Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee for Michigan, has faced scrutiny due to his involvement in a 2007 protest against speakers at the University of Michigan. These speakers, Walid Shoebat, Zachariah Annani, and Kamal Saleem, identified themselves as former terrorists who converted to Christianity. The event drew criticism from some attendees for promoting generalizations about Muslims.

El-Sayed was a leader in the protest, coordinated by students who staged a walkout. He expressed satisfaction with the action, encouraging similar efforts in the future. At the time, El-Sayed was the vice president of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), an organization alleged to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. His campaign spokesperson, Cole Wozniak, stated that the candidate has always denounced terrorism and suggested the protest was against misinformation spread by the speakers.

“We’ve done something good today, and we need to keep that going in the future,” El-Sayed said during the protest.

There are ongoing questions about the backgrounds of Shoebat, Annani, and Saleem. In 2008, The New York Times reported that their appearances had been criticized by several organizations, including those representing Arab-American civil rights. These organizations questioned the legitimacy of the speakers’ stories and why they had not faced legal consequences given their alleged past affiliations.

Event organizers argued the aim was educational, focusing on the dangers of Muslim extremism. Protesters countered that the event generalized Muslims, which they believed was unfair and misleading.

Recent efforts by the Trump administration sought to label certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations. This includes chapters linked to the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023. The administration aimed to categorize the Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood chapters in this manner due to their connections with groups like Hamas.

Lara Burns, a senior research fellow at George Washington University, offered testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the historical presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in U.S. universities, operating largely through student unions such as the MSA.

The Muslim Students Association did not provide a comment upon request regarding these allegations.