Anti-Israel NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani’s ties to Qatar are through his mother – report

Critics warn the financial and cultural ties raise concerns about Qatari influence.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Socialist and anti-Israel New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani seemingly has ties to Qatar, home to a number of Hamas leaders, through his mother’s connections, The New York Post reported.

Qatar’s royal family and state-backed cultural institutions have long supported the work of filmmaker Mira Nair, the mother of New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, whose mayoral campaign is now being boosted online by Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, the sister of the ruling emir.

Since June, Al-Thani has promoted Mamdani’s candidacy on Instagram and TikTok, highlighting favorable polls and posting emojis under videos of him with his mother.

Critics warn the financial and cultural ties raise concerns about Qatari influence.

Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute said Qatar seeks “a rainbow coalition” to advance ideologies ranging from Islamism to antisemitism.

Nair’s connections to Doha date back more than a decade. Her 2009 film Amelia opened the first Doha Tribeca Film Festival.

From 2010 to 2014, the Doha Film Institute sponsored training programs at her Maisha Film Labs.

The institute also covered the $15 million budget of her 2012 movie The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Later, Qatar’s National Museum commissioned her 2019 film Nafas on pearl divers, and state-owned Qatar Airways co-produced her stage adaptation of Monsoon Wedding during the 2022 World Cup.

Nair has portrayed herself as a champion of marginalized voices and boycotted Israeli festivals, yet she remained silent on Qatar’s restrictive policies toward women, LGBTQ people, and religious minorities.

She publicly praised Sheikha Al-Thani for her support of the Monsoon Wedding musical.

Qatar, criticized for abuses against migrant workers and harsh social laws, is often described as playing “both arsonist and firefighter” by supporting groups such as Hamas while mediating with the West.

Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies warned that Qatar actively spreads influence through culture, politics, and finance.

Mamdani denies personal ties to Qatar, saying he has never visited the country or received direct support.

His campaign would not confirm whether funding linked to his mother reached him, but he dismissed the scrutiny as a “manufactured distraction.”

Neither Nair nor Qatari institutions responded to requests for comment.