Abdul El-Sayed Faces Scrutiny Over Family Ties to Muslim Brotherhood After Denying Links

Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing renewed scrutiny over alleged family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a claim he recently denied during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

When pressed by host Kristen Welker about the allegations, El-Sayed stated, “No,” to having any personal or family connections to the group. He suggested that his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, was employing Islamophobic tactics against him and his family.

However, El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, posted on social media in 2012 that their mother was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood during her college years. "Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect," Abdelhadi wrote in a post, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. Their mother, Fatten Elkomy, attended Alexandria University in Egypt during the 1970s, a period when the university reportedly had significant Muslim Brotherhood activity, according to a Brookings Institution report.

In subsequent posts from 2012 and 2013, Abdelhadi, described as a professor at the University of Chicago, further elaborated on her family’s connection. "My family has long been MB, but I’ve always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively," she wrote in one post. In another, she stated, "Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in #Egypt. Lie low, stay safe."

A spokesperson for El-Sayed's campaign told Fox News that El-Sayed is a doctor and has dedicated his career to public service. The spokesperson characterized the accusations as "bad faith attacks" and asserted that independent fact-checkers have debunked them, calling them "racist and untrue."