Abdul El-Sayed uses speech to talk about Muslim faith and American identity
Michigan Senate hopeful spoke about his faith and the experiences of Muslim Americans.
The Democratic Senate candidate for the US state of Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, has used a speech in Detroit to discuss Muslim American identity, while also blasting the US and Israel’s war on Iran.
At the Annual Islamic Society Conference on Saturday, the 41-year-old Democrat and public health advocate, who has been on the receiving end of Islamophobic remarks during this election cycle, addressed Islamophobia in the US.
“We find ourselves in a moment now, where as people point to us, Muslim Americans, they want to tell us that we don’t belong,” he told the crowd. “They want to tell us that this country is not ours. They want to tell us that because of our names and how we pray, somehow we are less than. But as I look in front of me, I see people who contribute to that big America every single day.”
Addressing the state of Muslim American belonging, El-Sayed said that “at their best, being Muslim makes us better Americans … and being American enables us to be better Muslims,” he said. He added that the two sets of ideals are “not mutually exclusive.”