El-Sayed Rejects Muslim Brotherhood Ties Questions in Michigan Senate Race

WASHINGTON — Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed faces continuing questions about alleged personal and family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political movement, according to The National News Desk.

At a town hall in Michigan on Saturday, an attendee asked El-Sayed whether he would disavow the group. He answered, "Sure, yeah. Absolutely." He also said the question implied that he has dual loyalties.

El-Sayed's opponent, Republican Mike Rogers, raised the issue in a recent interview with CNN. Rogers said the group is "banned in five Muslim countries" and pointed to El-Sayed's family relationship with it.

El-Sayed has compared his situation to questions John F. Kennedy faced when he ran for president, telling MS NOW that Kennedy was asked whether his allegiance would be to the Constitution or to the pope. Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who transferred $1 million to El-Sayed's campaign, told TMZ that the questions "fall into racist very clearly."

El-Sayed has acknowledged that his sister-in-law was involved in a federal terrorist watchlist lawsuit during the Obama administration. He said she was never charged with a crime. Asked by a Fox News reporter about her, he said she "did nothing wrong."

Zuhdi Jasser, the Republican nominee for Arizona's Fourth Congressional District, told the network on Monday that El-Sayed has not done enough to distance himself from the accusations.

The sources do not say whether any new findings have been made about the family member's status or about the allegations against El-Sayed.

Background

El-Sayed would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, according to the report. Campaigning in Michigan is continuing ahead of the midterm elections. Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to appear in Detroit on Saturday, and President Donald Trump plans to visit the state on Sunday, the report said.