Abdul El-Sayed Clashes With NBC Reporter Over Alleged Muslim Brotherhood Family Ties
The Michigan Senate candidate became agitated when pressed about social media posts from his half-sister regarding their mother's alleged past involvement with the organization.
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed engaged in a tense exchange with an NBC News reporter on Wednesday when questioned about his family's alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
During an interview with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Llamas, El-Sayed was pressed on social media posts made by his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi. These posts suggested their mother was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the 1970s, contradicting El-Sayed's earlier denial of any family connections to the group in an interview with "Meet the Press."
When Llamas read excerpts from Abdelhadi's posts, El-Sayed responded with frustration, questioning the relevance of events in Egypt decades ago to his own life and political career in Michigan. "I was born in 1984 down the street in Rochester Hills. I was raised here in Michigan, went to the University of Michigan, rebuilt the health department in this city, led the health department in this county — and you want to ask me about what's happening in Egypt in 1970? Are you serious?" he asked.
Llamas reiterated that El-Sayed had been asked a question and given an answer, to which El-Sayed responded, "I have no ties, we have no ties."
El-Sayed told Llamas he had not discussed his mother's alleged Muslim Brotherhood activity with her and accused the anchor of relying on "hearsay evidence from a tweet."
Earlier, in an interview with "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker, El-Sayed was asked to clarify allegations of family connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. He firmly denied any such ties and suggested his Republican opponent was employing Islamophobic attacks.
However, social media posts from his half-sister, a professor at the University of Chicago, indicate otherwise. 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." In another post from the same year, she stated, "My family has long been MB, but I've always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively." A 2013 post read, "Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in #Egypt. Lie low, stay safe."
According to a Brookings Institution report, Alexandria University in Egypt, where their mother Fatten Elkomy attended, had significant Muslim Brotherhood activity in the 1970s.
An El-Sayed campaign spokesperson previously released a statement to Fox News stating that the accusations are "bad faith attacks on Abdul's faith and family" and have been "debunked as racist and untrue." The spokesperson added that their campaign continues to use lies to distract from other issues.