NEW YORK — In a sharply partisan exchange on the Upper East Side, Governor Kathy Hochul defended her decision to cover her head with a hijab while touring the Islamic Cultural Center on Friday. Hochul said the attire was consistent with her practice of dressing respectfully for any house of worship, whether a temple, an Orthodox synagogue, or a Catholic church.
Blakeman’s criticism
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman took to social media with a photo captioned “Hijab Hochul. Kathy’s Latest Costume: Whatever the Audience Wants,” calling the governor’s gesture a political stunt and “tone‑deaf” less than two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. He later told Newsday that wearing a hijab and identifying as a feminist are incompatible positions.
Governor’s response
Hochul rejected the criticism, saying, “If he has a problem with that, that says more about him than it does anybody else.” She added, “I just love it when men lecture women on whether or not they are a feminist.” The governor’s office noted that she has previously worn a hijab during a 2022 visit to a mosque in Ronkonkoma that had been attacked and at the funeral of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam last year.
Community voices
Afaf Nasher, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations New York, said covering one’s head in a worship space is a sign of respect and that linking the issue to September 11 is inappropriate. “He should not try to link any type of threat towards Muslims and 9‑11 here, given the fact that we are in mourning just like every other New Yorker and American,” Nasher said. Nasher also argued that the choice to wear a hijab is an expression of equal rights, not an anti‑feminist act.
Broader political context
The dispute has drawn attention from other Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who posted that the photo showed Hochul trying to win the “Arab Vote.” The exchange underscores ongoing cultural battles in New York politics, where issues of religious respect, gender equality, and electoral strategy intersect.
As the state approaches the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, both leaders are likely to face heightened scrutiny over how they address faith‑based communities and women’s rights.
Original reporting: Brookhaven News – ABC7 New York — read the source article.
