“Don’t Be Rogers’ Campaign”: El-Sayed Refuses to Address Muslim Brotherhood

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed clashed with Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Friday when pressed about a 2012 Arabic-language statement he reportedly signed backing Egypt’s then-president, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, and calling on him to “purge the media and the police.”

The exchange came during an interview on “Special Report” taped in Detroit, 11 days before the November 3 election. When Baier raised Republican nominee Mike Rogers’ attacks on the issue, El-Sayed cut in before he could finish the question.

“You are asking this question to raise a question about whether or not I have dual loyalty,” El-Sayed said. “My loyalty will be to the Constitution of the United States. And as every senator who’s ever served, I will swear an oath to the Constitution.”

As Baier tried to ask about the letter, El-Sayed said he was “not interested” and accused the anchor of trying to “pull that out of context.” When Baier said he was relaying the Rogers campaign’s claims, El-Sayed replied, “Don’t be Rogers’ campaign. Be a journalist.” He added, “I have never been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Baier then moved on to another topic.

The statement was published on November 25, 2012, on the Egyptian news portal Al-Ahram Gate under the headline “Statement by Morsi Supporters in America Backs His Decisions and Calls on Him to ‘Purge the Media and Police.’” It was signed by 46 self-described “leaders of the Egyptian community” in the United States. The 33rd signatory is listed as “Dr. Abdul Rahman El-Sayed” of New York. El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, was a medical student at Columbia University at the time.

“We, leaders of the Egyptian community, support the revolutionary decisions taken by the president, and we call on him to purge the media and the police as quickly as possible,” the statement reads, according to the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported it in September. The letter also asked Morsi to clarify that his expanded authority would be temporary. The Detroit News described the call as a demand to purge holdovers from the Hosni Mubarak era.

The statement came days after Morsi issued a decree expanding his powers and shielding his decisions from judicial review. In the months that followed, journalists in Egypt faced prosecution on charges including “insulting the president” and “insulting Islam.” Morsi was ousted by the military in 2013 amid mass protests, and Egypt later banned the Muslim Brotherhood. The Trump administration has designated certain branches of the organization as terrorist groups.

The Free Beacon identified the signatory as the Senate candidate, citing sources familiar with Arabic-language media, and The New York Times later reported that El-Sayed signed the letter while in medical school. His campaign has declined to answer questions about the letter from both outlets. Baier noted that El-Sayed had explicitly disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood at an earlier campaign event this month.

El-Sayed has also faced scrutiny over 2012 social media posts by his half-sister, Eman Abdelhadi, describing their mother’s activism in the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s. El-Sayed has denied any personal or family ties to the group.

Rogers, who spoke separately with Baier, doubled down on his claims, arguing that the issue was El-Sayed’s views rather than his faith. “It’s not how he prays, it’s how he thinks,” Rogers said.

The two candidates have also clashed over the Iran war, with El-Sayed calling for a war powers resolution and Rogers saying he wants President Donald Trump to bring the conflict to an end. Republicans have also highlighted El-Sayed’s description of Israel as a “rogue state” during the Democratic primary.

The race is one of the most closely watched in the country and could help determine control of the Senate. A Marist poll conducted October 15–18 showed El-Sayed leading Rogers 50 percent to 48 percent among likely voters, within the margin of error, and the RealClearPolitics average puts El-Sayed ahead by about two points. Republicans have not won a Senate race in Michigan since 1994. If elected, El-Sayed would be the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate.