{"id":1338,"date":"2026-08-05T20:09:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1338"},"modified":"2026-08-05T20:09:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:09:59","slug":"el-sayed-hits-back-at-gops-islamophobic-attacks-thats-the-best-you-got","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1338","title":{"rendered":"El-Sayed Hits Back at GOP\u2019s Islamophobic Attacks: \u201cThat\u2019s the Best You Got?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Republicans nearly immediately resorted to Islamophobic attacks after voters chose Abdul El-Sayed as Michigan\u2019s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate on Wednesday, sparking defiance from El-Sayed as he taunted the GOP\u2019s inability to speak to real issues.<\/p>\n

In a statement on El-Sayed\u2019s win on Wednesday morning, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) referred to El-Sayed using his full name \u2014 a move that hearkens to Republicans\u2019 anti-Muslim references to Barack Obama using his middle name, Hussein.<\/p>\n

The statement refers to El-Sayed as Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed and attempts to smear him as a \u201cradical.\u201d The press release links to the NRSC\u2019s new ad against the Democratic candidate in which a voiceover also uses his full name. <\/p>\n

The ad further goes on to repeat a baseless conspiracy theory that El-Sayed is supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, and flashes excerpts of an op-ed he wrote in 2011 where he does not express any such opinion. <\/p>\n

El-Sayed\u2019s opponent, Mike Rogers, also referenced such debunked claims in a bigoted statement on the primary results. Rogers\u2019s statement was even more overt in its Islamophobia, making claims about El-Sayed that are demonstrably untrue and even throwing in a seemingly violent threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice,\u201d said Rogers, potentially referring to his time as chair of the House Intelligence Committee in the 2010s. \u201cNever in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9\/11.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rogers seems to be implying that El-Sayed has said that U.S. \u201cdeserved\u201d the 9\/11 attack, something that allied streamer Hasan Piker once said and swiftly apologized for, years ago. Piker has been a high-profile supporter of El-Sayed, but El-Sayed has never expressed a similar sentiment.<\/p>\n

Read more Gabriela Soto Links Miscarriage to Stress of Husband\u2019s ICE Detention<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, Rogers\u2019s and the Republicans\u2019 immediate turn to Islamophobia is an early show of what strategies they may use in the next three months of campaigning.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the importance of unity among Democrats, El-Sayed stood in defiance of the Republican attacks, addressing them head on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to use my whole name against me,\u201d El-Sayed said. \u201cMike, listen, man. If you can\u2019t say the name, it\u2019s Abdulrahman, keep the name out your damn mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pledged to stand by the Jewish community in the state in pushback against other Islamophobic attacks that he faced during the primary that tried to smear him as antisemitic. <\/p>\n

Later, El-Sayed also responded to a question from a reporter about his plan to combat Islamophobic attacks in the upcoming race.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the only play they got,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to point at me, they\u2019re going to point at my name, like \u2018wow, he\u2019s different.\u2019 That\u2019s the best you got? You can\u2019t actually talk about what you want to do? My name is not raising your gas prices. My name is not taking us to war. My name is not the reason you can\u2019t afford your groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been an Abdul in Michigan my whole life. This is the best place in the world to be an Abdul,\u201d El-Sayed went on. \u201cBecause Michiganders are \u2014 they\u2019re big-hearted, they\u2019re open-minded, they\u2019re earnest, and they\u2019re gritty. And Michiganders are sick and tired of B.S. politics coming in to divide us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Voters Reject GOP \u201cPower Grab\u201d Referendum Measures in Kansas and Missouri<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI spent years hunting terrorists,\u201d El-Sayed opponent Mike Rogers said after the primary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nEl-Sayed Hits Back at GOP\u2019s Islamophobic Attacks: \u201cThat\u2019s the Best You Got?\u201d - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1338\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"El-Sayed Hits Back at GOP\u2019s Islamophobic Attacks: \u201cThat\u2019s the Best You Got?\u201d - 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