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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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Mahmood Mamdani, the father of New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, is facing scrutiny online over his alleged statement in a 2004 book that suicide bombing as a tactic shouldn't be "stigmatized as a mark of barbarism."
Newsweek contacted Mahmood Mamdani and Zohran Mamdani's mayoral election campaign for comment on Friday via email outside regular office hours.
Why It Matters
In June, Zohran Mamdani defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a Democratic mayoral primary. The self-styled democratic socialist's victory was a major shock among Republicans, with some urging the Trump administration to revoke his citizenship and deport him. Supporters of Mamdani, an American citizen who was born in Uganda, have dismissed the calls as bigoted and Islamophobic.
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The New York assemblyman is likely to face further scrutiny over his father's alleged comments.
What To Know
On July 10, writer Michelle Tandler shared an extract of a book on X, formerly Twitter, that she said had been written by Mahmood Mamdani—who teaches anthropology, political science and African studies at Columbia University.
According to the Times of India, the passage was from Mahmood Mamdani's 2004 book, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror.
Tandler highlighted two sentences from the extract in yellow, the first said, "We need to recognize the suicide bomber, first and foremost, as a category of soldier."
The second said, "Suicide bombing needs to be understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism."
In her X post, Tandler wrote: "Columbia Prof Mamdani wrote this. His son, NYC mayoral-candidate Zohran, refuses to condemn 'Globalize the intifada.' Coincidence?"
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On June 29, Zohran Mamdani declined to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada" during an NBC interview, though he said, "That's not language that I would use." He also vowed to be a mayor who "protects Jewish New Yorkers" if elected.
Intifada is an Arabic word for uprising, and in a Palestinian context usually refers to two periods of violence between Israeli authorities and Palestinian militant groups and demonstrators. The Second Intifada—which lasted from 2000 to 2005—featured dozens of suicide bombings, many of which were aimed at Israeli civilians, and the killing of Palestinians by security forces.
What People Are Saying
Bill Ackman, a billionaire business tycoon, commented on an X post about the extract: "The apple @ZohranKMomdani doesn't fall far from the tree."
He added in a later post: "I am opposed to you being mayor because your policies will be extremely damaging to NYC and all of its residents, in particular the most vulnerable New Yorkers."
The extract circulating online said: "Does not the suicide bomber join both aspects of our humanity, particularly as it has been fashioned by political modernity, in that we are willing to subordinate life—both our own and that of others—to objectives we consider higher than life?"
What Happens Next
The New York City mayoral election is scheduled to take place on November 4.
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