Politics1 min read

Michigan election: How Abdul El-Sayed's critics smeared his defence of Palestinians as 'hate'

By · Via Middle East Eye · Published by Everything Blog

In short

In his victory speech against Republican Mike Rogers, El-Sayed stated that Michigan chose hope over hate while defending his opposition to using American tax dollars to kill Palestinian children. Rogers had repeatedly questioned El-Sayed's national loyalty and alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood without evidence, while Donald Trump and Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens also opposed him. Furthermore, researchers documented tens of thousands of Islamophobic online posts targeting El-Sayed, alongside severe security threats reported throughout the race.

Key points

  • Opponents across party lines subjected El-Sayed to persistent attacks and unsubstantiated…: Opponents across party lines subjected El-Sayed to persistent attacks and unsubstantiated claims regarding his political ideology.
  • El-Sayed countered accusations of hate by framing his defense of Palestinian children as…: El-Sayed countered accusations of hate by framing his defense of Palestinian children as a position rooted in love.
  • Hostile campaign rhetoric escalated into severe security concerns, including public calls…: Hostile campaign rhetoric escalated into severe security concerns, including public calls for violence against the candidate.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

In his victory speech last week, Abdulrahman El-Sayed, the first Muslim American elected to the US Senate, said "hate" or "hateful" five times, and each time the word did something different.

He recalled supporters asking why he never called his opponents hateful. Those opponents, he said, "hate the idea" of an America big enough for people who pray differently.

He told Mike Rogers, the Republican he had just beaten, "You chose hate, and Michigan chose hope." Then he turned to those who call people hateful for believing that Palestinian children should not be killed with American tax dollars: "That's not hate. It's love."

In one speech, Sayed declined the word "hate", turned it around, used it as a weapon and refused it as a name. The rhetoric of hate is the currency of American politics. It gets minted, exchanged and spent, and it buys moral standing, which converts into votes and endorsements.

Everyone trades in it, including the man it was aimed at, but its real value is sorting groups into those accused of hate and those who make the…

Politics