26/6/2025–|Last update: 10:49 (Mecca time)
Zahran Mamdani, an American politician of Indian origin, is famous for his progressive stances and support for the Social Democratic Movement within Democratic PartyIn addition to supporting the Palestinian issue. He was born in the Uganda capital, Kampala, in 1991, and grew up between the cities of Cape Town andNew YorkAnd he obtained American citizenship in 2018.
In 2021, a member of the New York Legislative Association was elected, then in 2024 he fought the candidacy for the mayor of the city, and he became the first Muslim to run for this position in its history.
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Zahran Kwami Mamdani was born on October 18, 1991 in the Uganda capital, Kampala, and moved with his family at the age of five to the city of Cape Town in South AfricaThen to the American city of New York after two years.
He is the son of the Indian academic Mahmoud Mamdani, a professor of political science at Columbia University, and the famous director Mira Nair, the owner of “Mississippi Masala” and “Wedding in the rainy season”.
Mamdani was influenced by his father’s intellectual experience and his mother’s artistic work, to direct his link towards social and economic issues that affect marginalized groups.
Mamdani won American citizenship in 2018, and in 2025 he married the Syrian plastic artist Rama Doji.
Study and scientific training
Mamdani received his initial education in public schools in New York City, graduated from the Bronx Secondary School of Science, then in 2014 he obtained a bachelor’s degree in African studies from Budwin College.
Mamdani mastered several languages, including English, Swahili and Hindi, which helped him communicate with a wide and varied segment of his region.
During his high school, he participated in establishing the first Kricit team in his school, and his political practice at the time was limited to lengthy leaflets on Facebook.
At the university stage, he participated in the establishment of the first branch of the “Students for Justice Students in PalestineAnd he contributed to organizing national campaigns in cooperation with progressive organizations, aimed at supporting left -wing candidates and expanding the scope of health insurance in US.
Practical and political experience
Before entering the world of politics, Mamdani won wide fame in the field of rap music and was famous for his pseudonym, “Mr. Hill”. Then he was involved early in field work and active in campaigns demanding the reform of housing laws and the cancellation of students ’debts.
Mamdani worked as a consultant in the field of preventing reservation of housing, a job that prompted him to run for a public position, as he realized that the housing crisis was not a normal case but rather as a result of intentional policies that have been taken over time.
The year 2017 joined the “Social Democrats in America” movement, the largest socialist organization in the country, seeking to consolidate the public presence of democratic socialism in American societies and politics.
In 2020, he won the preliminary elections of the Democratic Party, and became a member of the New York Legislative Assembly for the 36th district in the Astoria region, to be the third Muslim to hold this position.
Mamdani was known for his strong criticism of policies IsraelHe described its war on Gaza Strip By “GenocideIn 2021, he was one of the few voices in the Legislative Assembly that demanded the cessation of police financing that cooperated with Israeli occupation army.
He also participated in supportive activities of Palestine in New York, and was later voted against legislation that he believes restricting freedom of expression in support ofBoycott movement BDS.
In the wake of the war on the Gaza Strip in 2021, Mamdani called for a “unconditional endowment of Israeli violence against civilians.” He said, “Justice cannot be achieved in New York at a time when we turn a blind eye to injustice in Palestine.”
These attitudes gained great popularity among Muslim voters in New York, but in return it has sparked severe criticism from pressure in support of Israel.
Mayor’s position
In October 2024, Zahran Mamdani announced his candidacy for the position of mayor of New York City, and his campaign raised the slogan “New York that can be tolerated”.
The campaign focused on 3 main priorities, which is to stop the high rents, provide free public transportation, and to impose taxes on major companies to finance basic services.
Mamdani believes that the city’s housing crisis is no longer a circumstantial issue, as the average lease of one room exceeded the threshold of 3500 dollars per month, which makes hundreds of thousands of population threatened to lose their housing.
Mamdani warned in his statements that “New York has become a city working to serve the rich, at a time when the rest of the residents are required to struggle to stay.”
Mamdani’s electoral campaign was widely supported by the Social Democratic Movement within the Democratic Party, especially from Senator Bernie Sanders And the deputy Alexandria Okasio Cortez.
On the other hand, the nomination of the first Muslim for the position of New York mayor’s candidacy of the terrorist groups supporting Israel, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and Mamdani was subjected to intense scrutiny against the background of allegations of “anti -Semitism”, in light of the presence of nearly a million Jews in the city.
On June 25, 2025, Mamdani won the preliminary elections of the Democratic Party for the presidency Andrew Como Defeat.
After sorting more than 95% of the votes, Mamdrani topped the race by more than 43% compared to 36% for Komo.