Mahmood Mamdani, the renowned Columbia University professor and Africa's leading political thinker, is writing a book on the Gaza conflict. This development comes as his son, Zohran Mamdani, serves as New York City's mayor. The younger Mamdani's election has renewed attention on his father's contentious work on colonialism and its legacies. Zohran Mamdani was sworn into office just after midnight on New Year's Day, immediately eclipsing his father's academic fame.

While Mahmood Mamdani maintains he is merely an observer, his son's pro-Palestinian stance during the Gaza war has drawn both support and criticism. Mahmood Mamdani's next book will explicitly address Israel, Palestinians, and campus protests against the Gaza conflict, reflecting his enduring commitment to provocative scholarship despite his son's political tightrope walk.