'This is all jihad': Zohran Mamdani's former intern slams Muslims for not joining anti-Israel protest | Here's all about her

A former intern of New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has courted controversy after she called political activism as "jihad." The intern identified as Hadeeqa Malik is a student of City College of New York. A video of her that his doing rounds on social media, shows her encouraging fellow Muslims to accept the consequences, including doxing and disciplinary action, for protesting against Israel's war on Gaza. She said that Muslims should risk getting arrested for standing up to "settler colonialism." Notably, Malik has been suspended from City University of New York for a year, as per reports.

‘This is all Jihad’: Hadeeqa Malik, Zohran Mamdani's former intern

"The true believer knows that none of this is in vain, that this is all Jihad (holy war), this is all ibadah (worship)...So, the conversation of doxing, the conversation of getting arrested and suspended, I think it's time for Muslims to start to say, 'All right, all right, so what? Do what you want. I'm going to do what I got to do'," Malik said in the clip making rounds online. She further criticised people who have not joined the movement against the Israeli war. "If you're not seeing this as your issue to deal with, then something is wrong, there is an illness, there is a disease, something messing up the system inside that's telling you this isn't your business," she said. It was taken from a CUNY4Palestine webinar titled 'Islamic Political Activism.'

Malik served as a communications, outreach, policy, and constituent services intern in Zohran Mamdani's New York State Assembly office during the summer of 2024. She also shared photos with Mamdani on her LinkedIn profile, stating that she had "fruitful and special experience at Mamdani's office." Malik is pursuing a degree in international relations with a minor in human rights. She lists herself as president of the City College chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. She is affiliated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as an outreach coordinator and serves as a Racial Justice Fellow at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.