Sayed, a doctor who is the child of Egyptian immigrants, outperformed Democrat Haley Stevens, a member of the US House of Representatives, in the primary election in August to determine the Democratic Senate candidate for the state of Michigan.
Sayed also won his fight against former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in the Senate race in Michigan, one of the contested states.
Sayed, who stood out with his statements of cutting off his country's financial aid to Israel, which he accused of committing genocide in Gaza, and supporting Palestine, also attracted attention with his managerial experience in the health sector in Michigan and his views on health and immigration reform in the state and across the country.
Sayed's victory in the election despite President Donald Trump and the Republicans targeting his Muslim identity, various allegations made about him, and the Israeli lobby's donations to the rival candidate also led to the Muslim identity coming to the fore in US politics.
AA correspondent compiled prominent information about Sayed's journey from an Egyptian immigrant family to Michigan Senator.
Raised by Egyptian immigrant father and American stepmother
The 42-year-old politician, whose real name is Abdulrahman Muhammad al-Sayed, was born and raised in Michigan and raised by his Egyptian immigrant father, Muhammad al-Sayed, and his stepmother, Jacqueline Johnson, whose family lived in the state starting in the 1800s. His father, Mohammed, and his Egyptian immigrant mother, Fatten Elkomy, separated when Sayed was 3 years old. The allegations regarding Sayed's biological mother haunted him throughout his political career.
In an interview with The New York Times (NYT), Sayed explained that his father came to America in 1978, studied automotive engineering at Wayne State University, and his mother, who studied medicine, came to the USA a few years later, but they got married after they divorced due to serious differences of opinion.
Stating that the most popular names in the "Islamic tradition" are Muhammad, Abdullah and Abdulrahman, Sayed said that the name Abdulrahman was shortened to Abdul in daily use, making it easier to pronounce, dating back to the kindergarten years.
Sayed explains this process: "That summer, (US singer) Paula Abdul was at the top of the charts with 'Straight Up', and (US basketball player) Kerim Abdul Jabbar had retired right around that time. So I became Abdul." he said.
Path to politics: Doctor, healthcare administrator, commentator and writer
Sayed studied biology and political science at the University of Michigan, earned a doctor of medicine degree from Columbia University, and a second doctorate in public health from Oxford University. Sayed is a psychiatrist whose parents immigrated from India. He married Sarah Jukaku in 2006.
Sayed took over the Detroit Health Authority after bankruptcy and restructured it, according to information on his Michigan Senate campaign website. According to ABC News, Sayed took office in 2015 and held this position for 2 years, making him the youngest person to lead the health unit of a major city in the United States, at the age of 30.
Sayed, who gave an interview to the website "Michigan Public" during the state governorship race in 2018, which was the beginning of his political life leading up to the Senate elections, said that questioning the attitudes that caused problems such as water outages in Detroit and water poisoning in the city of Flint at that time was effective in his candidacy.
Although Sayed lost the Michigan gubernatorial primary in 2018, he did not leave politics and took part in former US President Joe Biden's Health Care Working Group in 2020.
The Michigan Senator's next task is to restructure Wayne County's Health, Human and Veterans Services Administration, which serves 1.8 million people in 2022-2025.
According to information on the American Public Health Association's website, Sayed led efforts such as canceling $700 million in citizens' medical debt, establishing an air quality monitoring system, and providing free glasses to children during his tenure in Wayne County.
Sayed, who wrote 3 books, including "Medicare Health Insurance for All: A Citizen's Guide", hosted the podcast "America Dissected", was a commentator on CNN, and has had nearly 4 thousand citations in his more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.
What were Sayed's promises in the Senate race?
Sayed's campaign, which operates with the slogan "Money out of politics, put it in your pocket, health insurance (Medicare) for everyone", states that he is running for the Senate because he "believes that life in the USA should not be this difficult", and "He studied to become a doctor, but he realized that what makes people sick is our corrupt politics." evaluation was included.
Sayed, who supports various reforms such as imposing term limits on the US Supreme Court, advocated replacing immigration policy with a "fair system", abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which caused controversy within the country, and using the funds of this structure in legal processes regarding citizenship.
While emphasizing that he will fight to expand the health insurance program Medicare to cover all necessary health services and make it available to all citizens, Sayed pointed out that Americans have a health debt of over 225 billion dollars and evaluated that this debt should also be eliminated.
In Sayed's campaign, which advocates the rhetoric of "a functioning economy, healthcare system, affordable housing, clean air and water for everyone", the statements that "He will fight to establish a government that works for citizens, not Elon Musk, Donald Trump or their billionaire friends" were highlighted.
In an interview with CNN, Sayed asked whether he is a socialist or not: "I am not a socialist. I believe in capitalism. I just believe that capitalism should be regulated." he commented.
While the US media sometimes compared the 42-year-old Democrat's rhetoric and attitude in the Senate race to speaking like a US presidential candidate, Sayed was asked in an interview on NBC News whether the US was ready for a Muslim president.
Stating that Michigan is ready to elect a Muslim senator, Sayed said, when the question was repeated, "I never intend to run for president." he replied.
Opposed "Israeli genocide", AIPAC spent millions to lose
It was noteworthy that the pro-Israel lobby group American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) also made heavy donations against Sayed, who received the support of names such as US Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic House of Representatives Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
While Sanders stated that AIPAC spent $9 million against Sayed, according to CBS News, AIPAC and its affiliated groups spent approximately $30 million to support Stevens, whom Sayed defeated in the primary election. This figure was the largest spending ever by these groups on a single election race.
While Sayed pointed out that the Israeli government committed genocide in Gaza and that an arms embargo should be imposed on this country, he argued that US tax revenues should be used for domestic needs instead of financing the purchase of weapons of other countries.
The fact that the Muslim Senator won the race first in his party's primaries and then in the midterm elections was recorded as a significant loss for AIPAC, which spent millions of dollars against him.
On the other hand, in his interview with The New York Times, Sayed responded to a question about "Jews in Michigan saying they were concerned about some of his comments" and said, "My commitment to Jewish security is the same as my commitment to the security of my own daughters." By responding, he showed that he made a distinction between Israel and the Jewish people.
His responses to the allegations against him: "I am not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood", "September 11 was a disaster"
Various accusations were made against Sayed, known for her Muslim identity and headscarved wife, by Trump and the Republicans during her candidacy for Michigan senator, such as claims that she supported the September 11 attacks or the Muslim Brotherhood.
Trump, who accused Sayed of being a "terrorist sympathizer", a "violent jihadist" and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood during the campaign, said: "His name is Abdul Muhammad. He is a fraud." he said.
One of Sayed's most striking responses to the allegations and accusations against him was his defense of the name Muhammed and his statement towards Trump: "After November, he can call me 'senator'. I will be Senator Muhammed for you, brother."
Speaking to Fox News about the allegations that he was "a member of the Muslim Brotherhood", Sayed stated that "he has never been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and will never be a member", while the Washington Post newspaper's report on the subject pointed out that "no evidence has been put forward to show that Sayed has any connection with the Muslim Brotherhood".
The report states that the allegations in question are largely based on two posts made by Eman Abdelhadi, who is said to be Sayed's half-sister, on the social media platform of the US-based company It was reported that the statement was included.
Sayed, in a statement to the American news organization Semafor, emphasized that he was running in the elections, not his mother and sister, and said, "Judge me according to my actions and work, but please do not assume that I am not deeply committed to this Constitution because I may worship differently than anyone who has ever held this office." gave his reaction.
Based on the statement of Sayed's campaign spokesman, CBS News reported, "Abdul has always unequivocally condemned terrorism and the September 11 attacks." While his statement was included, it was noted that Sayed described "what happened on September 11 as a disaster and a terrible attack".
