It is making headlines everywhere: Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim, has secured the Democratic ticket for the upcoming November mayoral elections in America’s largest city, New York. Mr. Mamdani captured global attention during the first Democratic primary debate on June 4, when he intelligently answered the question regarding the NYC mayor’s visit to Israel.
A sharp and spirited young man with the charisma of a millennial politician, Mamdani carries an unmistakable energy. Yet he also champions policies that are seen as “not-too-American” by some, earning him adversaries among Republicans, wealthy power brokers, and Zionist circles. On the other hand, he has become a sensation on social media—where he has anchored much of his campaign—amassing over 2.5 million new followers on Instagram, X, and TikTok.
But who really is Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran was born in 1991 to Mahmood Mamdani, an Indo-Ugandan political scientist, and Mira Nair, a filmmaker whom his father met during her research visit to Uganda. Prof. Mahmood Mamdani’s career in anti-colonial and African studies profoundly shaped his son’s worldview. From the outset, Zohran carried this legacy; his middle name is Kwame, after Ghana’s first president and a respected figure of anti-colonialism.
Zohran began his schooling in South Africa, where his father had tenures at the University of Durban-Westville and the University of Cape Town. By age seven, he had moved to New York, where he completed his secondary education. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College in Maine in 2014.
His academic path in Africana Studies certainly reflects his father’s influence, but so does his activism. The elder Mamdani was arrested as a 17-year-old student in Alabama for joining the March 1965 civil rights demonstrations. Similarly, Zohran co-founded the Bowdoin chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and is a staunch supporter of the BDS movement.
In many ways, Zohran is an active extension of his father’s intellectual battles, challenges that once caused Prof. Mamdani much trouble in Uganda. The older Mamdani has penned academic pieces that critique imperialism and explore Third World issues, through starkly different lenses, often criticising the likes of Bernard Lewis or Samuel Huntington. Given that his father’s political thought was influenced by Marxism, knowledge of which he ironically first gleaned during FBI interrogations, it is little surprise that Zohran, as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is smeared as a “communist.” Donald Trump even labelled him a “lunatic communist.”
Zohran’s transition from housing counsellor and hip-hop artist to politician seems almost inevitable, given his background. He began volunteering on Democratic campaigns in 2015 and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, winning re-election unopposed in 2022 and 2024.
His outspoken pro-Palestinian stance has earned him admiration across the Muslim world. Yet it is crucial to temper these perceptions. Like many liberal politicians, Mamdani’s occasional solidarity with Muslims should not be mistaken for deep religious commitment. In a November 2019 post on X, he identified himself as an Ithna-‘Ashari Shia; however, his personal religious observances are largely unknown. Meanwhile, his father admitted in a 2009 interview with The Telegraph that he had gone without prayer, fasting, or even reading the Qur’an, though he firmly identified as Muslim.
While Zohran has visited mosques to discuss his political views, some of his positions wholly contradict Islamic values. Notably, beyond merely supporting LGBT rights, in February 2025, he joined a rally in Union Square protesting an executive order by Trump that cut funding for gender-affirming treatments. In contrast, Mamdani himself has pledged to support these initiatives through public funds.
In the end, it is gladdening to see more Americans challenging the Zionist grip on their politics by elevating an anti-Zionist candidate. One can wish Zohran well on his political journey. Still, it is vital to be cautious when such figures are presented as “Muslim candidates,” as though they aim to represent Islam itself, something they clearly do not.
*The views expressed in this content are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of İdrakpost.
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