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During Wednesday night’s Michigan U.S. Senate debate, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed passionately denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and admonished Republican Sen. Mike Rogers for attempting to link him to the organization.
“[El-Sayed] was passionate about defunding the police,” Rogers said, responding to a question about law enforcement funding. “As a matter of fact, he asked the Muslim Brotherhood, excuse me, head Morsi in Egypt, to defund the police there, too. I mean, it’s unbelievable.”
Rogers was referencing a letter that The Washington Free Beacon reported El-Sayed signed in 2012 calling on the Egyptian president, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, to purge his nation’s police force.
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Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks during a news conference Sept. 22, 2026, in Detroit. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“To bring into question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you,” El-Sayed responded.
“I am proud of America. I’m proud to be an American. I’m proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray. And the question — that you would ask that — I think is actually really quite shameful. As somebody who’s actually served under that Constitution, it is shameful.”
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Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, speaks during the Michigan Democratic Party’s 2026 nominating convention in Lansing, Mich., Aug. 29, 2026. (Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
El-Sayed also caught flak after social media posts from his half-sister alleging that their mother was involved in Muslim Brotherhood activism in the 1970s resurfaced. El-Sayed has denied personal or family ties to the organization and maintained that he was not raised by his biological mother.
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Democrat Abdul El-Sayed passionately denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. (Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
“He keeps raising this question about this association with the organization,” El-Sayed said at the debate. “I’ve never been a part because my mom, who’s a nurse in Missouri, it doesn’t make any sense. And it’s actually really quite beneath you, Mike. It’s really quite beneath you.”
There is no evidence to suggest that El-Sayed has any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
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“I know you want to make this about you being a victim,” Rogers said. “This is about an ideology. An ideology that’s banned in five Muslim countries, an ideology that’s banned in another six different countries.
“An ideology that is very concerning to law enforcement in the United States because they use it for funding overseas operations.”