Khaberni - When Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed delivered the University of Michigan's commencement speech in 2007, former President Bill Clinton whispered in his ear that he was not only an eloquent speaker, but that he should think about entering the political fray. Today, Tuesday, and after about 20 years, the American of Egyptian origin, known as "Abdul Al-Sayed," is aiming to make history by becoming the first Muslim to win the Democratic Party nomination in the U.S. Senate elections, a first step on his way to winning the general election in November, to be the first Muslim in the history of the U.S. Senate.
Like how the American immigrant of Ugandan-Indian origin, Zehran Mumdani, ousted one of the most famous American politicians, Andrew Cuomo, and his alliance represented in billionaire and major corporate funds and pro-Israel lobbying groups, Abdul is running this race facing the current House Representative Haley Stevens, and the largest lobbying group expenditure in the history of the Democratic primaries against him, totaling over 55 million dollars.
Abdul did not originally plan to enter this race, but President Donald Trump's decisions last year to freeze federal funding for health centers and programs across the country, including Michigan, were the main motivation for him to run for election. At the time, Abdul was managing the health department in Wayne County, and he mentioned during his campaign how the freezing of these funds and the sending of American taxpayer money to Israel to bomb children in Gaza were a major reason for his candidacy.
During his campaign, the epidemiologist Dr. Abdul Al-Sayed showed a playful personality that mixes dancing, jokes, comic singing, and precise explanations of his electoral program, which aims to provide healthcare for all, demonstrating an exceptional ability to leverage a historical moment in his life to make a change in American society, indicating a new face that brings the spirit of humor back to politics.
Like how Zehran Mumdani built his campaign on rejecting the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli aggression on innocents in Palestine occupied a main space in Abdul's campaign, linking this war to Americans' inability to afford living costs, and he called for the banning of political money and lobbying group "AIPAC" funds, calling for a complete overhaul of the system.
Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed, 42 years old, born in Detroit to an Egyptian immigrant family, showed excellence in wrestling in his youth, and spent periods of his childhood with his father's family in Egypt, which he described as both "wonderful" and "painful" due to its political system and the role played by American military support over decades in entrenching this system.
Abdul adopts a very sharp tone towards his party, describing the mental image of the Democratic Party as "nonsense," and differs from the socialists in the party in that he describes himself as a "capitalist who wants an effective system," and rejects describing his political program as socialist, saying: "I am a scientist, my goal is to solve problems," adding that he sees the problem as "we do not live in a real capitalist system, but in a system where the minority monopolizes everything."
Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed graduated in Biology and Political Science from the University of Michigan, where he delivered the commencement speech in front of former President Bill Clinton in 2007. He received the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, earned a Ph.D. in Public Health from Oxford University, then a medical degree from Columbia University funded by the National Institutes of Health, and published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific studies in an impressive research record.
Abdul's mark in public service appeared in 2015, when he was appointed as the Director of Health Department in Detroit, becoming the youngest health official in the history of major American cities, and he rebuilt the city's health system following its bankruptcy. Later, in 2017, he ran for Governor of Michigan, but lost and came second in the Democratic primary race. Then he headed the health sector in Wayne County until the beginning of 2025, and helped in canceling medical debts for citizens worth nearly 700 million dollars, benefiting about 300,000 residents of the state. He also participated in drafting health employment policies as part of President Joe Biden's task force and former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders.
Abdul is supported by Senator Bernie Sanders and progressive representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as by the Jewish Voice for Peace movement opposing genocide in Gaza, along with an Arab and Democratic organization opposing genocide in the Palestinian sector. He adopts an agenda focused on comprehensive healthcare, having co-authored a book on how to implement it, and on local investment instead of waging foreign wars. His wife is named Sarah, a doctor, and they have two daughters.
Abdul Rahman Al-Sayed advocates dealing with Israel as a "rogue state," like any state that ignores international law, and granting equal rights to all residents, calling for an end to apartheid and genocide policies. In an interview with CNN last month, when asked whether he believes in Israel's right to exist, he said that "this question is a trap fed by the AIPAC organization," adding that the real question is whether it has the right to receive American taxpayers' money. Al-Sayed wrote on social media platforms: "Are you ready to allow AIPAC and major companies and (the Democratic leader in the Senate) Chuck Schumer to manipulate our democracy and choose our Democratic candidate? All in the framework of attempts to choose our candidate from the capitals Washington or New York."
