Political campaigns frequently feature personal attacks, but the accusations emerging in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race are particularly controversial. The spotlight has turned to allegations against the mother of Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
During a recent debate, Republican candidate Mike Rogers accused El-Sayed’s biological mother of aiding al-Qaida. This is not the first time Rogers has made such claims; he has previously linked El-Sayed and his family to various terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah and Hamas, yet no substantial evidence has been provided to support these claims.
Rogers insists that his allegations are not related to El-Sayed’s Muslim faith, stating, “It’s not about the way he prays. It’s about the way he thinks.” However, the accusations have been scrutinized and found lacking in evidence.
No Connections to al-Qaida
El-Sayed’s parents separated when he was just three, and he was raised by his father and stepmother in Rochester, Michigan. The accusations against El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Elkomy, claim she supported terrorist groups while working for a charity in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Elkomy was employed as a nurse at a Kenyan orphanage under the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA-USA), a Missouri-based humanitarian group. This organization was linked to the Islamic African Relief Agency in Sudan, some of whose leaders were later convicted for financial misdeeds involving sanctions violations.
Russ McNamara
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Michigan Public Radio Network
Following the convictions, IARA-USA’s assets were frozen, halting its aid efforts. Shereef Akeel, an attorney involved in cases related to IARA-USA, noted that there were no direct ties to terrorism in the cases he handled. “I saw violations of tax filings, violations of where aid was distributed in violation of some sanction, like blankets or things of that nature,” Akeel explained.
The freezing of assets significantly impacted the children supported by the charity in Kenya, with many families unable to afford basic needs like education and food. Eventually, the organization pleaded guilty to sanctions violations, transferred its remaining assets, and dissolved.
Barbara McQuade, a University of Michigan Law professor and former U.S. Attorney, highlighted that financial documentation often plays a crucial role in prosecuting such cases. “If you can instead put together a case that’s clean on paper because of some financial transaction that is prohibited, whether it’s a tax charge or financial support that violates sanctions – that certainly can dismantle a terrorist pipeline of money,” she said.
Importantly, El-Sayed’s mother was not named in any related indictments.
Russ McNamara
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Michigan Public Radio Network
Elkomy’s role as a nurse likely distanced her from the financial activities of IARA-USA, according to McQuade, who said, “Just because you work for a particular charity – I don’t know, hypothetically the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders, some organization that’s doing great work overseas – if you’ve got some corrupt members at the highest level, it certainly is not an indictment or guilt by association of everybody who works in the organization.”
In a related case, former Congressman Mark Siljander, who lobbied for the charity, was convicted of unrelated charges and later pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020.
No Connections to the Muslim Brotherhood
Rogers and others have also attempted to connect El-Sayed and his mother to the Muslim Brotherhood, primarily based on social media posts by El-Sayed’s half-sister. Founded in Egypt in the 1920s, the Muslim Brotherhood has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury Department.
El-Sayed has consistently denied any family ties to the group, stating, “To the best of my knowledge, nobody in my family’s been a member of this organization. It’s, like, an insane thing to assume.”
These claims continue to surface, as seen during a campaign stop in Caro where El-Sayed was asked to denounce the Muslim Brotherhood by an audience member. The incident was later revealed to involve an outsider with political affiliations.
Russ McNamara
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Michigan Public Radio Network
The broader context for these accusations appears to be tied to political strategy and voter motivation. Mike Bishop, a former Congressman, suggests that Republicans are attempting to galvanize their base amid a perceived enthusiasm gap compared to Democrats. While he acknowledges the need to energize Republican voters, he denies that the strategy is rooted in Islamophobia.
With economic concerns and political dynamics in play, both parties are maneuvering to secure voter support in the upcoming elections.
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