Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoral race is not merely a coincidence or political luck, but rather a soft coup in the American political, social, and cultural landscape, and it indicates the profound transformations that the American political structure will experience in the coming years.

Etelaat wrote: The victory of Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim and Democratic American politician of Ugandan and Indian descent, in the New York mayoral election is an unprecedented event in American political history. This is due to his background and his relatively recent acquisition of American citizenship in 2018.

Mamdani’s social, economic, and political views are diametrically opposed to Republican views, and he is also strongly opposed to US President Donald Trump. Mamdani is also a vocal critic of the Zionist lobby in New York, a city with the largest concentration of pro-Israel Jews.

His most controversial positions, both in the United States and Israel and around the world, stem from his unprecedented boldness on the Palestinian issue. This has established him as a new voice in American politics and will undoubtedly change the public discourse around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and broader Middle East issues.

Political background

Analyzing Mamdani’s political positions on the Palestinian issue and Middle Eastern issues in general is not achieved solely through his bold statements, but requires a deep exploration of the structures of his collective imagination, shaped by his multiple affiliations to the South and the East.

His parents’ upbringing in Uganda of Indian Muslim origin, their leftist leanings before immigrating to the United States in 2006, and his marriage to a Syrian woman all contributed to the cultural and social context in which he grew up, one that was shaped by a fusion of East and West, North and South, and in keeping with a postcolonial leftist perspective.

His father, Mahmoud Mamdani, is a professor of anthropology and African studies at Columbia University, and his mother, Mira Nayara, is a renowned and internationally award-winning filmmaker. In addition, Zahran Mamdani grew up in a family atmosphere and cultural context that was shaped by his extensive presence in postcolonial intellectual seminars and circles.

It is enough to know that Mamdani’s intellectual development was influenced by the books and lectures of Edward Said, the famous literary theorist, cultural critic, and Palestinian-American political activist, and his wife Maryam Said, as well as Rashid Khalidi, the Palestinian thinker and historian who held the Edward Said Chair in Arabic Studies at Columbia University.

This cultural foundation culminated in his dissertation on Franz Fanon, which he submitted to Harvard University for his bachelor’s degree in political science, philosophy, and history, entitled “Franz Fanon’s Relationship to the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.” In addition, he was instrumental in founding a student press at the university and was active in democratic and environmental activism.

In this light, his public statements against the occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, including his criticism of Trump’s pro-Israel policies, seem to be a product of this cultural background and the context in which he grew up. Mamdani has said, “What is happening in the Gaza Strip is ethnic cleansing, and if Benjamin Netanyahu travels to New York, he will arrest him.”

He also said, “Israel has the right to exist but with equal rights guaranteed for all, and we are now on the verge of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza; so it is time for all people of conscience to call for a ceasefire and an end to military aid to Israel because Gaza today is a place where words cannot express the depth of its sorrow and this is while our government is complicit in all of this. This situation must end; the occupation and the apartheid regime must end.”

Popularity among Jews

Mamdani’s victory was no coincidence in the current climate of America, which is extremely sensitive to immigrants under Donald Trump’s policies, where Islamophobia has seen a significant resurgence due to Middle East tensions and the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially in a city like New York.

New York is home to more than two million Jews out of the city’s 9 million American population, and is also home to the largest Zionist lobby. Forbes magazine revealed that 26 American tycoons united under the slogan “Everyone but Mamdani,” spending more than $22 million in a week to prevent him from winning an unprecedented anti-election campaign in New York.

Of course, Trump’s statements aimed at inciting American public opinion against him should not be forgotten. Trump said: “Mamdani is a communist and a socialist, and for this reason I will revoke his citizenship and expel hi