The physician who worked miracles in the bankrupt city. Who is El-Sayed, the first Muslim senator of the USA?

In the midterm elections held in the United States, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was elected to the Senate from the state of Michigan and became the first Muslim senator in American history.

El-Sayed, 42, who grew up in Southeast Michigan as the son of an immigrant father of Egyptian origin, started his education in public schools.

During his high school years, he was the captain of the American football, wrestling and lacrosse (Canada's national sport) teams. He played on the lacrosse team at the University of Michigan, where he completed his undergraduate education with honors.

Then, with the Rhodes scholarship he won, he received his doctorate degree in public health at Oxford University.

According to the information on his campaign's website, El-Sayed, who completed his academic journey at Columbia University and earned the title of medical doctor, chose to focus on public health instead of practicing clinical medicine.

El-Sayed justified this choice with the view that the main factor that makes people sick is the political institution that has lost its functioning.

El-Sayed, who took over the management of the city's Health Department in 2015 when the City of Detroit declared bankruptcy, completely renovated the institution.

He carried out projects such as providing free glasses to children, removing lead from water lines in public schools, combating large industrial enterprises polluting Michigan, and popularizing rare but life-saving medicines.

El-Sayed served as the Director of the Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services for Wayne County, Michigan's most populous county, from 2022-2025.

In this process, while providing services to 1.8 million citizens, it signed a plan that aims to erase up to 700 million dollars of hospital debt of 300 thousand residents in two years.

He was chosen as the public servant of the year by local circles for his work.

El-Sayed, who entered politics in the 2018 Michigan Governorship primary but lost to Gretchen Whitmer, turned into one of the symbols of the progressive movement as a unionized academic and writer.

El-Sayed, who advocates for the "Medicare for All" system, contributed to reducing prescription drug prices within President Joe Biden's Health Task Force in 2020.

During the election campaign, he advocated principles such as abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), imposing a federal wealth tax, and blocking political donations from corporations.

El-Sayed, who has the full support of figures such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and House of Representatives Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has been at the center of debates within the Democratic Party with his open objections to Israel's military actions and the lobbying organization American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

In Michigan, which was the scene of one of the most costly races in US history with approximately $385 million in advertising expenditure, El-Sayed faced former FBI agent and former Congressman Republican Mike Rogers.

According to the Reuters agency, El-Sayed, who reached 51.8 percent of the votes at the stage when 76 percent of the ballot boxes were counted, defeated his opponent and made a critical contribution to the Democrats' superiority in the Senate.

El-Sayed, who was the target of "extremism" accusations from President Donald Trump and Republican leaders, won Michigan again for his party, thanks to the coalition that brought together the Arab and Muslim population in Dearborn and young progressive voters.

El-Sayed, a father of two who lives in Ann Arbor, is now among the most influential Muslim political figures in the United States, along with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.