A new report is putting Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s family history under a harsh spotlight, alleging his mother worked for an Islamic charity that U.S. authorities later designated as a terrorism-supporting organization with ties to al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Taliban.
According to independent journalist Natalie Winters, whose findings were published on X, El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Fathy Elkomy, helped process tens of thousands of dollars in overseas transfers for the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), also known as the Islamic African Relief Agency, from 1999 through at least 2004.
The organization, which ran 40 offices worldwide and claimed to focus on healthcare and orphan support in conflict zones, was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2004 as a supporter of terrorism. Federal authorities said the group channeled funds to al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Taliban — and Winters reports it was later convicted of secretly funneling $1.375 million into Saddam-era Iraq.
The allegations, reported by American Thinker, also extend to El-Sayed’s father, who was named in federal documents as a helper to the organization, though neither parent was ever arrested. His father was also closely associated with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, described in the report as the incubator of al-Qaeda and home to its former second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The 9/11 connection
The timing is what makes the allegations particularly charged. Elkomy allegedly worked for the organization from 1999 through at least 2004 — meaning her tenure continued for three years after the September 11, 2001, attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 Americans and were masterminded by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
American Thinker’s Monica Showalter does not mince words: “It takes a special kind of nth-level hatred for America to want to work for an organization that would give money to al-Qaeda, not just before the 9/11 terror attack, but after it, too.”
The piece also notes that al-Qaeda’s lead hijacker, Mohamed Atta, was Egyptian — a detail that, while perhaps coincidental, adds to the charged context surrounding El-Sayed’s family origins.
El-Sayed’s silence
El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat running for Senate in Michigan, has not publicly condemned his parents’ alleged associations, according to the report. Showalter argues that silence is telling.
“Nobody picks his parents of course, but parents do indeed infuse their kids with their values,” she writes. “El-Sayed hasn’t condemned either of these al-Qaeda succorers, though he claims to be respectable now, but his silence on them and their activities is pretty telling.”
The report acknowledges that El-Sayed’s parents divorced when he was young, that he never lived with his mother for very long, and that the pair were never arrested — likely because they were not part of the organization’s leadership.
Still, Showalter concludes that voters should not “wave this guy through as Michigan’s senator,” arguing that too much blood and treasure has been spilled for Americans to support a candidate with such family ties — “unless, of course their hatred matches that of El-Sayed’s parents, or they simply don’t know.”
Context and questions
It’s worth noting that this is a politically charged accusation leveled during a campaign season, and the source material is an opinion column from American Thinker, a conservative outlet. The underlying reporting comes from Winters, whose findings have been published on social media rather than through a traditional news organization.
El-Sayed’s campaign has not yet issued a public response to these specific allegations as of this writing. Whether they will — and whether voters in Michigan consider family associations relevant to a Senate candidate’s fitness for office — remains an open question.
What is clear is that this story is not going away quietly. The combination of a high-profile Senate race, allegations of terrorism ties, and a candidate’s refusal to address them directly creates a political flashpoint that both supporters and detractors will be watching closely in the coming weeks.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/so-is-a-vote-for-el-sayed-a-vote-for-bin-laden/