‘Shawarma law’: Abdul El-Sayed never shied away from Islamophobic provocations

Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s US Senate race, defeating Republican Mike Rogers by about seven points after a campaign marked by repeated attacks on his Muslim faith. His victory is historic: he will become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate, and it gives him a prominent platform in Washington as Democrats gained ground nationally.

El-Sayed received 52.5% of the vote to Rogers’s 45.5%, winning majorities among Black voters and Jewish early voters, despite objections from some Jewish leaders to his position on Israel. Republicans, including Donald Trump, made baseless claims linking him to jihadism and the Muslim Brotherhood; campaign mailers also misrepresented Islamic law. El-Sayed met the attacks with humour, joking that he supported “shawarma law”, while observers say his next test will be delivering an agenda for Michigan after $165m was spent in the primary and general election campaigns.