Does Mahmood Mamdani identify as Muslim in interviews or autobiographical pieces?

1. Family background: clear reporting that Mamdani’s parents were Muslim

Multiple biographical write-ups state that Mahmood Mamdani was born to Gujarati Muslim parents and was raised in a Muslim family in Kampala, Uganda; encyclopedic and biographical sources repeat this detail as part of his life story ^{[1] [3] [2]}. This establishes familial and cultural origin but is not the same as a cited, first‑person statement about his current religious self-identification.

2. Academic profile vs. personal religious self-identification — gap in coverage

News and academic profiles emphasize Mahmood Mamdani’s scholarship (his books and Columbia appointment) and his origins (born in Bombay, raised in Kampala) and note his Muslim family background, but the items in the provided set do not include an interview or autobiographical piece where Mahmood Mamdani explicitly declares his present religious identity in his own words ^{[1] [2] [6]}. Available sources do not mention a direct quote from Mahmood Mamdani affirming “I identify as Muslim.”

3. How the press treats identity: father’s background used as context for Zohran

Coverage about Zohran Mamdani (Mahmood’s son) repeatedly links his identity to his parents’ backgrounds—Mahmood as the father from a Gujarati Muslim family and Mira Nair as the Hindu/creative figure—using that context to explain Zohran’s interfaith roots and how he frames his own Muslim identity in politics ^{[4] [7]}. Journalists use Mahmood’s family origin as context rather than sourcing Mahmood’s own public religious self-description ^{[7] [5]}.

4. Contrasting portrayals and political uses of identity

Opinion and political outlets treat Mamdani family religion differently: some pieces foreground Muslim origins to situate Zohran as “the son of a Muslim father,” while others analyze whether Zohran or the family is “religious” or “agnostic,” and note debate about public religious claims ^{[4] [8]}. The Indian Express claims Mahmood “identifies himself as an agnostic” in its summary about family members, a claim that, if accurate, would contradict a simple “he identifies as Muslim” line—however, that specific phrasing is applied in reporting about Zohran’s father and should be read as the outlet’s characterization ^[8]. Readers should note outlets have differing agendas: some emphasize Muslim identity for political narratives, others question or complicate it ^{[9] [10]}.

5. Sources that explicitly discuss Zohran’s Muslim identification (not Mahmood’s)

Several pieces document Zohran Mamdani actively embracing and publicly stating his Muslim identity in campaign materials and speeches (recording ads in multiple languages, speaking at mosques, releasing identity videos), and commentators note Zohran “leaned into his Muslim identity” during the mayoral run ^{[11] [12]}. These items strengthen the record on the son’s public self-identification but do not serve as evidence about Mahmood’s own interview statements or autobiographical writings ^{[11] [12]}.

6. What can and cannot be concluded from the provided reporting

From these sources we can conclude Mahmood Mamdani’s family is Muslim in origin and that his son publicly identifies as Muslim; the materials do not contain a clear first‑person interview or autobiographical excerpt in which Mahmood Mamdani explicitly says “I identify as Muslim.” Therefore, a definitive answer about Mahmood Mamdani’s self‑identification in interviews or autobiographical pieces cannot be offered on the basis of the supplied sources—available sources do not mention a direct personal declaration by Mahmood Mamdani on that precise point ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.

If you want, I can: (a) search for direct interviews or essays by Mahmood Mamdani that include first‑person statements about religion, or (b) compile the exact passages in which journalists describe his upbringing and family religion so you can judge how outlets infer his religious identity.