“Today, tonight, we can turn that inshallah into alhamdulillah!” El-Sayed declared, referring to the expressions meaning “God willing” and “praise be to God.”
By United with Israel Staff
Abdul El-Sayed, a fierce critic of Israel who has repeatedly accused the Jewish state of genocide and called for ending American military assistance, defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate election Tuesday, becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.
The victory preserves a Democratic-held seat that Republicans had hoped to capture and brings one of the party’s most outspoken opponents of longstanding US policy toward Israel to Capitol Hill.
Addressing supporters at his election-night celebration in Detroit, El-Sayed invoked two Arabic expressions frequently used throughout his campaign.
“Today, tonight, we can turn that inshallah into alhamdulillah!” he declared, referring to the expressions meaning “God willing” and “praise be to God.”
He also mocked President Donald Trump, who repeatedly misrepresented his name during the campaign, telling the president he could now “just go on and call me ‘Senator.’”
El-Sayed also used his victory speech to renew his attacks on American military assistance to Israel, arguing that taxpayer money should instead be spent on domestic priorities.
“We want our taxes spent here, for schools here, and healthcare here, and infrastructure here,” he declared. “We don’t want our money sent to do apartheid, or genocide, or war.”
El-Sayed, 42, has made opposition to American support for Israel a central part of his political platform, arguing that the Jewish state is not a reliable US ally.
During a CBS “60 Minutes” interview Sunday, he reiterated his accusations against Israel over its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
“The state of Israel did a genocide,” he declared, repeating an allegation Israel strongly rejects.
In another interview, El-Sayed argued that Israel was “not actually our friend,” while accusing the Jewish state of drawing Washington into unnecessary conflicts.
His positions on Israel became a major source of controversy during the campaign, culminating in an extraordinary split within his own party.
Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, whom El-Sayed defeated in the August primary, withdrew her endorsement and publicly backed Rogers, accusing her former rival of an “obsessive” fixation on Israel.
Stevens also criticized campaign messaging that linked American support for Israel to rising grocery prices, as well as El-Sayed’s association with controversial streamer Hasan Piker.
Piker, who campaigned alongside El-Sayed, sparked outrage after comparing efforts to win over Jewish voters in West Bloomfield, Michigan, to canvassing a Ku Klux Klan neighborhood. El-Sayed subsequently condemned the remarks.
The campaign was also overshadowed by allegations concerning El-Sayed’s family connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement from which Hamas emerged.
The controversy intensified after resurfaced social media posts by his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, described their family’s longstanding association with the Brotherhood and their mother’s involvement in the organization during the 1970s.
In one 2012 post, Abdelhadi wrote that her family had “long been MB,” referring to the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sayed denied having any personal connection to the organization, dismissing his half-sister’s statements as hearsay and explaining that he had not been raised by his biological mother.
“I have no ties. We have no ties,” he told NBC News.
The allegations nevertheless became a recurring issue during the campaign, with Rogers and other Republicans questioning El-Sayed’s past statements and family background.
Stevens ultimately declared that El-Sayed was “not fit to serve in the United States Senate,” a remarkable denunciation from a fellow Democrat just days before the election.
Despite the controversies, El-Sayed prevailed.
His election gives opponents of US military assistance to Israel another voice in the Senate, where lawmakers vote on foreign aid, weapons sales and legislation affecting Washington’s relationship with Jerusalem.
His victory also highlights the increasingly contentious debate over Israel within the Democratic Party, as candidates advocating restrictions on American support for the Jewish state gain representation in Congress.
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