Abdul El-Sayed's alleged family ties to Muslim Brotherhood surface after denying any link during NBC interview
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing new scrutiny after he denied that he or his family had any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
On Sunday's "Meet the Press," NBC's Kristen Welker pressed El-Sayed whether he could "set the record straight" on allegations that his family had connections to the controversial Islamist group.
"No," El-Sayed replied.
EL-SAYED ASKED IF HE BELIEVES AMERICA IS 'READY FOR A MUSLIM PRESIDENT' AHEAD OF SENATE RACE
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed denied to NBC's Kristen Welker that his family had any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. (Matthew LaVere/NBC via Getty Images)
"No, you don't have any ties, and your family doesn't?" Welker followed up.
"No," El-Sayed repeated before suggesting his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, was floating Islamophobic attacks against him and his family.
However, according to his half-sister Eman Abdelhadi, their mother was an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Had an amazing talk with my mom about her activism in the Muslim Brotherhood during the early 70s while she was in college #respect," Abdelhadi wrote in a 2012 X post, as first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
ABDUL EL-SAYED HITS BACK AT ISRAEL QUESTIONS, SUGGESTS HIS NAME AND FAITH ARE BEHIND PRESS SCRUTINY
Eman Abdelhadi, El-Sayed's half sister, wrote on X in 2012 that their mother was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. (University of Chicago)
Their mother, Fatten Elkomy, had attended Egypt's Alexandria University, which, according to a report from the Brookings Institution, had strong Muslim Brotherhood activity back in the 70s.
In another 2012 post, Abdelhadi, a professor at the University of Chicago, wrote: "My family has long been MB, but I've always felt that it has navigated the political sphere poorly/destructively."
In a third post from 2013, she wrote, "Praying for all my family that supports the #MB in #Egypt. Lie low, stay safe."
Critics are accusing El-Sayed of lying to "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker when she pressed him on whether his family had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. (Matthew LaVere/NBC via Getty Images)
An El-Sayed campaign spokesperson issued a statement to Fox News, saying, "Abdul is a dad and a doctor. He has spent his entire career working to keep Michiganders healthy and safe. Independent fact checkers have repeatedly debunked Mike’s lies, but their campaign continues to use bad faith attacks on Abdul's faith and family. Mike wants to distract from Trump’s agenda that is terrorizing Michigan families at the pump and at the grocery store."
The campaign has also said the Muslim Brotherhood accusations have been "debunked as racist and untrue."
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NBC News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.
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