Zohran Mamdani, the winner of the Democratic primary for mayor, is an extremist in many ways. He has called to “dismantle” the NYPD, labeling it as “corrupt” and “wicked.” He once wrote “we – all of society – must break the stranglehold of whiteness, wherever it may be.” He has embraced communist rhetoric of “seizing the means of production” and confiscating private property. Based on these revelations – which mostly emerged after he won the Democratic primary – a recent HarrisX poll seems to reflect buyers’ remorse, since his support has dropped precipitously.
The most troubling part of Mamdani’s past – his clearly expressed terrorist sympathies – has gotten almost no attention from the press. What does that record show? Across the years, Mamdani and his inner circle have cast terrorists as heroes. Take the “Holy Land Five,” a group of men convicted in 2008 for funneling over $12 million to Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. Mamdani, in a 2017 rap song titled “Salaam,” praised them, sending his “love to the Holy Land 5,” and urged people to “look them up,” suggesting their trial (on terrorist money laundering charges) was flawed.
This is not an errant lyric in a single song. It is part of a series of intentional and sustained choices to praise terrorists. Mamdani and other members of the radical group he founded at Bowdoin College, Students for Justice in Palestine, boosted other terrorists, such as the Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who killed four, including an eight-year-old, in 2013. Just five days after the bombing, on April 20th, 2013, Mamdani questioned Tsarnaev’s treatment by law enforcement and framed him as a victim. That is a chilling take at any time but especially so soon after Americans saw the brutal images of the carnage from that day.
He cast another terrorist, Rasmea Yousef Odeh, in similar terms. For context, Odeh snuck into the United States after serving 10 years in an Israeli prison for a terrorist bombing that killed two innocent students. When the Obama administration uncovered her past, prosecuted her for immigration fraud, and sought to deport her, Mamdani came to the rescue again, decrying the alleged injustice of the case. Mamdani once called President Obama “evil,” a characterization undoubtedly fueled by Odeh’s case.
And the list goes on. The cherry on top goes to his group’s support for Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda leader tied to the 9/11 attacks and Fort Hood shootings. Mamdani’s cult blamed America for al-Awlaki’s radicalization. Again, fanatical.
It is not just his chosen advocacy, casting terrorists as oppressed victims, that is terrifying. It is his endorsers, contributors and staff too. Two examples are stand outs.
Siraj Wahhaj, an imam identified by federal authorities as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot, donated $1,000 to a PAC supporting Mamdani. A month later, Wahhaj praised Mamdani as a “very good candidate” to his over 9,500 followers on Instagram, urging them to vote for him. That is a worrying endorsement from someone with Wahhaj’s history. Mamdani has yet to denounce the contribution or the endorsement.
Hadeeqa Arzoo Malik, who served on Mamdani’s New York Assembly staff until a year ago, was also president of the CUNY chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, where she openly called for the violent destruction of Israel. Her words could not be clearer: “We will get the Zionist entity out of every inch of Palestine from the river to the sea by any means necessary.” In November 2024 she posted a photo of a flyer from “Within Our Lifetime” – an “anti-Israel group that hasn’t been afraid to call for the death of Jews.” If that sounds like “globalize the Intifada,” it is.
Her radicalism is now in full public view in a hateful and disgraceful viral video, where she harassed a Muslim police officer, calling him a pig, practically spitting in his face, and screaming manically, “Put some respect on that name” (announcing the officer’s name and badge number to a fervent crowd). Malik is now an Outreach Coordinator at CAIR. Mamdani has not denounced her activities or her endorsement of his candidacy.
It is no surprise that a large part of New York’s Democratic Congressional delegation is withholding their support from Mamdani. As they should. His refusal to condemn the use of the terrorist proclamation “globalize the Intifada” is bad enough, although he weakly tried to walk that back. However, he cannot walk back or hide his support for, and ties to, terrorists and extreme radicals.
These are not one-off missteps. As an adult, Mamdani’s consistent choices – praising, defending, or associating with these figures – paint a clear picture of where his sympathies lie. His allegiances are not with Western values or America. His feet are planted on the side of “poor, oppressed” terrorists.
These facts are not just red flags. They are alarms. Loud, piercing warning sirens.
For those in the public and the media who choose to ignore Mamdani’s long-standing affinity for terrorists and radicals, recall the intense outrage directed at a certain president who expressed support for the Proud Boys. There has been notably less concern regarding Mamdani’s infatuation with terrorists and radicals. Outrage, it seems, is highly selective these days.
Yes, Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary, but his victory is not a win for the Democratic Party or the City of New York. For a city that has bravely shouldered the brunt of terrorism, we cannot put a sympathizer in City Hall. And our media does voters no service by failing to interrogate Mamdani about his deluded advocacy.
