Middle East tech figures criticise Shaun Maguire over 'appalling' Mamdani 'Islamist agenda' comments

Business leaders pressure venture capital firm Sequoia over partner's claims about New York mayoral candidate

Venture capitalist Shaun Maguire, left, has claimed in the disputed post that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, right, 'comes from a culture that lies about everything'. AFP

A growing list of start-up founders are circulating an open letter to Sequoia Capital urging the prominent venture capital firm to take action against one of its partners, Shaun Maguire.

The letter, which had more than 520 digital signatories as of Monday afternoon, follows a July 4 post on X in which Mr Maguire referred to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as an “Islamist”.

Mr Maguire, an avid X poster best known for his investments in SpaceX and xAI, claimed in the disputed X post that Mr Mamdani “comes from a culture that lies about everything” and is willing to lie “if it advances his Islamist agenda”.

In defence of eating with hands amid Zohran Mamdani backlash

Read More

Screen shot of Shaun Maguire's X twitter. Photo: X

Bloomberg reported that the signatories, not all of which could be immediately verified, include start-up executives, employees and venture capitalists from around the world, as well as entrepreneurs who have raised from funds affiliated with Sequoia.

Among them are Hosam Arab, chief executive of Tabby, and Hisham Al Falih, chief executive of Lean Technologies – co-founders of Saudi FinTech start-ups that raised funding from Sequoia Capital India before it separated from Sequoia Capital in the US, they said.

Ahmed Sabbah, co-founder of Egyptian payments company Telda, which raised funding from Sequoia in 2021, also signed the letter.

Mr Al Falih said in an email to Bloomberg that he does not endorse Mr Mamdani but found Mr Maguire’s comments over the holiday weekend “appalling”.

“His tweet was not only a sweeping and harmful generalisation of Muslims, but part of a broader pattern of Islamophobic rhetoric that has no place in our industry,” Mr Al-Falih said.

After Mr Maguire’s comments went viral, he responded with a 30-minute video posted to X on Sunday in which he apologised several times for offending anyone. He said that Islamism is a political ideology, not a race or religion and clarified that his primary concerns are with Mr Mamdani’s father, Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia University professor who Mr Maguire says practices “radical left-wing Islamism”.

Mr Maguire declined to comment beyond the video. A representative for Sequoia Capital declined to comment. A representative for Mr Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

What does Zohran Mamdani's New York primary win mean for Democrats?

02:00

The open letter, a rare show of defiance against one of the most powerful and influential VC firms, calls for Sequoia to make a public apology for Mr Maguire’s actions. It also asks that Sequoia launch an investigation into his conduct, publish a zero‑tolerance policy on hate speech and create a hotline for founders to safely report discrimination or hate speech made by Sequoia employees. The letter asks for a formal response to these demands by July 14.

“As founders building the future of technology, we cannot accept leadership from a firm whose partners engage in hate speech and spread bigotry,” the letter states. “Maguire’s conduct not only tarnishes Sequoia’s reputation, it also undermines your ability to serve a global, diverse founder ecosystem.”

Other tech workers who signed the letter include Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder and chief executive of the Uber-owned Middle Eastern ride-hailing company Careem; Omar Almajdouie, the founding partner of Saudi investment firm Raed Ventures; and Zaheer Mohiuddin, chief executive of Cupertino-based start-up Levels.fyi, the executives confirmed in emails to Bloomberg.

Eslam Hussein, co-founder and chief executive of Dubai-based start-up Invygo and another signatory, said he signed the letter because “[Mr] Maguire’s comments were Islamophobic and completely unacceptable, especially coming from someone in a leadership role at one of the most powerful firms in venture capital”.

Mr Maguire is known in VC and technology circles for his frequent X posts and controversial statements. In January, he posted a photo of himself at one of the presidential inaugural celebrations in Washington DC. Later that same month, he called diversity, equity and inclusion policies “structural racism”.

Last year, shortly after Donald Trump, at the time US presidential candidate, was convicted of falsifying business records, Mr Maguire wrote in a lengthy post on X that he had donated $300,000 to Mr Trump's campaign for the presidency. The post included a disclaimer clarifying that his views did not reflect those of his employer, and that he was “lucky to work at a place that tolerates spirited debate and independent thinking”.