Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News the Muslim Brotherhood “still wants to harm the United States,” and he said a Michigan Senate candidate’s background deserves real scrutiny.
Quick Take
- Secretary Mullin said on Fox News the Muslim Brotherhood “is still an organization that wants to harm the United States.”
- He questioned Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s convictions over alleged ties to the group.
- El-Sayed has repeatedly denied ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and disavowed the group on camera.
- PolitiFact found video showing El-Sayed did disavow the group, contradicting a rival’s claim that he refused.
- Bridge Michigan’s fact-checkers found no evidence linking El-Sayed directly to the organization.
Mullin Sounds Alarm Over Muslim Brotherhood Ties
Secretary Mullin went on Fox News on October 20, 2026, and did not hold back. He said the Muslim Brotherhood “is still an organization that wants to harm the United States,” adding that anyone tied to the group deserves hard questions about their loyalty. He made the comments while taking aim at Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Mullin’s warning went beyond one race. He raised broader worries about how some interpretations of Islamic teaching could create conflicts of loyalty for people seeking high office. He did not spell out every detail of that argument on air, but his larger point was clear: voters deserve to know where a candidate’s true allegiance lies before handing them power in Washington.
El-Sayed’s Past Statements Draw New Attention
Reporters have dug into El-Sayed’s past comments on his faith. A resurfaced 2009 interview with The New York Times shows him describing Sharia-compliant financial practices as a religious “obligation”. He had chosen a Sharia-compliant mortgage for a $123,000 Ann Arbor condo rather than pay interest, which Islamic law forbids. His campaign says he simply practices his own faith like Americans of any religion do.
Fox News has reported it found no proposal from El-Sayed to put any part of Sharia law into American law. Still, the old interview and mortgage story feed conservative concerns about how closely a candidate’s private religious views might shape their public decisions if elected to the United States Senate.
Candidate Pushes Back, Fact-Checkers Weigh In
El-Sayed has pushed back hard on the Muslim Brotherhood claims. At a public event, he was asked if he would disavow the group and answered, “Yeah, absolutely,” before objecting to the idea that his Muslim faith alone proved allegiance to anything outside the Constitution. PolitiFact reviewed the clip after a rival claimed El-Sayed refused to disavow the group, and rated that claim false based on the video.
Bridge Michigan, a separate fact-checking outlet, reviewed the available record and reported it found no evidence that El-Sayed has ties to or pledged support for the Muslim Brotherhood. His campaign says he backs the separation of church and state and opposes any religious group writing its own faith rules into American law.
The fight over El-Sayed’s faith and associations is shaping up as a central flashpoint in Michigan’s Senate race, with Secretary Mullin’s comments amplifying it onto the national stage. Conservative voters watching the exchange are left weighing a straightforward question: does a candidate’s religious practice and past statements belong in the conversation about who should represent them in the Senate, or does raising it unfairly target someone over their faith alone?
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, yahoo.com, dailywire.com, foxnews.com, politifact.com
