Topline
Screenshots of academic work written by Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia University professor and father of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, have gone viral on social media as critics accuse him of justifying suicide bombers and violence, but a religious studies expert told Forbes Mamdani’s work merely analyzes, and does not promote, these concepts.
Mahmood Mamdani (right) is a professor at Columbia University and father of Zohran Mamdani, New York … More
Key Facts
Mahmood Mamdani’s academic work has become a target for critics of Zohran Mamdani, including by Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire, who has spurred controversy this week for calling the Mamdanis “Islamists.”
A screenshot of an excerpt from Mahmood Mamdani’s 2004 book, “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror,” circulated social media this week, reposted by critics including Maguire and billionaire Bill Ackman, which Maguire says depicts Mamdani justifying suicide bombing.
In the screenshot, Mamdani urges readers to recognize suicide bombers “as a category of soldier” and that suicide bombing should be “understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.”
But in the text, Mamdani analyzes the causes of suicide bombing and does not advocate for it, says Nathan Lean, professor of religious studies at North Carolina State University, who told Forbes he has read the book and assigns it in classes he teaches on Islam.
Maguire also claimed in multiple tweets Mamdani’s book “blames 9/11 on America,” which Lean, who specializes in Islam in American culture and has written books on Islamophobia, also said is not true.
Mamdani’s book is “not simplistic and not accusatory,” Lean said, and instead examines how “U.S. foreign policy decisions, especially during the Cold War, helped create the kinds of conditions in which militant Islamism and political violence” was perpetrated by groups like al-Qaeda.
Tazeen Ali, a religious studies professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in Islam in the United States, called Maguire’s claims “serious mischaracterizations” of Mamdani’s work, adding Mamdani’s arguments are “not controversial” in academia and his work is “taught widely in undergraduate courses.”
Crucial Quote
“Nowhere in [Mamdani’s] writing has he advocated for suicide bombing. Nowhere in his writing has he advocated for violence. He’s asking us to take a step back and look at it in terms of its causes, in terms of its impact, in terms of its consequences,” Lean told Forbes.
What Did Maguire Say About Zohran Mamdani?
Maguire sparked controversy earlier this week by targeting Zohran Mamdani and his father across dozens of social media posts, in some calling them “Islamists.” Maguire criticized Mamdani, who is of Indian descent and was born in Uganda, for labeling himself “Asian” and “Black or African American” on a college application, stating Mamdani “comes from a culture that lies about everything” to advance an “Islamist agenda.” Maguire’s comments generated backlash among tech founders and CEOs, with more than 1,125 founders representing 1,045 startups signing an open letter slamming his remarks as “hate speech and anti‑Muslim bigotry.” The letter demanded Sequoia denounce Maguire’s comments and investigate his conduct, implement a zero-tolerance policy on religious bigotry and issue an apology to Mamdani and the Muslim tech founder community. Then a second open letter, this one backing Maguire and calling his remarks “the reflections of a principled thinker and a partner to countless founders who span geographies, faiths, and political beliefs,” garnered more than 350 signatures.
Key Background
Mahmood Mamdani is a professor in Columbia’s anthropology department, in which he teaches courses on African politics, colonialism and the Cold War. His research areas include the history of genocide and civil wars in Africa, and he served as director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research in Uganda between 2010 and 2022. His other books include “Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror” and “When Victims Become Killers: Colonialism, Nativism and Genocide in Rwanda.”
Further Reading
Open Letter Backs Sequoia’s Maguire After Mamdani ‘Islamist’ Comments (Forbes)
Sequoia’s Shaun Maguire Doubles Down On Mamdani ‘Islamist’ Comments Despite Furor (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/07/11/sequoias-maguire-unfairly-targets-zohran-mamdanis-father-fellow-academic-says/