How Abdul El-Sayed challenged America’s Muslim loyalty test

Nearly $30 million was spent by AIPAC and its affiliates to stop Abdul El-Sayed. It was enough to flood Michigan’s airwaves, but not enough to persuade Democratic voters that he was beyond the political pale. That matters because El-Sayed was fighting more than an extraordinarily well-funded opponent. As a Muslim who has openly condemned Israel’s war in Gaza and challenged AIPAC’s influence, he confronted a political reflex deeply embedded in post-9/11 America: the tendency to treat Muslim candidates not simply as candidates, but as questions of loyalty, security and belonging. On 4th August, Michigan Democrats answered differently. They nominated El-Sayed for the United States Senate. An Egyptian-American Muslim, physician and former Detroit health director, El-Sayed defeated Congresswoman Haley Stevens despite […]