WATCH: Abdul El-Sayed Tells Film Crew To Hide His Qurans From Shot

Michigan Democratic Senatorial Candidate Abdul El-Sayed told a documentary crew in 2018 to hide his Qurans while filming a behind-the-scenes look at his run for Governor of Michigan. 

He and his wife were showing off their wedding pictures when El-Sayed abruptly paused, looked behind him at a bookshelf, and said, “You’re going to want to not get these things in the shot … we’re trying to keep the shot secular.” Those “things” were his Quran and other religious items. 

“Oh, okay. I don’t think we did,” a crew member responded. The documentary footage conflicts with a resurfaced 2009 New York Times interview in which El-Sayed, then a 24-year-old medical student, said he sought a Sharia-compliant mortgage out of religious obligation. Some traditional interpretations of Sharia law call for severe penalties for apostasy and impose restrictions on women, while historical interpretations have also permitted child marriage.

“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,” El-Sayed told the New York Times. “Not because of fear but because of obligation.”

Hiding his Quran isn’t the only resurfaced clip drawing attention. In the documentary, he trashed one of Michigan’s most beloved vacation spots. “I hate Mackinac so much,” he said in the 2020 documentary that followed his failed run for governor in 2018. “Every time I’ve ever come here, I’ve hated it. Why am I here?”

However, when provided the opportunity to walk back the comments, El-Sayed instead doubled down. “I don’t think the most ‘American place in [Michigan]’ can be a place that … bans cars,” he wrote on X. The car-free island is home to the Michigan governor’s official summer residence, a property the state has used to host political events since 1945. With no motor vehicles allowed on the island, travel is restricted to horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and on foot. El-Sayed’s opponent, Republican nominee Mike Rogers, a former U.S. representative, wasted no time making sure Michigan voters knew where he stood on the matter. 

“There’s no place like Mackinac,” Rogers said, sharing personal photos of him spending time on the island. El-Sayed is also facing criticism for his comments on football. He criticized football for being a breeding ground for “toxic masculinity.” 

El-Sayed suggested that football coaches follow the example of Ted Lasso, the main character in the popular Apple TV+ series, whom he held up as a model of masculinity and coaching. “Ted cries. He talks through his problems. He encourages his players. He bakes biscuits (er, cookies) for his boss. He smiles … like, all the time,” El-Sayed wrote on his Substack.