Progressive Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign took in more than $118,000 from at least 41 people tied to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as reported by Fox News Digital.
The donors included current employees, former staffers, and individuals who have held CAIR board or leadership posts, who donated in their individual capacities. The figure comes from a review of federal campaign records.
These findings come just after El-Sayed’s narrow primary victory over Rep. Haley Stevens, roughly 48.5% to 47.5%.
These monies were not confined to just Michigan. Records indicate contributions from CAIR-affiliated individuals connected to chapters in California, Arizona, Georgia, Washington, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, and Ohio.
One CAIR-Michigan board member, Muzammil Ahmed, alone gave $11,600. California governance board members and a former national board chair also appear.
El-Sayed has consistently reiterated “getting money out of politics” as a central message throughout his campaign.
That stance sits alongside a donor list that includes some of CAIR’s most senior figures, among them National Board Chair Manal Fakhoury, Board Treasurer Eyas Abdeen, and Vice Chair Emad Sabbah.
Also on the list is El-Sayed’s father-in-law, Jukaku Tayeb, a CAIR-Michigan board member and a dual role that raises legitimate questions about both the closeness of the relationship and the scale of financial backing from within his inner circle.
Tayeb was listed as the highest financial supporter of a super PAC that has spent money on El-Sayed’s behalf. He also sits on the founding committee of the Islamic Society of North America, an organization that has faced its own questions about historical funding links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The United Arab Emirates designated CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014. More recently, the governors of Texas and Florida have formally labeled the group a terrorist organization. CAIR has challenged those designations in court, calling them unconstitutional and baseless.
Federal prosecutors named the organization an un-indicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation case, the largest terrorism-financing prosecution in U.S. history.
Prosecutors argued it formed part of a network supporting Hamas inside the United States. CAIR was never charged and has consistently denied the allegations, pointing to statements condemning terrorism and antisemitism.
Among the donors to Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed are CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, whose name appears in FEC filings as Nehad Hammad.
Awad drew widespread criticism after remarks following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in which he said he was “happy” to see Hamas break out of Gaza and argued that Israel, as an occupying power, lacked a right to self-defense.
El-Sayed’s connections to the organization predate the current fundraising cycle. In 2022 he spoke at a CAIR event and received payment for the appearance. During that talk he criticized an Oklahoma ban on Sharia law and compared it to the Trail of Tears.
El-Sayed will now go head-to-head against former Republican congressman Mike Rogers in the November general election for the open Senate seat.
