Mahmood Mamdani says Palestine helped motivate son Zohran’s mayoral run

In aboriginal November, antiauthoritarian socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral predetermination successful a landslide, a triumph that sent shockwaves crossed United States authorities and galvanised the country’s governmental left.

It was a melodramatic turnaround for a run that – little than a twelvemonth earlier – had been polling astatine 1 percent support.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Despite Gaza ceasefire, ‘we haven’t seen the worst’: B’Tselem chief
• list 2 of 3Mamdani kicks disconnected New York City modulation aft historical victory
• list 3 of 3Zohran Mamdani elected arsenic New York City politician successful historical win

Among those who were astir amazed was Zohran’s ain father, Mahmood Mamdani.

“He amazed maine and his mother,” Mahmood told Al Jazeera Mushaber newsman Allaa Azzam successful an interrogation this week. “We wouldn’t expect him to go politician of New York City. We ne'er thought astir it.”

But Mahmood, an anthropology prof and postcolonial student astatine Columbia University, framed his son’s electoral occurrence arsenic grounds of a shifting governmental landscape.

Zohran, for instance, campaigned heavy connected questions of affordability and refused to backmost distant from his criticisms of Israel’s abuses against Palestinians, agelong considered a taboo taxable successful US politics.

He is the archetypal Muslim idiosyncratic to go politician of the country’s largest metropolis by population, arsenic good arsenic its archetypal politician of South Asian descent.

“There were definite things that were adjacent and beloved to him,” Mahmood explained. “Social justness was 1 of them. The rights of Palestinians was another.”

“These 2 issues helium has stuck by. He’s not been consenting to commercialized them, to compromise them, to minimise them.”

Inside the Mamdani family

The lad of Mahmood and Indian American manager Mira Nair, Zohran archetypal emerged arsenic the frontrunner successful the mayoral contention successful June, erstwhile his dark-horse run dominated the Democratic Party primary.

He earned 56 percent of the last tally, besting erstwhile New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

When Cuomo ran again arsenic an autarkic successful the November 4 election, Zohran erstwhile again bushed him by a wide margin, with much than 50 percent of the ballot to Cuomo’s 41 percent.

Mahmood told Al Jazeera that, portion his son’s abrupt governmental ascent came arsenic a surprise, his resilience did not.

“It didn’t astonishment us, with his grit and determination,” helium said of the election. “I don’t deliberation helium joined the contention reasoning that helium was going to triumph it. I deliberation helium joined the contention wanting to marque a point.”

He traced backmost immoderate of Zohran’s electoral finesse to his upbringing. Zohran, Mahmood explained, was not raised successful a emblematic US atomic household but alternatively shared his location with 3 generations of household members.

Living with a divers property scope allowed Zohran to grow his knowing and physique his radical skills, according to Mahmood.

“He grew up with emotion and patience. He learned to beryllium precise diligent with radical who are slower, radical who were not needfully what his procreation was,” Mahmood said.

“He was precise antithetic from the American kids astir present who hardly ever spot their grandparents.”

Democratic campaigner Zohran Mamdani stands with his woman Rama Duwaji, parent Mira Nair and begetter Mahmood Mamdani aft winning the 2025 New York City mayoral contention [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]

A ‘mood of change’

Mahmood besides credited his son’s triumph to a shifting governmental landscape, 1 wherever voters are fed up with the presumption quo.

“There’s a temper of change. The young voted similar they ne'er voted before,” Mahmood said.

“Sections of the colonisation which had been wholly thrown into the sidelines – Muslims, caller immigrants whether Muslim oregon not – helium gave them tremendous confidence. They came retired and they voted. They mobilised.”

Local media outlets successful New York reported that turnout for November’s mayoral contention was the highest successful much than 50 years. More than 2 cardinal voters formed a ballot successful the intimately watched race.

Mahmood formed his son’s upcoming tenure arsenic politician arsenic a trial of whether that elector religion would beryllium rewarded.

“America is marked by debased levels of electoral participation, and they’ve ever claimed that this is due to the fact that astir radical are satisfied with the system,” Mahmood said.

“But present the levels of governmental information are increasing. And astir people, it’s not conscionable that they are not satisfied, but they nary longer judge – oregon they statesman to judge that possibly the electoral strategy is simply a mode to alteration things. Zohran’s mayoral word volition archer america whether it is oregon it is not.”

Mahmood was frank that his lad faces an uphill conflict arsenic mayor. He described authorities arsenic a sphere dominated by the power of moneyed powers.

“ I americium not definite helium knows that satellite well,” Mahmood said of his son. “He’s a accelerated learner, and helium volition larn it.”

He noted that important resources were mobilised during the mayoral predetermination to blunt Zohran’s campaign.

“ He’s taking connected almighty forces. He’s being opposed by almighty forces. They failed during the campaign,” Mahmood said. That defeat, helium added, “exposed the nonaccomplishment of money” arsenic a defining unit successful the race.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani volition beryllium sworn successful connected January 1 [File: Seth Wenig/AP Photo]

A absorption connected Palestine

Mahmood besides addressed the relation of Zohran’s advocacy connected the run trail.

Though faced with disapproval from his mayoral rivals, Mamdani has refused to retreat from his stance that Israel’s actions successful Gaza magnitude to genocide.

That position, though wide affirmed by rights groups and experts, including astatine the United Nations, is comparatively uncommon successful mainstream US politics, wherever absorption to Israel is simply a governmental 3rd rail.

Still, voters look to beryllium shifting connected the question of US enactment for Israel.

A March canvass from the Pew Research Center recovered that the percent of US respondents with an unfavourable presumption of Israel has accrued from 42 percent successful 2022 to 53 percent successful 2025.

While unfavourable views were astir pronounced among Democratic voters, they person besides accrued among conservatives, particularly those nether the property of 50.

Israel’s warfare connected Gaza has killed astatine slightest 69,500 Palestinians since its commencement successful October 2023, and determination has been continued outrage implicit widespread Israeli violence successful the occupied West Bank arsenic well.

Mahmood said the undeniable quality rights abuses are causing a displacement successful nationalist cognition – and not conscionable successful the US.

“The existent effect of Gaza is not constricted to Gaza. It is global,” said Mahmood. “Gaza has brought america a caller signifier successful satellite history.”

“There volition ne'er beryllium a instrumentality to a play erstwhile the satellite believes that what Israel is doing is defending itself.”