Mamdani’s Mayoral Bid Reflects Rising Alliance Between America’s Democratic Socialists and Radical Political Islam

Unless voters push back, this movement will infiltrate local governments, statehouses, and eventually, national leadership.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani during a press conference on the victims of the Midtown shooting at 32BJ SEIU headquarters on July 30, 2025. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A dangerous political alliance is taking shape between the Democratic Socialists of America and radical political Islam. These two forces, seemingly different, together threaten the foundations of the American republic.

This is not a conspiracy theory. It is a political reality taking root at cities like New York and Minneapolis, and it is spreading. Unless voters push back, this movement will continue infiltrating local governments, statehouses, and eventually, national leadership.

The DSA, once a fringe group, now has members in Congress and local offices. It champions abolishing the Electoral College, defunding the police, ending the Senate, and expanding state control over housing and the economy. These are not reforms but revolutionary assaults on the rule of law, individual rights, and national unity.

Leading this charge are figures like Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani at New York City and a Minnesota state senator, Omar Fateh, at Minneapolis. 

Minnesota state senator and Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh speaks during a vigil on December 31, 2020, in Minneapolis. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Minnesota state senator and mayoral candidate Omar Fateh speaks during a vigil on December 31, 2020 at Minneapolis. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Both of these far-left candidates support rent control, public ownership of housing, and defunding law enforcement. Mr. Mamdani even promised to arrest the Israeli prime minister if he visits New York, a signal of how foreign ideologies are now driving local politics.

Mr. Mamdani is not just a far-left candidate. He is the frontman for a deeper ideological project. His campaign has received support from organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations and its Super PAC, the Unity and Justice Fund, which gave $100,000 to his mayoral run. 

This is not just about money, though. He has built ties to local mosques, Islamic political clubs, and activist groups that are pushing for political influence well beyond their communities. This is a coordinated effort, not just to win elections, but to reshape the American political system from the inside.

Worse, Mr. Mamdani has shown sympathy for extremists. In 2017, under his rapper name “Mr. Cardamom,” he released a song praising the five men from the 2008 Holy Land infamous case convicted of sending millions of dollars to the American-designated terrorist group Hamas. Notably, CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in this major terrorism-financing case.

Representative Ilhan Omar leaves the House chamber at the Capitol. at Washington, Feb. 2, 2023.
Representative Ilhan Omar leaves the House chamber, February 2, 2023. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Praising these individuals is not just offensive; it reflects alignment with extremist ideology.

Though CAIR brands itself as a civil rights group, its history tells a different story. Its growing entanglement with leftist politics should alarm anyone who values democracy.

The New York mayoral candidate is not acting alone. He is part of a bloc that includes CAIR’s allies in Congress, Representative Rashida Tlaib and the congresswoman I ran against in 2024 and am running to unseat in 2026, Ilhan Omar. Together, they publicly support one another, raise funds, and promote a shared radical agenda.

In June 2025, Ms. Omar, Ms. Tlaib, and others issued a statement defending Mr. Mamdani from so-called “Islamophobic” attacks. Yet the criticism he received was not about religion; it was about his extremist ties. Ms. Tlaib went further, helping him raise money beyond public financing limits.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib speaks during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Oct. 18, 2023, near the Capitol.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, October 18, 2023, near the Capitol. AP/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades

A longtime defender of Islamist ideologies and a CAIR ally, Linda Sarsour, joined in, donating to Mr. Mamdani and calling his win a victory for their movement. She dismissed all criticism as bigotry and framed his campaign as a weapon against the American mainstream.   

By funding and organizing around DSA candidates, groups like CAIR are building political power. However, this power does not come with a commitment to American values; it comes with demands for policies that threaten free speech, religious pluralism, and national security in the name of the so-called “Islamophobia.”

What do radical socialists and Islamist activists have in common?

They both reject the foundations of American democracy.

Both weaponize identity to silence dissent.

Both normalize antisemitism, relentlessly attacking Israel while refraining from holding Hamas accountable for the October 7th terrorist massacre and its consequences.

And they both reject personal responsibility in favor of top-down ideological control. 

This emerging alliance between the far left and Islamic radicals is  using the electoral process not to serve democracy, but to subvert it.  It behooves Americans to name it, confront it, and reject attempts to normalize its agenda.


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