GOP makes Islamophobic attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race

GOP makes Islamophobic attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race.

Key points

• Mike Rogers, has accused him of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist activist group that has formed chapters worldwide since its 1928 founding in Egypt.
• While campaigning for Rogers in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F, a day afterwards.
• Republicans are ramping up Islamophobic attacks against Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, saying he would be a threat to American security.
• Ted Cruz called El-Sayed a "jihadist leprechaun" and remarked he believed El-Sayed was a "passionate supporter" of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group the Democrat has disavowed.
• El-Sayed, a 41-year-old former Wayne County health director, is one of a number of sharp critics of the U.S.

GOP makes Islamophobic attacks against El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race. Arit John USA TODAY. Islamophobic attacks against El-Sayed rise against the backdrop of Michigan Senate race.

Republicans are ramping up Islamophobic attacks against Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, using recent campaign trail appearances to claim he would be a threat to American security if elected.

At an Oct. 28 event near Detroit, Sen. Ted Cruz called El-Sayed a "jihadist leprechaun" and remarked he believed El-Sayed was a "passionate supporter" of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group the Democrat has disavowed. According to The Texas Republican, if El-Sayed wins and is put on the Senate Intelligence Committee, there is a risk that "Americans will die as a result."

Cruz remarked he believed the Democratic candidate could apply the panel to support terrorists avoid detection by U.S. Troops or intelligence operatives.

"We have every reason to believe that Abdul El-Sayed, if he found out, 'OK, they're about to apprehend these terrorists, ' that he would let those terrorists know, " the senator remarked.

Cruz's comments are the latest escalation in Islamophobic rhetoric from Republicans against El-Sayed. This person would be the first Muslim American elected to the U.S. Senate if he wins on Nov. 3.

El-Sayed, a 41-year-old former Wayne County health director, is one of a number of sharp critics of the U.S. Alliance with Israel to have won tough primaries this year. No other candidate, nevertheless, has faced the same suggestions concerning their loyalty to the United States.

More: Trump floats nominating Ted Cruz to Supreme Court for future vacancy.

His Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, has accused him of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist activist group that has formed chapters worldwide since its 1928 founding in Egypt. The United States designated the Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon branches of the organization as terrorist organizations in January.

Rogers' allies have only intensified their attacks against El-Sayed in the final days of the race. During an Oct. 25 rally in Port Huron, Michigan, President Donald Trump called El-Sayed a "jihadist" and falsely remarked he wants to bring Sharia law to the United States.

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed clashed with an audience member at a town hall in a now viral interaction. El-Sayed, Rogers trade zingers: Final Michigan Senate debate takeaways.

If El-Sayed and Democrats prevail on Nov. 3, Trump remarked, they would "open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadists to our shores."

While campaigning for Rogers in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F, a day afterwards. Kennedy Jr. Remarked Arabs no longer win awards for scientific or literary work as the Muslim Brotherhood had "created stagnant societies." Arab and Muslim scientists, academics and artists have won prominent awards for art, science, math and humanitarian work over recent years, including multiple Nobel Prizes.

And on Oct. 28, at an evening Trump rally in Ohio, Sen. Bernie Moreno remarked El-Sayed was an "affront" to him as a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

"Do you think he understands that concept, that our rights come from God almighty? That Jesus came here for our salvation?" remarked Moreno. This person was born in Colombia. "He should be nowhere near Washington, DC."

El-Sayed has disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood and denied having any association with the organization.

Cole Wozniak, a spokesperson for the El-Sayed campaign, called Cruz "a deeply unpopular politician who has long supported policies that hurt Michigan families" in an official note.

"His dangerous comments are just the latest example of Mike Rogers and his MAGA allies attempting to distract voters from the fact that the price of gas, groceries, and everything else has skyrocketed due to the failed policies of the Trump administration, " the statement read. Civil rights groups concerned.

For context, the inflammatory rhetoric has worried Arab and Muslim American advocacy groups. This person say that while they are applied to an uptick in Islamophobic attacks during elections, this year is unprecedented.

"The level of vitriol, the extent of it, and the, frankly, dangerous nature of it is something that we have never seen, " Edward Ahmed Mitchell, the national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, informed USA TODAY.

Rogers has remarked his criticisms of El-Sayed aren't tied to his faith, but what he states is his ideology. He has remarked he doesn't agree with comments from the president calling El-Sayed a terrorist.

"This is not regarding Islam. It's not regarding how he prays, " Rogers told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Oct. 25. "It is about his adherence to this radical Islamic agenda."

Republicans have sought to link El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood by pointing to a 2011 op-ed he wrote calling for the United States to backing pro-democracy student protestors against Egypt's authoritarian administration and a 2012 open letter he signed supporting then-Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. This person was elected with backing from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Republicans have additionally pointed to comments his half-sister produced on social media in 2012 discussing their mother's work with the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s as a college student in Egypt. El-Sayed, who was born in Michigan to Egyptian immigrants, was raised by his father and stepmother after his parents divorced when he was three years old.

El-Sayed has compared the attacks to the "dual loyalty" questions John F. Kennedy, America's first Catholic president, faced when he ran for office in 1960. During a recent viral town hall encounter with a GOP operative, El-Sayed expressed his love for the country and remarked that the U.S. Constitution and its protection of religious freedom would guide him in office.

Key Democrats have additionally come to his defense, including former President Barack Obama. This person trump falsely maintained was born in Kenya and ineligible to be president. Plenty of Republican voters additionally falsely believed that Obama was Muslim.

"We have seen this movie before. I starred in it, " Obama remarked at an Oct. 24 rally in Detroit. "This stuff didn't work on me, not in Michigan. It's not going to work on Abdul." Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, GOP makes Islamophobic attacks against El is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.