MEND Statement on the Victory of Senator-Elect Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed

The election of Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed to the United States Senate is a historic moment for American Muslims and those living throughout the Western world. Not only will he become the first Muslim ever to serve in the Senate, but at least seven Muslims will now sit in the new Congress.

Yet, to get there, Senator El-Sayed had to endure a relentless campaign of Islamophobic abuse. His Republican rival, Mike Rogers, baselessly claimed he “believes America deserved 9/11” and has links to terror groups. Trump piled on, describing him as, among other things, a “Jihadist lunatic.” Tens of millions of dollars were spent, including about $39 million by pro-Israel lobbies, to portray El-Sayed as a threat to American society. Brazen Islamophobia was central to the Republican strategy.

And yet, in the face of this demonisation, El-Sayed prevailed. His victory is a powerful reminder that the answer to hatred and prejudice is not retreat, nor simply the defence of our right to belong. It is organising, mobilising, voting and standing for office. It is making our presence felt in the institutions that shape our societies.

We British Muslims must take note. We, too, are increasingly told that our presence in public life is somehow suspect, that our participation in the political process is something to be questioned and that our identity makes us less entitled to a voice in our own country.

The response must be a bolder, more audacious and more organised effort to challenge this hostility. We must not allow others to define the limits of our participation in public life. We should be seeking not merely to defend our place in society, but to play a greater role in shaping it.