“My Name Is Abdulrahman Mohamed Sayed” — El-Sayed Reclaims Name Trump Mocked As “Mohamed” To Celebrate Historic Michigan Senate Win
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has expressed excitement over his projected victory in Michigan’s midterm election, saying he was “so proud and honoured” to emerge as senator-elect, proudly declaring his full Muslim name that President Donald Trump had weaponised against him during the campaign.
El-Sayed, who defeated former Republican Representative Mike Rogers, made history as the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate on Tuesday, despite Trump’s anti-Muslim attacks where he repeatedly referred to him as “Mohammed” and told supporters “if you have any question about somebody from that part of the world’s name, just call him ‘Mohammed,’ you’ll be right 64% of the time.”
Trump had escalated his rhetoric, urging Jewish voters not to support him and saying those who did should “be ashamed of themselves,” declaring “Michigan needs to stand up and fight. Stop a jihadist from walking into the Capitol,” and comparing him to the September 11, 2001 attackers who took over United Flight 93.
Speaking to supporters on Tuesday night in a video shared by Fox News, the 42-year-old Egyptian-American reclaimed the name, reflecting on his repeated use of the Islamic expression “Inshallah”, meaning “God willing”, during his campaign.
He said, “My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed Sayed, and I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan.
“Up until right about now, you might have noticed I always say Inshallah or God willing whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned.
“But today, tonight, we can turn that Inshallah into Alhamdulillah.”
Alhamdulillah is an Arabic expression meaning “praise be to God”.
El-Sayed had earlier clapped back at Trump’s name-calling during the campaign, saying “I don’t care how he pronounces my name. I don’t even care that he remembers my whole name. Because he can just go on and call me ‘senator’ after November. I will be Senator Mohamed to you, bro.”
According to Anadolu Agency, El-Sayed’s victory, projected by US media on Tuesday, secured the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.
The 42-year-old former public health official will assume office when the new Congress convenes in January.
His emergence followed a competitive Democratic primary in August, where he defeated Representative Haley Stevens to secure his party’s ticket for the general election.
His election marks a milestone for Muslim representation in American politics, turning Trump’s “Mohamed” slur into a historic “Senator-elect Abdulrahman Mohamed Sayed.”
