{"id":1664,"date":"2026-08-27T17:09:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1664"},"modified":"2026-08-27T17:09:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:09:53","slug":"abdul-el-sayeds-win-sparked-a-wave-of-islamophobia-across-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1664","title":{"rendered":"Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s Win Sparked a Wave of Islamophobia Across Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read more RFK Jr. Says SNAP Cuts Won\u2019t Have \u201cThat Much Effect.\u201d 5 Million Have Lost Aid.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s victory in Michigan generated a wave of Islamophobia across social media.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the conclusion of a recent Washington Post<\/em> study and several similar recent investigations, which find that El-Sayed\u2019s religion became the main target of right-wing critics after he won the state\u2019s Democratic Senate nomination and positioned himself to take on the GOP nominee, Mike Rogers, this fall.<\/p>\n

According to the paper\u2019s analysis, almost 1 in 3 posts about El-Sayed from right-wing figures mentioned Islam, Muslims, or Sharia Law, within 2 weeks of his August 4 victory.<\/p>\n

This included far-right pundits like Laura Loomer, who referred to El-Sayed as a jihadist, and GOP lawmakers, like Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) who declared that the former public health official could be the first \u201cTERRORIST\u201d to join the Senate.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that El-Sayed is a \u201cHamas supporter\u201d who could help send the United States down a \u201ctruly dark road\u201d if Americans don\u2019t \u201cwake up to this threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Truth Social, President Donald Trump posted a photo of himself with the First Lady, juxtaposed with an image of El-Sayed with his wife, who wears a hijab. \u201cTwo VERY DIFFERENT America\u2019s [sic],\u201d reads the image.<\/p>\n

In an article on this recent wave of Islamophobia, The<\/em> New York Times<\/em> points out that Republicans frequently refer to El-Sayed by his entire name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, in an effort to stoke further xenophobia.<\/p>\n

\u201cFew officials in the Republican Party have publicly tried to tamp down such messaging,\u201d notes the paper.<\/p>\n

The attacks on El-Sayed certainly aren\u2019t occurring in a vacuum.<\/p>\n

On August 19, over 20 people were arrested in Dearborn, Michigan, after fascist provocateurs descended on the building where the city council holds its meetings. The \u201cChristian Crusader March\u201d was led by Jake Lang, who served four years in prison for his role in the January 6 insurrection before being pardoned by Trump. It was the third time that the anti-Muslim activist had shown up in the predominantly Arab-American city to rail against the religion.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a review of airports in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston \u201cfor possible revocation of active state grant funds,\u201d over plans to build washing stations for Islamic pre-prayer ablution. The DFW airport immediately ditched the proposal in response to the threat.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Has Made Up to $15M in Oil and Gas Stock Rise Spurred in Part by Iran War<\/a><\/p>\n

The Council on American\u2013Islamic Relations (CAIR) referred to the move as an \u201canti-Muslim political stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the silly controversies that [Abbott] has manufactured about Muslims over the past year, the airport washing station outrage might be the most ridiculous. And hypocritical,\u201d said the group in a statement.<\/p>\n

In another analysis, Al Jazeera<\/em> found that El-Sayed\u2019s win ignited a \u201ccoordinated digital smear campaign,\u201d which began with right-wing pundit Benny Johnson clipping the phrase \u201cinshallah\u201d (which means, \u201cGod willing\u201d) from his election night speech.<\/p>\n

The investigation found that the campaign spread across 1,966 accounts and more than 2,500 connections in its first 24 hours. \u201cThe far-right narrative spread rapidly as political figures and pro-Israel organisations joined the debate,\u201d notes the site.<\/p>\n

The Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) found a twentyfold increase in anti-Muslim posts after the Michigan primary and says the surge has not subsided. On X, the summer\u2019s highest single day of anti-Muslim bigotry occurred on the day after the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese campaigns draw on conspiracy theories about Muslim religious practices, mosques, and the supposed imposition of \u2018Sharia law,\u2019 all reinforcing a broader narrative of an impending Muslim takeover,\u201d concludes the study, which notes that a similar uptick in Islamophobic posts after Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City. \u201cThis narrative echoes the Great Replacement theory and intensifies around major events, including conflicts in the Middle East and the growing visibility of Muslims running for public office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Rodgers, El-Sayed\u2019s opponent, has also leaned into these narratives, claiming that El-Sayed is \u201cUnAmerican\u201d and antisemitic.<\/p>\n

El-Sayed says that the GOP often turns to Islamophobia because the party is out of ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that Michiganders are open-minded,\u201d he recently told MS Now<\/em>. \u201cThey\u2019re big-hearted. They\u2019re less interested in how you pray than what you pray for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we all pray for the same things,\u201d El-Sayed continued. \u201cWe want what\u2019s good for our kids and our families. We want clean air, clean water, healthcare we can afford. So they\u2019re going to use Islamophobia because their ideas are tired. Their economy sucks. They\u2019re taking us to wars we shouldn\u2019t fight. And we have an opportunity to actually focus on bringing us together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Pennsylvania Reports US\u2019s First Confirmed Measles-Related Deaths This Year<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One group found a twentyfold increase in anti-Muslim posts after the primary and says the surge has not subsided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAbdul El-Sayed\u2019s Win Sparked a Wave of Islamophobia Across Social Media - 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=1664\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s Win Sparked a Wave of Islamophobia Across Social Media - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One group found a twentyfold increase in anti-Muslim posts after the primary and says the surge has not subsided.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=1664\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-27T17:09:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1664#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1664\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s Win Sparked a Wave of Islamophobia Across Social Media\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T17:09:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1664\"},\"wordCount\":841,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1664#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/d0becba1c4ab034f59caace50e981082.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1664#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1664\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=1664\",\"name\":\"Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s Win Sparked a Wave of Islamophobia Across Social Media - 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