Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed's Muslim Brotherhood Situation

Abdulrahman Mohamed el-Sayed

Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed really, really does not want to talk about the Muslim Brotherhood and he will attack you with claims of racism if you ask him about it.

When NBC News’ Tom Illamas pressed him on the subject, the Muslim Brotherhood fanboy grew testy, apparently hoping that if he glared hard enough at the question, it would magically disappear. His message seems straightforward enough: trust him, stop asking questions, and please do not look too closely at the company he and his family have allegedly kept.

The problem is that Americans have developed a rather inconvenient habit of wanting to know whether their elected officials have any questionable associations. We already have Ilhan Nur Said Elmi [aka Ilhan Omar] and Rashida Tlaib providing Democrats with more than enough opportunities to explain away radicalism and controversial foreign allegiances. 

The Senate hardly needs another candidate handing voters a fresh stack of uncomfortable questions.

El-Sayed insists that he and his family have no ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization so extreme that it has been banned in five Muslim-majority countries. Unfortunately for him, the story keeps getting more complicated.

According to previous reporting, El-Sayed wrote a letter to the organization when it took power in Egypt. His sister appears to have an affinity for the group, while his mother reportedly worked for a charity with alleged al-Qaeda ties, and his uncle served as its bookkeeper. Perhaps nobody in the family has an official Muslim Brotherhood membership card tucked into a wallet, but when the family scrapbook starts looking like something that might interest a congressional investigative committee, voters are entitled to ask a few questions.

And now, RedState uncovered another reason El-Sayed might prefer to change the subject: a retreat he reportedly attended that has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.

As RedState reported:

El-Sayed recently appeared defensive when Fox News' Bret Baier asked him a straightforward question posed over and over by the Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, and his campaign, about his background and connections to Islamist radicalism.

On Wednesday, more questions started to surface about his ties to these terror groups and their supporters, with new images circulating on social media reportedly showing Abdul El-Sayed in some questionable company at an overseas private retreat.

The photos, in an X post shared by the Government Accountability Institute's president, Peter Schweizer, appear to show the Democrat socializing with members of organizations with "credible ties" to MB or other "Islamic terror groups" in Colombia in 2022.

If the images show what Schweizer says they show, El-Sayed has a serious explaining problem on his hands. The question is not whether a politician must personally approve every person who happens to occupy the same room. The question is why a candidate who emphatically denies connections to Islamist radicalism seems to keep finding himself in situations that invite scrutiny of those very connections.

And when Fox News asks about it, voters deserve more than an irritated response and an apparent hope that everyone will eventually get bored.

El-Sayed would presumably prefer to spend his campaign discussing health care, economic policy, or whatever other subject he believes will put him in the best light. Instead, he is being asked to explain the people and organizations surrounding him. That is an unfortunate development for a candidate who would probably rather have his biography treated like a sealed court filing.

Michigan voters deserve answers before they cast their ballots on September 3. They should not have to piece together a candidate's associations from photographs, investigative reports, and increasingly uncomfortable interviews.

There is an old rule in politics that if you're explaining, you're losing. 

El-Sayed now has an opportunity to test that theory, although the growing list of questions suggests he may be getting more practice than he wanted.

Republicans should make sure voters understand what is being reported, demand straightforward answers, and turn out at the polls. They should also remind their friends and family members to do the same. Elections have consequences, and the best way to prevent an unwanted candidate from taking office is to vote against him rather than merely complain about him afterward.

Expect more questions about this. El-Sayed has chosen to run for elected office, and that means his public record, associations, and past statements are legitimate subjects of scrutiny. He is entitled to answer those questions as he sees fit. Voters are equally entitled to judge those answers.

If he wants the power of public office, he will have to endure the inconvenience of public accountability. That comes with the job, whether he likes it or not.

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