Michigan Senate candidate denies Muslim Brotherhood family ties

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 09:20 · Archive

Abdul El-Sayed denied family connections to the Muslim Brotherhood on NBC, but his half-sister's social media posts suggest otherwise.

Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed denied on NBC's 'Meet the Press' that he or his family had any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. When pressed by NBC's Kristen Welker on Sunday, he repeated his denial and suggested his Republican opponent Mike Rogers was floating Islamophobic attacks.

However, according to posts from his half-sister Eman Abdelhadi, a professor at the University of Chicago, their mother was active in the Muslim Brotherhood. In a 2012 post, 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'. Their mother, Fatten Elkomy, attended Egypt's Alexandria University, which had strong Muslim Brotherhood activity in the 1970s, according to the Brookings Institution.

In another 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'.

An El-Sayed campaign spokesperson said he is 'a dad and a doctor' who has worked to keep Michiganders 'healthy and safe', and claimed independent fact checkers had debunked his opponent's allegations.

How it is being reported

• Abdul El-Sayed’s alleged family ties to Muslim Brotherhood surface after denying any link during NBC interviewDemocratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing new scrutiny after he denied that he or his family had any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.New York Post · 13 Oct, 07:54
• Abdul El-Sayed's alleged family ties to Muslim Brotherhood surface after denying any link during NBC interviewAbdul El-Sayed denied any Muslim Brotherhood ties on "Meet the Press," but his half-sister's social media posts appear to tell a different story.Fox News · 13 Oct, 01:09

In this story: Abdul El-Sayed · Mike Rogers · Eman Abdelhadi · Fatten Elkomy · Muslim Brotherhood · Michigan

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