Mamdani isn't requiring NYC students to 'learn Arabic numerals.' They already do

In mid-November 2025, a rumor spread on X that New York City's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani would be introducing "Arabic numerals" to schools in the city.

One post from the account of the prediction market Polymarket stated: "BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani to require all New York elementary school students to learn Arabic numerals."

The above claim was false. Mamdani had made no such announcement. Additionally, "Arabic numerals" is the common term for the digits 0 through 9, a number system that is clearly already part of all educational institutions in New York City.

We reached out to Mamdani's team to ask for their response to the rumor and to the @Polymarket X account to determine whether the post was satirical in nature. We will update this story if they respond.

While the above post may have been intended as humorous, some online took the claim seriously. Conservative activist Laura Loomer replied to the above post, writing: "You know things are bad when you can't tell if this is real or a joke." Many online shared screenshots claiming to show an unedited earlier version of her post on X in which she reportedly took the rumor seriously, following up her original statement with "Dear God. It's real. Isn't it?" We were unable to independently verify that Loomer edited her post. 

(Screenshot via X)

We found no evidence of Mamdani making such an announcement, nor any mention of Arabic numerals in his policy platform.

"Arabic numerals" is the term used for the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. According to research database EBSCO, despite the name it was not Arabs who originally used the numerals:

Historical evidence suggests that the earliest forms of these numerals appeared in inscriptions dating back to around the 3rd century BCE in India. The transmission of these numerals to the Arab world occurred during the 8th century, where they underwent further modifications before being disseminated to Europe. Notably, the mathematician al-Khwārizmī played a pivotal role in popularizing these numerals in the Islamic world through his writings, which eventually influenced European mathematics.

The rumor about the Arabic numerals spread as Mamdani was set to become the first Muslim mayor of New York City in January 2026. Snopes has covered numerous false claims about the mayor-elect that many perceived as Islamophobic and racist, including that Mamdani's planned city-run grocery stores would not sell alcohol, cigarettes or lottery tickets because of Islamic law and that the Islamic State endorsed his campaign.