Michigan Senate Race Ends With Fights Over Islamophobia, Antisemitism and Muslim Brotherhood Claims

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's U.S. Senate election on Tuesday, and El-Sayed would become the first Muslim in the U.S. Senate if he wins. The closing days have been dominated by clashing accusations over his faith, his ethnicity and his views on Israel. Rogers has repeatedly tried to tie El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood and portray him as anti-American, while insisting the attacks have nothing to do with religion. President Donald Trump called El-Sayed a jihadist, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made remarks about Arabs that critics called racist. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who left the Democratic primary before August, said a mailer put El-Sayed's face next to the Twin Towers. Rep. Haley Stevens, the primary runner-up, has called him an antisemite, pointed to a PAC ad, and on Sunday endorsed Rogers. Dalia Ziada of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy told Israel's i24News that El-Sayed advances Muslim Brotherhood goals.

Right-leaning outlets The Blaze and Townhall focus on El-Sayed's alleged ideology rather than on the attacks against him. Townhall leads with Ziada's claim of "Islamists without Islamism," says he has downplayed or denied Brotherhood ties, and leaves out the Trump, Kennedy and mailer episodes. The Blaze headlines a Muslim pundit and former New York Times contributor who promised a "reckoning" whether El-Sayed wins or loses, and says he is being mocked. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while right-leaning and alternative outlets had. The alternative outlets Zeteo and The Intercept take a distinct angle, framing the race as defined by Islamophobia. They feature McMorrow, the mailer and the Trump and Kennedy remarks, note that Muslim Republicans object to the rhetoric, and treat Stevens's antisemitism claims as a competing closing argument. Both sides acknowledge Rogers's Brotherhood line, but they differ on whether it is a legitimate concern or bigotry.