The Democrat Party just nominated a man for the United States Senate who told a podcast host that comparing himself to Jesus Christ felt perfectly natural.
Now Republicans just unearthed what he told a reporter he would do until the day he dies.
And Abdul El-Sayed called himself radical like Jesus – but what he said next should cost him Michigan.
The Jesus Moment Nobody in the Media Wants to Talk About
El-Sayed did not accidentally stumble into this comparison.
He was a guest on the Progressive Christians Podcast when host Rev. Blair Stowe handed him the opening – noting that Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, and banning corporate money from politics sounded a lot like the teachings of Jesus Christ.
El-Sayed took the layup without hesitation.
"Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, was considered radical in his time, too," he said.
That phrase – "peace and blessings be upon him" – is a traditional Islamic honorific reserved for the Prophet Muhammad.
https://twitter.com/foxnewspolitics/status/2090479051815407964?s=20
El-Sayed used it to describe Jesus Christ, then positioned his socialist policy agenda as the modern equivalent of standing against corruption in a fallen world.
For millions of Christians watching, the insult is specific: their Savior just got conscripted as a mascot for abolishing ICE.
This is a man running for the U.S. Senate to represent Michigan – not to lead a mosque, not to host a progressive theology seminar, but to vote on the laws that govern your life.
What He Said He'd Do Until the Day He Dies
Democrats want you focused on the Jesus soundbite.
They don't want you looking at what the Washington Free Beacon unearthed from a 2009 New York Times interview – because that's where El-Sayed told a reporter exactly who he is.
At 24 years old, El-Sayed was buying his first condo in Ann Arbor.
He chose a Sharia-compliant mortgage – a financial product structured to avoid interest, which Islamic law prohibits.
And when the Times asked him why, he didn't say it was just easier or just personal.
"Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don't want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Shariah-compliant way," he told the reporter. "Not because of fear but because of obligation."
https://twitter.com/DSA_Watch/status/2090177075755851935?s=20
His campaign confirmed this week that he still follows Sharia law in his personal life.
His campaign spokeswoman called it a matter of personal faith – the same way any American might follow his religion privately.
That framing collapses the moment you remember: El-Sayed has spoken out against state bans on Sharia law, arguing those bans are rooted in White supremacy.
A man who calls Sharia bans racist while living under a personal obligation to follow Sharia law is not simply practicing his faith quietly.
El-Sayed Just Handed Rogers the Senate Race
Michigan's Senate seat is not a side story in November.
El-Sayed defeated Representative Haley Stevens in the Democrat primary – a result that shocked the party establishment and sent Bernie Sanders and AOC into victory laps.
He now faces Republican Mike Rogers in a race the Cook Political Report calls a toss-up, and one where Republicans must hold to keep their 53-47 Senate majority.
Rogers narrowly lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin in 2024 by just 0.3 percentage points – the kind of margin that gets reversed when the other party nominates someone who compares himself to Jesus and tells the New York Times he has a Sharia obligation.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee wasted no time: "A radical Muslim with a self-proclaimed 'obligation' to Sharia law has gone from excusing violent attacks on Jewish Michiganders to comparing himself to Jesus Christ," NRSC spokeswoman Bernadette Breslin said. "Abdul El-Sayed is unfit to represent Michigan."
El-Sayed's father-in-law previously served as president of CAIR Michigan and sat on the founding committee of the Islamic Society of North America – both groups were named unindicted co-conspirators in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation prosecution, the largest terrorism financing case in American history.
That network – combined with a platform that includes abolishing ICE, Medicare for All, and public ownership of AI companies – is what Michigan Democrats just sent into a general election in a state Trump won in 2024.
Rogers is not running against a moderate who drifted Left.
He is running against someone whose own words, in his own voice, on tape and in print, make the closing argument for him.
Michigan voters now get to decide if that's who they want casting votes in the United States Senate.
Sources:
- Alex Miller, "Michigan Dem invokes comparison to Jesus when pressed on socialist views," Fox News, August 20, 2026.
- Andrew Kerr and Jessica Schwalb, "Revealed: El-Sayed Proclaimed 'Obligation' To Follow Sharia Law Until the Day He Dies," Washington Free Beacon, August 11, 2026.
- "Abdul El-Sayed Campaign: He Still Follows Sharia Law," Breitbart, August 12, 2026.
- "Abdul El-Sayed Dedicated His Life to Sharia Law," Daily Wire, August 12, 2026.
- "Poll: Mike Rogers holds narrow lead over Abdul El-Sayed in high-stakes Michigan Senate race," Jewish Insider, August 14, 2026.
- Mike Rogers, "Socialism's war on success has a new champion — and he's running for Senate in Michigan," Fox News, August 2026.
