Abdul El-Sayed uses speech to talk about Muslim faith and American identity

The Democratic Senate candidate for the US state of Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, has used a speech in Detroit to discuss Muslim American identity, while also blasting the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

At the Annual Islamic Society Conference on Saturday, the 41-year-old Democrat and public health advocate, who has been on the receiving end of Islamophobic remarks during this election cycle, addressed Islamophobia in the US.

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“We find ourselves in a moment now, where as people point to us, Muslim Americans, they want to tell us that we don’t belong,” he told the crowd. “They want to tell us that this country is not ours. They want to tell us that because of our names and how we pray, somehow we are less than. But as I look in front of me, I see people who contribute to that big America every single day.”

El-Sayed, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the US Senate seat in November’s midterms, will face a high-stakes general election battle against Republican Mike Rogers. The former US Representative is backed by President Donald Trump.

After weeks of trading barbs online, the two candidates have finally agreed to hold two televised debates, the first on October 8 at Wood TV8 in Grand Rapids, the second on October 21 at WXYZ-TV in Detroit.

Addressing the state of Muslim American belonging, El-Sayed said that “at their best, being Muslim makes us better Americans … and being American enables us to be better Muslims,” he said. He added that the two sets of ideals are “not mutually exclusive.”

During his speech, El-Sayed also questioned the US government’s spending priorities under Trump against the backdrop of continuing military escalations and overseas quagmires.

“How are you gonna pay for that [war in Iran] while we know our infrastructure is crumbling and our literacy rates are tumbling?” he asked the crowd. “It’s time for us to focus on addressing the problems that people in our country need solved.”

Travelling across the Midwestern state in recent weeks, El-Sayed said that he found residents’ concerns transcended religious, racial and geographic divides. He said they were “basic needs” like paying for groceries and gas “instead of dropping bombs or doing apartheid or genocide against somebody else and their kids”, referring to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

“Michiganders don’t care how you pray,” he said. “They care what you pray for and what you hope for.”

Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera wp:paragraph