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Abdul El-Sayed’s 2012 Egyptian Letter and Its Impact on His Michigan Senate Campaign
By Drooid · · How we work
The 2012 Letter to Egypt’s President
In 2012, Abdul El-Sayed, then a medical-school student, signed an open letter addressed to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. The letter listed 46 signatories identified as leaders of the Egyptian-American community, including a “Dr. Abdul Rahman El-Sayed” of New York, whom campaign officials later confirmed as the same individual now running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan.
Political Fallout in the Michigan Senate Race
During the 2026 primary, the letter resurfaced and became a focal point of attacks by Republican opponent Mike Rogers, who accused El-Sayed of being “bought off” by the Muslim Brotherhood. The controversy intensified after a video of El-Sayed responding to a question about his alleged allegiance went viral; he told a reporter that he “clearly disavows” any connection to the Brotherhood and that assuming loyalty because of his faith was “implicit in the question.”
Family and Organizational Links
El-Sayed’s family background has also drawn scrutiny. His half-sister’s 2012 social-media posts highlighted the family’s ties to the Brotherhood, while his mother, Fatten Elkomy, previously worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency—a charity later designated by the U.S. government as supporting terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda. The agency was founded in 1985, raised at least $20 million, and was closed in 2004 after the designation.
Official Responses and Disavowals
El-Sayed’s campaign has repeatedly asserted that he disavows the Muslim Brotherhood and denies any current affiliation. In a recent interview, he emphasized that his record shows no ongoing ties and that his past support for the 2011 Egyptian protests was rooted in democratic aspirations, not in endorsing the Brotherhood’s ideology.
Broader Implications
The episode underscores how historical foreign-policy positions can become campaign liabilities, especially when linked to groups designated as terrorist organizations by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Senator Ted Cruz warned that an El-Sayed victory could pose a “national-security risk” by granting a Senate committee member access to classified information. Human-rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have noted that Morsi’s power grab—preceding the letter—triggered concerns about rule-of-law erosion, while the Committee to Protect Journalists documented subsequent crackdowns on Egyptian journalists. The controversy illustrates the challenges candidates face when past international activism intersects with contemporary U.S. electoral politics.