Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing renewed scrutiny after flatly denying any family connection to the Muslim Brotherhood during a Sunday appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” even as years-old social media posts from his half-sister describe their mother’s past activism in the group.
Pressed by host Kristen Welker on whether he could “set the record straight” on allegations linking his family to the Islamist organization, El-Sayed said “No.” When Welker followed up, asking directly, “No, you don’t have any ties, and your family doesn’t?” he again answered “No,” and suggested his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, was pushing Islamophobic attacks against him and his family.
But according to his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, a University of Chicago professor, their mother, Fatten Elkomy, was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood. In a 2012 post on what was then Twitter, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Abdelhadi wrote: “Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect.”
In a separate 2012 post, Abdelhadi wrote, “My family has long been MB, but I’ve always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively.” In a 2013 post, she wrote, “Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in #Egypt. Lie low, stay safe.”
Elkomy attended Egypt’s Alexandria University, which a Brookings Institution report identifies as having had significant Muslim Brotherhood activity in the 1970s.
Campaign response
An El-Sayed campaign spokesperson defended the candidate in a statement to Fox News, saying, “Abdul is a dad and a doctor. He has spent his entire career working to keep Michiganders healthy and safe. Independent fact checkers have repeatedly debunked Mike’s lies, but their campaign continues to use bad faith attacks on Abdul’s faith and family. Mike wants to distract from Trump’s agenda that is terrorizing Michigan families at the pump and at the grocery store.”
The campaign has also characterized the Muslim Brotherhood allegations as “debunked as racist and untrue.” NBC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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