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| The "Taqiyya Grin" |
The political fundraising rule used to be simple. Candidates would promise to keep special interests out of politics, then quietly cash checks from the usual suspects. Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed appears determined to modernize the tradition by proving that "special interests" is apparently just another term that depends on who's writing the check. [H/T Fox News Digital.]
According to a Fox News Digital review, El-Sayed's campaign has collected more than $115,000 from at least 41 individuals who either work for, formerly worked for, or held leadership positions with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, better known as CAIR. That's one way to build a coalition. Another is to skip the middleman and rent a conference room at headquarters.
The irony is particularly rich because El-Sayed has made getting "money out of politics" one of the signature themes of his campaign. Apparently, the money was willing to leave politics, but politics kept inviting it back for coffee and a little bit o' jihad.
Among the contributors were some of CAIR's biggest names, including national Board Chair Manal Fakhoury, national Board Treasurer Eyas Abdeen, national Vice Chair Emad Sabbah, and CAIR-Michigan board member Jukaku Tayeb, who also happens to be El-Sayed's father-in-law. Family gatherings must feature unusually productive finance committee meetings.
Tayeb has reportedly been one of the largest financial backers of the super PAC supporting El-Sayed's campaign. He is also part of the founding committee of the Islamic Society of North America, a group that has been linked to Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood funding, according to previous reporting by the Washington Free Beacon.
Another donor attracting attention is CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, [aka Nihad Adickwad] listed in Federal Election Commission records under the name Nehad Hammad. The dickwad sparked widespread criticism after saying he was "happy" to see Hamas break out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, while arguing Israel "does not have the right to self-defense" as an occupying power. In Washington, that apparently qualifies as a controversial statement. On some college campuses, it qualifies as tenure material.
The support for El-Sayed stretched far beyond Michigan. Fox News Digital identified contributions from CAIR officials representing chapters in California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and several other states, suggesting that El-Sayed's fundraising operation has become something of a national reunion tour.
Other contributors include CAIR-California Governance Board Treasurer Rubina Alvi, Governance Board Chair Asaad Traina, CAIR-Michigan board member Muzammil Ahmed, who contributed $11,600, Governance Board members Atef Ibrahim and Dina Ezzeddine, along with former National Board Chair Roula Allouch.
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| "Taqiyya Grin" |
El-Sayed's relationship with CAIR extends beyond campaign donations. In 2022, he appeared at a CAIR event and was paid for a speaking engagement, where he criticized Oklahoma's ban on Sharia law and compared it to the Trail of Tears, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Nothing says "local Senate campaign" quite like re-litigating Oklahoma's legal code through historical analogies.
CAIR has faced scrutiny for years over allegations regarding ties to Hamas. In 2007, federal prosecutors identified the organization as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, the largest terrorism financing prosecution in American history.
CAIR was never charged with a crime and has consistently denied the allegations, challenging its designation in the case. Still, the organization has been formally designated or labeled a terrorist organization by Florida and Texas, while the United Arab Emirates designated CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014, a move widely understood to reflect the UAE's assessment that CAIR has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Responding to Fox News Digital, CAIR rejected allegations that it has ties to terrorism. The organization pointed to its "Dispelling Rumors About CAIR" webpage, memoranda stating it has "repeatedly condemned anti-Semitism throughout our 30 years of existence," and statements saying it has condemned attacks by Hamas and other designated terrorist organizations "for decades."
CAIR also highlighted a 2009 declaration stating, "We unequivocally condemn all acts of terrorism, whether carried out by al-Qa’ida, the Real IRA, FARC, Hamas, ETA, or any other group designated by the U.S. Department of State as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization."
The organization further cited a National Board statement condemning antisemitism and the Oct. 7 attacks, along with a 2023 editorial in which National Executive Director Nihad Awad said he agreed with CAIR's condemnation of attacks on civilians.
Meanwhile, El-Sayed has continued to draw criticism from Republicans and pro-Israel advocates over various Middle East-related controversies, including campaigning alongside far-left streamer Hasan Piker, his response to an attack targeting a Detroit synagogue, and declining to comment on the death of Iran's supreme leader because, he said, some constituents in Dearborn were mourning. Piker is the nephew of Cenk Uygur, the guy who yells garbage about Israel and founded Young Turks.
Despite the controversy, El-Sayed defeated Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in Tuesday's Senate primary, surprising many political observers with a much stronger showing than expected. He now heads into a November showdown against Republican Mike Rogers.
Michigan voters will ultimately decide whether this fundraising strategy represents principled coalition building or merely another case of campaign ethics discovering that campaign slogans come with plenty of fine print.
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