Zohran Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, and is the son of a renowned Ugandan Indian postcolonial scholar, author, and professor at Columbia University, Mahmood Mamdani and acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair. After living briefly in South Africa, his family settled in New York City at the age of 7, where he was raised in Manhattan's Morningside Heights neighborhood. Mamdani has publicly described his upbringing as "privileged," acknowledging that he grew up in a financially secure household with access to educational and cultural opportunities that many New Yorkers did not have. His parents' careers in academia and filmmaking exposed him to intellectual, artistic, and political discussions from an early age, experiences that he has said shaped his views on inequality and social justice. Zohran Mamdani attended the ultra-progressive Bank Street School for Children in Manhattan's Morningside Heights as a child, graduating in 2006. As a teenager, he attended the elite Bronx High School of Science, where he co-founded the school's first cricket team.

Zohran Mamdani is a politician whose religious background is part of his public identity. He is a practicing Muslim and has spoken openly about how his faith informs his values, including a commitment to justice, compassion, and service to others. At the same time, Mamdani has emphasized that his role as a public official is to represent people of all faiths and backgrounds, and he has advocated for protecting religious freedom and equal treatment under the law. Mamdani has also addressed issues affecting religious communities, including speaking out against Islamophobia, antisemitism, and other forms of religious discrimination. While his Muslim faith shapes his personal convictions, his public positions are generally framed in terms of civil rights, economic fairness, and democratic principles rather than as efforts to promote a particular religion. His approach reflects the broader principle that elected officials may be guided by their personal beliefs while serving a diverse public.