Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed headlined the Islamic Society of North America's annual conference over Labor Day weekend, an event where speakers described the United States as a declining empire, praised early Islamic conquests, and framed the aftermath of the September 11 attacks around Islamophobia and discrimination.
The conference, held in Detroit, featured panels and speeches that were broadly critical of the United States and the West. El-Sayed, who is running in one of the most competitive Senate races of the 2026 cycle, received a hero's welcome from attendees. The outcome of that race could determine control of the Senate.
During a panel titled «Rising Islamophobia in the U.S.,» a speaker described recently passed legislation that could bar colleges participating in certain commercial boycotts of Israel from receiving federal higher education funds as «an anti-Muslim bill.» Shortly afterward, a man in the audience wearing a Pakistani flag pin stood up and called for a fatwa to be issued against the bipartisan group of lawmakers who voted for the bill. A fatwa is a religious ruling that can range from a formal condemnation to, in some cases, a call for or justification of violence. After the man made his request, members of the audience and one panelist applauded.
The legislation was introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and co-sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. Earlier in the same discussion, a panelist criticized Congress for moving to censure Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib over what the panelist called «the most lighthearted comments.» Tlaib was censured in part for endorsing the phrase «from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,» which critics characterize as a call for the destruction of Israel and ethnic cleansing. Tlaib defended it as «an aspirational call for freedom, human rights and peaceful coexistence.»
Panelists also accused billionaire Elon Musk of funding a White supremacist global anti-Muslim movement, suggested that some of the narrative regarding 9/11 taught in American schools has been «debunked,» and asserted that Muslims were treated unfairly in the wake of the 2001 attacks. Criticism of America's response to 9/11 surfaced repeatedly across the conference's events and breakout sessions. One speaker asserted that as the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, «Islamophobia is at an all-time high.» Another referred to the War on Terror, the post-9/11 military operations that claimed the lives of over 7,000 U.S. military personnel, as the «War of Terror.»
El-Sayed has sought to moderate his public image since launching his Senate campaign, even as he has maintained ties to prominent socialists and socialist-aligned activists. His attendance at the ISNA conference is the latest in a series of associations that have drawn criticism, including ties to Nation of Islam figures, Muslim clerics accused of expressing support for terrorist organizations, and activists on the socialist left. In response to these charges, the Democrat has pointed to GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers' links to individuals who echo conspiracy theories about the 2020 election or who have called for bans on gay marriage.
Before the event, El-Sayed's campaign moved to distance the candidate from other conference speakers. «Abdul is not affiliated with and does not endorse any other participant of the conference,» a spokeswoman told media outlets in the lead-up to the event. The statement followed reports that he would appear alongside Islamic clerics who defended child marriage and praised U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda. Of the controversial speakers, only the cleric who had defended child marriage was ultimately disinvited.
ISNA appeared to anticipate scrutiny over some of the speakers it invited. In the conference venue's main hallway, the organization posted a prominent sign stating, «ISNA does not endorse the actions of convention participants and explicitly disclaims any responsibility for the views expressed, information provided, or materials displayed, sold or distributed by convention speakers, performers, exhibitors, vendors, or attendees.»
The conference took place in Detroit, a metropolitan area with a significant Arab American population concentrated in communities such as Dearborn and Hamtramck. ISNA is a nonprofit Muslim religious organization established in 1981 to provide America's growing Muslim population with a platform for civic coordination and education.