Egyptian-American Democrat Abdel Rahman El-Sayed says his family’s migration shaped his political outlook as he criticises Egypt’s lack of democracy. [Getty]
Michigan’s US Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed criticised Egypt’s lack of democracy on Friday, saying he does not want US taxpayer money to be used to impose a “strangling grip” on Egyptians.
The Egyptian-American politician, who won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, reflected on his parents’ immigration to the United States and how it transformed the course of his life.
El-Sayed said his father’s move to Detroit to study at Wayne State University created opportunities that would otherwise have been unavailable to him.
He explained that his parents’ ability to study and work in the US had ultimately shaped the stark difference between the life he leads today and the one he might have experienced had he been born in Egypt, Arabi21 reported.
“My family comes from a country where there is no democracy, and I don’t want to see my tax dollars used to impose a strangling grip on the Egyptian people,” El-Sayed said.
He added: “If it weren’t for that historical coincidence that allowed my father to immigrate to Detroit to study at Wayne State University, I would be a taxi driver in Egypt like my cousins. The only difference is that I was born in the United States.”
El-Sayed also recalled spending much of his childhood visiting Egypt during the summer holidays, saying: “I spent a large part of my childhood summer vacations in Egypt, and there I saw up close what my life could have been.”
He said being born in the US gave him access to healthcare and educational opportunities that were not necessarily available to other members of his family.
“I was born in the United States, where I received vaccinations against diseases that killed my aunt and uncle before they turned one, and therefore I never had the chance to meet them,” he added.
El-Sayed’s comments follow remarks he made in an interview with CNN, in which he clarified his position on US military aid to Israel following pro-Israel backlash over his anti-war views, particularly amid the Gaza genocide and the US-Israel war on Iran.
He stressed that he opposes unconditional US military aid to any country, including Israel, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
He added that he does not want US taxpayer money to fund what he described as “genocide, apartheid or a war we don’t need to fight”.
Tuesday’s primary elections saw progressive Democratic candidates secure major victories, including in Michigan, where Arab-American El-Sayed defeated Haley Stevens, the candidate largely backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health director, made history by becoming the first Muslim candidate to win a major party’s primary for the US Senate.
He will now face Trump-backed Republican Mike Rogers in November’s midterm elections.