Michigan Senate debate spotlights increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric as midterms race heats up

A televised Michigan Senate debate between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers turned unusually personal, drawing attention to a surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric as the midterm campaign intensifies. The seat could help decide which party controls the Senate after November. If elected, El-Sayed would be the chamber's first Muslim member, according to BBC.

Rogers repeatedly suggested that El-Sayed and relatives had links to terrorist groups, and while discussing the Flock surveillance cameras he hinted that someone in the family might be on a watchlist. El-Sayed denied any such ties and asked whether Rogers was going after his mother, Fatten Elkomy. Bridge Michigan's fact-check turned up nothing connecting the candidate himself to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed in turn called Rogers a Trump administration sock puppet and a "Florida man"; Rogers rejected the Florida claims. Moderator Rick Albin said the sniping carried into the commercial break, which he had not witnessed in three decades of debates. The next morning, President Donald Trump attacked El-Sayed online and called him a jihadist.

Quardricos Driskell of George Washington University said Muslim identity is now openly used as a weapon by prominent Republicans.

Summarized by PolitiKool from BBC’s reporting. Read the full story at BBC →