El-Sayed Teases Nod To Islam At His Senate Swearing-In
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Freedom Is Back In Style
After becoming the first Muslim elected to the Senate, Abdul El-Sayed says he plans to become the first senator sworn in on the Quran.
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The Michigan Democrat discussed his plans in an interview with NPR’s Leila Fadel, published Thursday on the podcast Newsmakers, saying he hasn’t decided which copy to use.
“I will likely swear on a Quran — which Quran we’re not sure,” El-Sayed told Fadel.
The senator-elect also backed replacing Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and reiterated his calls to end the Iran war, pass Medicare for All, and abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
El-Sayed, 42, pointed to a copy of the Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson, who bought it as a 22-year-old law student. Jefferson later sold the book as part of his personal library to the Library of Congress, where it remains.
“I mean, Thomas Jefferson had a copy of the Quran. When Keith Ellison was sworn in to Congress, he swore in on that copy,” El-Sayed said.
Ellison was the first Muslim elected to Congress in 2006, and represented Minnesota in the House until 2019. He is now the state’s attorney general.
“There’s also the first — the University of Michigan holds the first Quran in the state of Michigan,” he added. “It’s very, very old. And that might be the choice. So I don’t know, but I’ll swear in on the Quran.”
Abdul El-Sayed says he will take the oath of office on a Quran: “I will likely swear on a Quran.” https://t.co/PzElEQzsUb
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) November 12, 2026
During the same interview, El-Sayed defended his name and described himself as “100% American.”
“Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is as American as Mike Rogers. It’s as American as Donald Trump. It’s as American as whatever JD stands for. It is an American name. I am 100% American.”
Abdul El-Sayed: “Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is an American name. I am 100% American.” https://t.co/a6pL5S63NN
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) November 12, 2026
“Whatever my name is, however I pray, it’s not the book that you swear on. It’s the book you swear allegiance to,” El-Sayed said, referring to the Constitution. “This document is the reason that, no matter how I pray, that I could run for office and that the folks in my state could elect me. What an amazing thing.”
El-Sayed also said he would prefer Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to replace Schumer as Senate Democrat leader.
“I deeply appreciate Senator Schumer,” El-Sayed told Fadel. “But this is about leadership from the American public, and if all we do is kind of go back to what we’ve been doing in a moment where we’ve been given a mandate, I worry that we may not earn our mandate.”
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I am just an average American. My teen years were in the late 70s and I participated in all that that decade offered. Started working young, too young. Then I joined the Army before I graduated High School. I spent 25 years in, mostly in Infantry units. Since then I've worked in information technology positions all at small family owned companies. At this rate I'll never be a tech millionaire. When I was young I rode horses as much as I could. I do believe I should have been a cowboy. I'm getting in the saddle again by taking riding lessons and see where it goes.
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