The 79-year-old professor spoke to The Guardian U.S.<\/a> in the wake of his Democratic socialist son\u2019s decisive mayoral election victory in New York City, where he is set to be sworn in as the new mayor Jan. 1.<\/p>\n “As to how I will relate to Zohran\u2019s administration,<\/a> I think initially, at least, both Mira and I will have the relationship we did during the campaign, which is to stay at arm\u2019s length, but always be available,” the elder Mamdani told the outlet.<\/p>\n RESURFACED CLIP OF MAMDANI’S FATHER COMPARING ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO HITLER SPARKS VIRAL OUTRAGE: ‘WHAT A JOKE’<\/a><\/p>\n Zohran Mamdani, left, with his mother, Mira Nair, and father, Mahmood Mamdani, in June. (Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “Always be available for discussion, for sharing our point of view, but not mistaking ourselves for being him,” he added.<\/p>\n Mahmood Mamdani, who is a professor of government and anthropology at Columbia University and director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) in Uganda, has also been promoting his new book, “Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State.”<\/p>\n The work is described as a re-examination of Idi Amin\u2019s Ugandan dictatorship.<\/p>\n SOCIALIST SHOCKWAVE: ZOHRAN MAMDANI STUNS NYC AS VOTERS HAND POWER TO DEMOCRATS\u2019 FAR-LEFT FLANK<\/a><\/p>\n Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is the mayor-elect of New York City. (Angela Weiss\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Speaking during The Guardian interview about political power, Mahmood Mamdani also said, “I don\u2019t believe one should just stay away from power, but I don\u2019t think we should embrace it.<\/p>\n “Power is a fatal thing for intellectuals. It corrupts intellectuals. I\u2019ve seen many, many, many a friend get corrupted in the process.”<\/p>\n Born in India<\/a> and raised in Uganda, Mahmood Mamdani was expelled in 1972 under Idi Amin\u2019s decree targeting citizens of South Asian descent.\u00a0<\/p>\n He later became a U.S.-based academic and went on to teach at several leading universities.<\/p>\n UNEARTHED MAMDANI COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WRITINGS PROMOTE ANTI-ISRAEL BOYCOTT, RAIL AGAINST ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE’<\/a><\/p>\n New York state assemblyman and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, his mother, Mira Nair, left, wife, Rama Duwaji, and father, Mahmood Mamdani, celebrate on stage during a campaign event June 24 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Married to filmmaker Mira Nair since 1991, the two met while she was shooting “Mississippi Masala” in Uganda.<\/p>\n Zohran was born in 1991, and went on to become a community organizer and New York State assemblymember representing Astoria, Queens<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the weeks leading up to Zohran’s New York City mayoral campaign, controversy surrounding Mahmood Mamdani surfaced after a video of him discussing America\u2019s influence<\/a> on global settler colonialism went viral.\u00a0<\/p>\n The clip, viewed more than 10 million times, featured him asserting in a 2022 panel discussion that the U.S. served as a model for subsequent settler-colonial projects, including those of Nazi Germany, Fox News Digital reported<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n Also, Mahmood Mamdani\u2019s 2004 book<\/a>, “Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror” that was reportedly dedicated to “Zohran and his mates” included a line arguing that suicide bombing<\/a> “needs to be understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.”<\/p>\n Fox News Digital has reached out to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for comment.<\/p>\n Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.<\/p>\n Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! 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