Abdul El-Sayed and former President Barack Obama have both been associated with political firsts. El-Sayed’s claim to be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate, though, depends in part on treating an earlier remark by Obama as a verbal slip.
First Muslim senator
El-Sayed defeated former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race on Tuesday. His win helped Democrats take control of the Senate, and supporters also described it as a milestone because El-Sayed is Muslim.
In his victory speech, El-Sayed used his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, and praised Allah in Arabic. He also said his win proved wrong someone who had told him that a Muslim could not be elected.
Activist Linda Sarsour was among those calling the result historic. Speaking to Democracy Now, she said electing the first Muslim American to the Senate was a significant achievement in a country where, in her view, influential people spread anti-Muslim sentiment.
Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, congratulated El-Sayed for becoming the first American Muslim elected to the Senate. Awad said the victory marked an important moment for Muslim political participation and a setback for what he described as the politics of hate.
Obama and the question of firsts
Obama was associated with several political firsts during his career. In 2012, Newsweek called him the “first gay president” in a cover story about his support for same-sex marriage.
He was also widely described as the first Black American president, although author Toni Morrison had earlier referred to Bill Clinton in similar terms. Morrison pointed to aspects of Clinton’s background and public image, including his working-class roots and love of saxophone and fast food.
Before the 2008 election, a brief exchange in an interview led some people to wonder whether Obama was Muslim. George Stephanopoulos referred to Obama’s “Muslim faith,” and Obama began to respond before correcting him: “My Christian faith.”
The remark was generally treated as a mistake. Still, critics also cited reports that Obama could recite the opening of the Muslim call to prayer in Arabic, his defense of Islam, his family heritage and a 2007 speech in which he said America was not only a Christian nation but also a Muslim nation.
Obama has consistently said he is Christian and has described his faith as rooted in the Christian tradition. On that basis, El-Sayed may be the first openly Muslim person elected to the U.S. Senate.
