Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign benefited from an extensive activist network connecting Marxist and Islamist movements, several of which are under congressional scrutiny for foreign and extremist ties.
This article provides an overview of the key organizations, individuals, and funding channels involved.
Subsequent articles will explore these connections in greater depth, one focusing on the communist affiliations tied to Chinese Communist Party, aligned networks, and another examining extremist groups linked to Hamas.
A central pillar of Mamdani’s political base is the immigrant-rights organization Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) and its political arm, DRUM Beats, which organized a large-scale South Asian voter mobilization for his campaign.
Both groups are linked to the far-left People’s Forum, a socialist organization funded through the CCP-aligned network of billionaire Neville Roy Singham, a U.S. citizen residing in Shanghai.
The People’s Forum works closely with the ANSWER Coalition, a front for the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party (WWP) and its offshoot, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
Mamdani’s personal ties to this broader ideological network trace back to his student years. While attending Bowdoin College, he co-founded the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which he credits as the start of his political activism.
SJP, founded by Hatem Bazian, operates under the umbrella of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), which publicly praised Hamas following the October 7 attacks on Israel.
SJP’s leadership includes individuals previously involved with Hamas-linked organizations such as the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) and the Holy Land Foundation, both shut down or sanctioned for financing or coordinating with Hamas.
Multiple investigations have identified AMP as a key conduit for U.S.-based pro-Hamas activism.
Through SJP, Mamdani is connected to what congressional reports describe as the “Hamas-linked” side of this activist network.
That bloc converges with the CCP-funded and Marxist-Leninist coalition through joint campaigns such as Shut It Down for Palestine, co-organized by SJP, the ANSWER Coalition, and The People’s Forum.
The “Shut It Down for Palestine” (SID4P) campaign brings together multiple activist groups, some alleged to have affiliations with Chinese Communist Party–aligned organizations and others with Hamas-linked entities.
This alliance reflects a fusion of Islamist extremism and communist internationalism united under shared anti-Israel and anti-American objectives.