Abdulrahman El-Sayed’s campaign confirmed the Michigan Democrat Senate nominee still complies with Sharia law in his personal life, after resurfaced 2009 comments in which he described following it as a lifelong “obligation.”
El-Sayed made the remarks to the New York Times in 2009, when the Times identified him as a 24-year-old medical student and Rhodes scholar who had taken out a “Sharia-compliant” mortgage to buy a $123,000 condominium in Ann Arbor. The Washington Free Beacon first reported on the unearthed interview.
“Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Shariah-compliant way,” El-Sayed told the Times. “Not because of fear but because of obligation.”
Campaign spokeswoman Roxie Richner confirmed to the Free Beacon that El-Sayed continues to live by his faith.
“Abdul believes in the separation of church and state,” Richner said. “While he personally lives by the rules of his faith, as many Americans of various faiths do, Abdul opposes any effort by any religious community to write their faith laws into the laws of our country.”
Sharia, or Islamic religious law, prohibits paying or earning interest. Fox News noted the law also traditionally prescribed death for people who leave Islam, placed strict restrictions on women, and permitted child marriage.
During El-Sayed’s failed 2018 campaign for Michigan governor, he denied ever saying he was “Sharia-compliant” in an interview with journalist Laura Loomer, then cut it short. In the documentary How To Fix A Primary, he pointed to a bookshelf and told filmmakers not to include it.
“You’re going to want to not get these things in the shot,” El-Sayed said. “We’re trying to keep the shot secular.”
He has also attacked efforts to ban Sharia. In a 2022 speech, El-Sayed compared Oklahoma’s ballot measure barring the practice to the Trail of Tears, the Tulsa race massacre, and the Oklahoma City bombing.
El-Sayed narrowly won Michigan’s Democrat Senate primary over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), as AIPAC spent more than $30 million backing his opponent. He now faces Republican Mike Rogers in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, and would become the first Muslim U.S. senator if he wins.
