanitarian law.

Ahead of a potential no-confidence motion, he resigned in May 2024, but remains a member of parliament for Glasgow-Pollock. 

Today, he still uses his social media platform to speak on Palestine.

In March, he intends to leave politics entirely and focus on - among other things - strengthening institutions that can invest in, strengthen and protect the next generation of Muslim leaders.

"What we're talking about here is people who want to go into politics hopefully for the betterment not of just the Muslim community, but the betterment of the whole of society," Yousaf told MEE. 

To that end, he added, "It's incumbent on us that we build a transatlantic alliance to tackle anti-Muslim hatred."

"Why? Because those who are peddling Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred are sharing information, scripts [and] funding across borders and across the Atlantic. We can see that very clearly from the talking points of people like Tommy Robinson, the far-right extremist from the United Kingdom who echoes the same talking points of extremist US commentators [and] is funded by the likes of Elon Musk in his latest court battle."

'I dare that scumbag to sue me'

Nearly a year and a half ago, after Yousaf called on the British prime minister to introduce stricter social media regulation, Yousaf criticised Tesla chief Musk - one of the most powerful people in the world - for promoting unfounded allegations about racially-charged riots in the UK.

Musk accused him of being racist and a "scumbag". 

Musk then called Yousaf, the son of Pakistani and East African immigrants, "super, super racist" and said he "loathes white people".

"I dare that scumbag to sue me," Musk, who also owns the social media platform X, said at the time.

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Speaking to MEE in August 2024, Yousaf said that the week of violent riots left him uncertain about whether his family has a future in the UK.

"Every single Muslim I've spoken to is questioning whether they can be safe in a country that they call home."

"I don't have any other home than Scotland. I'm born here, raised here, lived here my whole life... I'm as Scottish as they possibly come, but I have to think about my family's future first and foremost," Yousaf continued. 

MEE put the issue to Yousaf again on Thursday.

Given the steep escalation in anti-Muslim rhetoric and attacks since 7 October 2023 in particular - and the ascent of a deeply entrenched far-right establishment that reaches into the White House itself - who's to tell the Muslim Americans that want to emigrate for safety and peace of mind that they should try and overcome?

"I think what you're hearing and seeing in the United States, I'm hearing and seeing in the United Kingdom. A week doesn't go by where somebody comes to me to tell me they're looking for a job in Doha or Dubai, from the Muslim community," Yousaf said.

"But if we all leave, then who's here to fight?" he added.

"If you're a leader in your field, whether it's the legal field, media, public sector, private sector, we have to make sure that we are here to take on the forces and we can win. Zohran Mamdani's victory showed that we can win". 

Yusuf says it's about democracy and creating a transatlantic alliance to counter those who are trying to "drive" Muslims out of their homes.

"I don't care what the optics of that look like, because I'll tell you what it is - If we don't deal with this problem, the consequences could be devastating. We saw what the consequences were of allowing antisemitism to run rampant in Europe in the 1920s and 30s. We cannot allow the same thing to happen [and] to go unchecked with the Muslim community".