Islamophobic Posts by Sequoia Capital Partner Spark Backlash Among Muslim and Middle Eastern Tech Founders
Islamophobic Posts by Sequoia Capital Partner Spark Backlash Among Muslim and Middle Eastern Tech Founders
——————————–
Shaun Maguire, partner at venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, has faced widespread condemnation after posting Islamophobic remarks targeting New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, CNN reported. His comments, which accused Mamdani of being an “Islamist” from a “culture that lies about everything,” quickly went viral with over 5.6 million views on X by late July 2025.
The tech and startup communities, particularly Muslim and Middle Eastern founders, responded with outrage. Over 1,100 individuals, including prominent startup founders worldwide, signed an open letter demanding Sequoia publicly condemn Maguire’s remarks, apologize, and conduct an internal investigation into his conduct over the past two years. The letter warned that failure to act would signal tacit acceptance of anti-Muslim hate and racism within one of Silicon Valley’s most influential firms.
Some signatories plan to pressure Sequoia’s limited partners—passive investors such as family offices and sovereign wealth funds—to hold the firm accountable financially. However, others expressed skepticism that these efforts would significantly impact Sequoia’s vast $56 billion assets or alter its leadership’s stance.
Maguire later issued a lengthy video apologizing to non-Islamist Muslims but defended his critique of Mamdani’s ideology. Meanwhile, other Sequoia partners publicly supported Maguire, framing his comments as principled rather than hateful.
Advocacy groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, condemned Maguire’s posts as part of a dangerous pattern of Islamophobia, exacerbated by the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Many founders stressed that such rhetoric undermines inclusion in the tech industry and damages the reputation of firms like Sequoia known for supporting immigrant entrepreneurs.
