With less than two weeks remaining before the midterm elections, Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers, a Republican and former FBI agent and congressman, continues to allege that his Democratic rival, Abdul El-Sayed, has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization founded nearly a century ago. El-Sayed, a Michigan-born physician and epidemiologist, has repeatedly denied any ties to the group and disavowed the organization, while no concrete evidence has emerged to substantiate Rogers’s claims.
The Michigan Senate race is gaining national attention as polls indicate a narrowing contest, with El-Sayed holding a slight lead over Rogers in the battle for a crucial Senate seat. El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination in August, after which Rogers immediately accused him of pledging support to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Islamist movement that originally opposed British colonial rule and advocates for the establishment of an Islamic state governed by sharia law. The group operates through multiple branches worldwide with varying approaches, ranging from political participation to armed resistance. Some affiliates, like Hamas in the Palestinian territories, have engaged in violence, while others, such as Tunisia’s chapter, have largely pursued peaceful political involvement.
Rogers’s allegations hinge partly on El-Sayed’s political statements and associations from more than a decade ago. In 2012, shortly after the Arab Spring led to the election of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi—a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure—El-Sayed was listed as a signatory on an open letter by Egyptian Americans expressing support for Morsi’s transitional policies. El-Sayed’s campaign has declined to comment specifically on this letter.
Additionally, Rogers has pointed to El-Sayed’s past leadership roles in the University of Michigan’s Muslim Students Association (MSA), a group co-founded by individuals with Brotherhood ties in 1963. Rogers has also asserted that El-Sayed has accepted campaign donations linked to organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), both of which have faced scrutiny due to alleged—but unproven—connections to terrorist financing. While CAIR and ISNA deny any wrongdoing, some U.S. states have designated CAIR as a terrorist organization, though the U.S. federal government has not.
Rogers’s campaign contends that if El-Sayed truly rejects the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliated groups, he should “put out an unequivocal statement” to that effect. El-Sayed has publicly disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood multiple times, questioning the relevance of the allegations amid broader campaign issues.
Claims have also extended to El-Sayed’s family, with Rogers and right-wing media citing social media posts from El-Sayed’s half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, indicating past family involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood. Abdelhadi’s posts, dating to 2012, mention her mother’s activism in the group during the 1970s. El-Sayed, who was raised by his father and stepmother after his parents’ divorce, has categorically denied personal or familial ties to the organization, dismissing the social media references as hearsay and irrelevant.
Experts note the Muslim Brotherhood’s complex nature, describing it as a decentralized movement with a wide range of ideologies and methods. Some branches remain service-oriented and reject violence, while others have adopted militant tactics. The Brotherhood’s stances on social issues, including opposition to gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights, have been criticized as contrary to universal human rights standards.
As the election approaches, El-Sayed maintains that political opponents’ focus on these allegations detracts from substantive issues facing Michigan residents. He has emphasized that his family members are not candidates and expressed frustration over the persistent scrutiny of his background. The controversy marks a continuation of a narrative that has followed El-Sayed since his 2018 bid for governor, underscoring the contentious nature of the race ahead.