Noting, among other things, that Republicans are calling a Michigan Senate candidate by his full name, the Associated Press claims "anti-Muslim vitriol" is surging.
"Abdul El-Sayed made history this month in Michigan by becoming the first Muslim nominated by the Democratic Party to run for the U.S. Senate," AP's David Crary writes. "But elation among many of his fellow Muslim Americans was tempered by awareness of persisting and widespread anti-Muslim sentiment across much of the nation."
"Some Republicans, including President Donald Trump, swiftly began referring to the nominee by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, while depicting him as a danger to America."
As residents of several communities across the U.S. have opposed proposals to build new mosques, Crary submits that the "vitriol" extends outside politics.
El-Sayed himself says it is wrong and racist to remember him saying he felt religiously obligated to follow Sharia-compliant practices.
"You can't understand a Sharia ban without understanding the Trail of Tears," he said in a 2022 speech comparing state referendums banning Sharia law in U.S. courts to historical American injustices, including the forced relocation of Native Americans. "You cannot understand the challenges we face today without understanding white supremacy."
During a recent interview with Senator Jim Banks (R-Indiana), "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker failed to get Banks to agree there was "no evidence" that El-Sayed is "extreme."
"Look at everything that he said and his record during the Democrat primary, and you see that he is the most extreme candidate," Banks said.
Justine Brooke Murray of Media Research Center (MRC) says the mainstream media is trying to get the racist charge to stick.
"They'll call you an Islamophobe, which, by the way, I don't think that's a real word," she argues. "And they'll call you a racist to stop you from calling out when these candidates support a terrorist regime."
As for his association with people like Hasan Piker (pictured above with El-Sayed), who said America deserved 9/11, El-Sayed has said he is more focused on who he's campaigning to rather than who he's campaigning with.
But as Murray points out, the voters El-Sayed is trying to win over poll support Islamic terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah.
"He's supposed to represent Americans," she asserts. "He's representing those who want America wiped off the face of the earth."
Murray says this interference for El-Sayed is "the product of the media waging one of the most sinister gaslighting campaigns in American history."
