A Fox News investigation has uncovered a vast political and financial ecosystem powering the rise of Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist candidate for New York City mayor.
The network, dubbed by investigators as the “Mamdani Machine”, comprises 110 organizations, including socialist entities, Muslim and South Asian advocacy groups, and Democratic Party affiliates. It is reportedly sustained by funding linked to billionaire philanthropists George Soros, the Ford Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.
The investigation, conducted by journalist and author Asra Nomani for Fox News and the Daniel Pearl Project, traces Mamdani’s political ascent from student activism to his current mayoral campaign. It alleges that his rise was “politically engineered” through a coordinated alliance of socialists, radical imams, and Democratic operatives, many of whom have been accused of anti-Israel or antisemitic activity.
“For days, I’ve buried myself in 990s, social media posts and insider reports,” Nomani wrote, adding that she has tracked the individuals and groups involved “for 23 years.”
According to Nomani’s findings, the coalition behind Mamdani’s campaign represents a red-green-blue axis – socialists (“red”), Muslim political groups (“green”), and Democratic Party organizations (“blue”) aligned around shared electoral goals.
The 110 Organizations in the Mamdani Machine
The Daniel Pearl Project has published a public database documenting the 110 entities linked to Mamdani’s campaign operations and endorsements.
Socialist And Socialist-Aligned Groups (4):
- Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – EIN 13-3109557, listed as an official Mamdani endorser.
- Equality for Flatbush, fiscally sponsored by the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) – Rev. $1.64 million; IFCO’s executive director Claudia de la Cruz, a Party for Socialism and Liberation leader, was a 2024 U.S. presidential candidate.
- New Yorkers for Lower Costs PAC – estimated revenue $1.2 million, identified as the “Official Zohran Mamdani Support PAC.”
- Our Revolution – EIN 81-3260391, a national socialist group that endorsed Mamdani in October 2025.
Muslim and South Asian Organizations (30):
The investigation found that 30 Muslim and South Asian groups, including national advocacy bodies, religious centers, and political action committees, are directly tied to Mamdani’s campaign infrastructure. These include:
- Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – National and New York chapters listed in campaign endorsements and press releases dated October 16, 2025.
- Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) – EIN 11-2925751, revenue $5.44 million.
- Emgage Action Inc. – EIN 46-5499822, revenue $1.63 million, with an affiliated SuperPAC Defend and Advance ($300,900 revenue).
- Muslim Democratic Club of New York (MDCNY) – an incubator for Muslim political power; Mamdani joined its board in 2018.
- Masjid Al-Taqwa – led by Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who once served as a character witness for the “Blind Sheikh” convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
- MPower Action – linked to activist Linda Sarsour, who has faced repeated accusations of antisemitism.
- Muslim American Society of New York – EIN 20-5285671, revenue $795,882.
- Muslim Community Network – EIN 75-3163555, revenue $1.19 million.
- Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM) – EIN 38-3652741, revenue $1.85 million; focused on organizing working-class Indo-Caribbean and South Asian communities.
- Indian American Impact – EIN 38-4054905, revenue $900,583.
- Yemeni American Merchants Association (YAMA Action) – EIN 82-3539502, revenue $1.95 million.
- Unity and Justice Fund – PAC contributing $100,000 to campaign-related efforts in June 2025.
Other named affiliates include the American Pakistani Advocacy Group, Bangladeshi American Advocacy Group, Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress, Rockaway Islamic Center, Syosset Muslim Community, New York Muslim Action Network, and Palestinian American Bar Association.
Nomani reports that these organizations form an interlinked ecosystem of religious, ethnic, and ideological advocacy networks overlapping with electoral mobilization operations.
Democratic and Democratic-Aligned Groups (76):
The report identifies 21 DNC affiliates, 22 unions including members of the AFL-CIO, and 33 Democratic-aligned entities such as MoveOn, The Nation, Sunrise Movement, and Working Families Party, described as “one of the important levers in the Mamdani Machine.”
The Timeline of the Mamdani Machine
2012 – Student Activism Begins:
As a student at Bowdoin College, Zohran Mamdani co-founded a campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the anti-Israel organization founded by activist Hatem Bazian.
2017 – Canvassing with Linda Sarsour:
Mamdani joined Sarsour to campaign for Khader El-Yateem, a DSA-backed city council candidate known for anti-Israel positions. The two developed a close political alliance at a time when Sarsour’s public reputation declined amid antisemitism accusations.
2018 – Entry into Organized Muslim Politics:
Mamdani joined the board of Sarsour’s Muslim Democratic Club of New York, gaining access to donor lists, voter rolls, and grassroots organizing resources. The club’s mission explicitly called on members to “help build Muslim power across the city.”
2018 – Growth of the Nonprofit Empire:
Sarsour and her allies expanded their influence through nonprofit entities MPower Change and Emgage Action, which together received approximately $4.275 million in grants from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, according to the investigation.
2020 – Electoral Breakthrough:
With support from Sarsour and the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani won a seat in the New York State Assembly. That same summer, he appeared at Sarsour’s #MyMuslimVote summit alongside activist Tamika Mallory, a Women’s March cofounder criticized for antisemitic remarks.
2025 – The Mayoral Campaign:
Mamdani’s campaign for mayor is reportedly powered by the coordinated efforts of the 110 organizations identified by the Daniel Pearl Project. His central slogan, “Defend and Advance”, also appears as the name of an Emgage SuperPAC.
According to Nomani, some of these groups receive municipal funding, and this “flow of money to these groups will likely increase if Mamdani wins.”
The Red-Green-Blue Alliance
Nomani characterizes the coalition as an alliance of ideological blocs – socialists (red), Muslims (green), and Democrats (blue) working in tandem under a single strategic objective: political power consolidation within New York and expansion to other key states such as Virginia.
She draws parallels to her book “Woke Army”, which explored the convergence of socialist and Islamist activism within progressive U.S. politics.
“We can see in the Mamdani Machine how these groups have become entrenched within the Democratic Party,” Nomani wrote.
The investigation’s visual map of 110 interlocking organizations is described as “messy and busy,” but intended to demonstrate the scale of coordination across ideological and religious lines.
Donations From Controversial Elements
The New York Post investigation also uncovered that Mamdani’s legal donations include contributions from individuals and groups with controversial backgrounds:
Relatives of China-based billionaire Neville Roy Singham, who has funded radical anti-Israel and Marxist groups, have contributed thousands to Mamdani. His niece, Alicia Goodwin, is a donor and founded “Jews for Zohran.”
Omer Hasan and Mohammad Javed, who each donated $250,000 to a Mamdani-supporting PAC, made their wealth as executives at tech firm AppLovin. Short-selling firm Culper Research has raised national security concerns about the company, noting that Chinese national Hao Tang controls nearly 10% of it.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), via its “Unity & Justice Fund,” directed $100,000 to Mamdani’s campaign. CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, where five leaders were convicted of funneling over $12 million to Hamas.
Five staffers of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) contributed $1,300 to the campaign. ICNA, the North American branch of Jamaat-e-Islami, is banned in India and Russia as a terrorist organization. Its former New York head, Ashrafuzzaman Khan, was sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the murder of 18 Bangladeshi intellectuals.
Mamdani’s campaign has raised $4 million in private donations and received $12.7 million in public matching funds, with $6.1 million still on hand less than a month before the election. Most contributions have come from outside New York City.
The city’s Campaign Finance Board declined to comment, noting it is auditing all campaigns citywide.
Mamdani, who rapped “My love to the Holy Land Five/You better look ’em up” in a 2017 song, has been vocal about his socialist policies and criticism of Israel. The findings highlight concerns about the sources of his campaign funding, both legal and illegal, as the election approaches.
Implications
The findings have sparked debate over the intersection of religion, identity politics, and electoral machinery within American urban politics. Critics argue that the Mamdani Machine represents a carefully engineered alliance blending leftist and Islamist political power, with financial underpinnings from major progressive foundations.
(This article is based on an X thread by Asra Nomani)
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