‘True Muslims Know...': Zohran Mamdani's Ex-Intern Calls Political Activism 'Jihad'
Hadeeqa Malik, ex-intern for Zohran Mamdani, faced backlash after calling activism against Israel's Gaza war "jihad".
A former intern for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani faced backlash on social media after a video surfaced of her describing political activism against Israel's war in Gaza as 'jihad" as she urged Muslims to risk arrest, suspension and doxing for the cause.
Hadeeqa Malik, a City College of New York student and activist, made the comments during a CUNY4Palestine webinar titled Islamic Political Activism. In the clip, widely shared on social media, Hadeeqa Malik said, 'The true believer knows that none of this is in vain, that this is all jihad, this is all ibadah (worship)."
She went on to encourage Muslims to stop fearing the consequences of activism, including doxing or suspension from school, saying, 'I think it's time for Muslims to start to say, 'All right, so what? Do what you want. I'm going to do what I got to do.'"
In the video, Hadeeqa Malik criticized those who had not joined the movement against what she called 'settler colonialism" and 'Israeli oppression" in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians have been reported killed over the course of a 21-month war, including in recent attacks on aid distribution points.
'If you're not seeing this as your issue to deal with, then something is wrong," she said, adding, 'There is an illness… something messing up the system inside."
She also challenged Muslim activists directly, asserting, 'If you get suspended, if you get doxed… it will never, ever be in vain. And the true believer does not fear that."
Hadeeqa Malik's Comments Under Scrutiny
Hadeeqa Malik previously served as an intern in Zohran Mamdani's New York State Assembly office during the summer of 2024, working on communications, policy and constituent services. A photo on her LinkedIn profile shows Hadeeqa Malik and Zohran Mamdani smiling together. Zohran Mamdani has not commented publicly on the video or Hadeeqa Malik's remarks.
Who Is Hadeeqa Malik?
Hadeeqa Malik is currently studying international relations and human rights and leads the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at City College. She also works as an Outreach Coordinator for CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) and serves as a Racial Justice Fellow at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.
In a separate incident earlier this year, Hadeeqa Malik was filmed confronting New York police officers at a pro-Palestine rally, where she appeared to single out a Muslim officer.
'Let's read the badges of the pigs," she shouted while reading officers' names aloud, adding,
'To the pigs who can call themselves by the name of Islam- put some respect on their names!" Footage of the confrontation was widely shared on social media.
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First Published:
July 15, 2025, 20:30 IST
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