Has Mahmood Mamdani publicly identified as a communist and when?

1. Confusion Explodes Into a Claim — How Two Mamdanis Got Mixed Up

News and commentary repeatedly mix Mahmood Mamdani, the scholar of colonialism and postcolonial politics, with Zohran Mamdani, the young New York politician and DSA member, producing a persistent factual error: that Mahmood publicly identified as a communist. The compiled analyses show this confusion is the primary source of the claim rather than any direct statement from Mahmood himself. Reporting about Zohran’s campaign includes accusations and rhetorical slurs from political opponents calling him a communist, while pieces defending him emphasize his self-identification as a democratic socialist, not a communist ^{[3] [4] [6]}. The distinction matters because the two figures occupy different professional and political spaces, and conflating them has driven misleading narratives.

2. What Mahmood Mamdani Actually Says — Academic, Critic, Not Communist

Interviews and conversations with Mahmood Mamdani focus on his critique of the nation-state, colonialism, and international law; none of the reviewed sources show him declaring a communist identity. In extended interviews and published conversations he discusses decolonial theory, the structures of the modern state, and political solutions without endorsing a party line of communism or a centrally planned economy. Contemporary pieces that profile his work present him as a scholar and public intellectual with a consistent focus on decolonial and anti-statist critiques, not as someone asserting membership in or allegiance to communist movements ^{[1] [2] [5] [7]}. Based on the available material, there is no documented self-identification by Mahmood as a communist.

3. What Zohran Mamdani Says — Democratic Socialist, Explicit Denials of “Communist”

Coverage of Zohran Mamdani’s political campaign includes direct quotations in which he rejects the communist label, insisting that being called a communist repeatedly “doesn't make it true.” Reporting from November 2025 and other pieces note that he positions himself as a democratic socialist with policy proposals consistent with mixed-economy approaches—public services and social programs rather than elimination of markets or introduction of a Soviet-style planned economy ^{[3] [4]}. Political opponents use the term “communist” as a pejorative in campaign rhetoric; defenders and mainstream reporting counter that the label mischaracterizes Zohran’s stated views and policy platform ^{[3] [6]}.

4. The Political Incentive to Label Opponents “Communist” — Rhetoric Versus Record

Several analyses show the “communist” label functioning as a political tool rather than a precise ideological diagnosis. High-profile figures have used the term to discredit Mamdani (generically), while commentators and some outlets urge distinguishing democratic socialism from classical communism. Critiques from explicitly communist writers also appear, but those are ideological arguments about strategy and revolution, not evidence that Mahmood or Zohran declared communist identities themselves ^{[8] [3]}. The pattern in the sources is clear: rhetorical invocation of communism serves political messaging more than it reflects self-identification documented in interviews or writings.

5. Bottom Line and How to Correct the Record Going Forward

The evidence assembled from contemporary interviews, profiles, and campaign reporting supports one clear corrective: there is no documented instance in these sources of Mahmood Mamdani publicly identifying as a communist. The misattribution stems from confusion with Zohran Mamdani and from partisan labeling; Zohran, by contrast, publicly identifies as a democratic socialist and denies being a communist ^{[1] [3] [4] [5]}. Journalists, commentators, and social networks should stop conflating the two individuals and should distinguish between pejorative rhetorical labels and subjects’ own stated political identities when reporting.