How El-Sayed defeated Racist Attacks and Islamophobia to Win the US Election
Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed has made history in Michigan by defeating the Republicans’ racist and Islamophobic campaign. Despite intense anti-Muslim attacks led by Donald Trump, he defeated Republican candidate Mike Rogers to secure a seat in the US Senate.
He will take oath on January 3, becoming the first Muslim senator in US Senate history.
Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), said Republicans had used Islamophobic and anti-Arab rhetoric as a political strategy, but ordinary voters had rejected it. She described the result as a major victory for inclusive democracy in the United States.
Last August, Mr. El-Sayed won a closely contested Democratic primary despite more than $30 million being spent against him by pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. Since then, Republicans have launched false and provocative campaigns against him, even calling him a “jihadist”. Haley Stevens, his former rival in the Democratic primary, also endorsed Republican candidate Mr. Rogers shortly before the election.
A former public health official, Mr. El-Sayed made universal healthcare, reducing the influence of money in politics, opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and improving local infrastructure and affordability in cities the main priorities of his campaign.
The election saw strong turnout among Black, Arab and Latino voters in Detroit and Dearborn. Gary Colbert, a Black voter from Detroit, said ordinary people had rejected Mr. Trump’s hateful remarks and voted in support of their rights.
Residents of Dearborn described the result as a major achievement in responding to hatred through the ballot box.
Analysts said Mr. El-Sayed’s victory marked an important shift in US politics, reflecting a rejection of conflict and hatred and a significant step forward for ordinary Americans’ political rights.
Source: Al Jazeera
