GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign has collected more than $115,000 from individuals who work for or have held leadership roles with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and formally designated or labeled as such in Florida and Texas.
A Fox News Digital review found that El-Sayed, who has made getting “money out of politics” a central campaign rallying cry, has accepted donations from at least 41 individuals who either work for CAIR, formerly worked for CAIR, or have served in leadership positions with the organization.
The donor list includes several of CAIR’s highest-ranking officials, including national Board Chair Manal Fakhoury, national Board Treasurer Eyas Abdeen, national Vice Chair Emad Sabbah, and CAIR-Michigan board member Jukaku Tayeb, El-Sayed’s father-in-law.
Tayeb has been one of the largest financial backers of the super PAC supporting El-Sayed’s campaign and is also part of the founding committee of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a group linked to Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood funding, Washington Free Beacon first reported.
One donor, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, listed in FEC records under the name Nehad Hammad, drew national condemnation after saying he was “happy” to see Hamas break out of Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, and arguing Israel “does not have the right to self-defense” as an occupying power.
The contributions were not limited to Michigan. Fox News Digital identified donations from CAIR national leaders and officials affiliated with chapters in California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio, among other states, illustrating the breadth of support El-Sayed received from within the organization’s leadership ranks.
Other names on the donor list include CAIR-California Governance Board Treasurer Rubina Alvi, CAIR-California Governance Board Chair Asaad Traina, CAIR-Michigan board member Muzammil Ahmed, who contributed $11,600 to El-Sayed’s campaign, CAIR-California Governance Board member Atef Ibrahim, CAIR-California Governance Board member Dina Ezzeddine, and former CAIR National Board Chair Roula Allouch.
El-Sayed has maintained ties to CAIR beyond campaign fundraising. In 2022, he appeared at a CAIR event and was paid for a speaking engagement, where he criticized Oklahoma’s ban on Sharia law and compared it to the Trail of Tears, Washington Free Beacon reported.
CAIR has long been the subject of controversy over its alleged ties to Hamas. In 2007, federal prosecutors named the organization an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, the largest terrorism financing prosecution in US history.
Although CAIR was never charged with a crime, federal prosecutors argued the organization was part of a network created to support Hamas in the United States. CAIR has denied the allegations and has challenged its inclusion as an unindicted co-conspirator.
In recent years, Florida and Texas have formally designated or labeled CAIR a terrorist organization, while the United Arab Emirates designated the group a terrorist organization in 2014 which is widely understood to stem from the UAE’s view that CAIR has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, CAIR denied allegations that it has ties to terrorism, citing its “Dispelling Rumors About CAIR” webpage, a memorandum stating it has “repeatedly condemned antisemitism throughout our 30 years of existence” and “for decades” condemned terrorist attacks by Hamas and other designated terrorist groups, as well as a 2009 statement saying, “We unequivocally condemn all acts of terrorism, whether carried out by al-Qa’ida, the Real IRA, FARC, Hamas, ETA, or any other group designated by the US Department of State as a ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
CAIR also cited a National Board statement condemning antisemitism and the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, and a 2023 editorial in which National Executive Director Nihad Awad said he agreed with the organization’s condemnation of attacks on civilians.
Fox News Digital reached out to the El-Sayed campaign for comment.
El-Sayed has repeatedly drawn criticism from Republicans and pro-Israel advocates over his associations and comments related to the Middle East, including campaigning with far-left streamer Hasan Piker, his response to an attack targeting a Detroit synagogue, and declining to comment on the death of Iran’s supreme leader, citing constituents in Dearborn who were mourning.
El-Sayed defeated Dem. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday night in a race that was much closer than most pundits expected. El-Sayed will face off against Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, in November.
