Kathmandu— After securing victory in the Democratic primary for a United States Senate seat in Michigan, Egyptian American physician Abdul El-Sayed faced a rapid and coordinated online smear campaign. An investigation by Al Jazeera revealed that right-wing accounts quickly amplified an attack centered on the phrase “inshallah” – Arabic for ‘God willing’ – taken from his election night speech, framing it as evidence of a religious and ideological threat to the US. The attacks occurred amidst existing criticism from pro-Israel groups following El-Sayed's win, which they viewed as a setback to their lobbying efforts, and quickly escalated into baseless accusations about Sharia law and demographic shifts in Michigan.

Weaponizing Religious Expression

The campaign began with the clipping of the phrase “inshallah” from El-Sayed’s victory speech, where he used it to express hope that his win would demonstrate money isn't the sole determinant of US elections. Right-wing influencer Benny Johnson posted a clip featuring the phrase, garnering over 193,000 views with the caption: “Muslim Socialist Candidate for Senate in Michigan Abdul El-Sayed says ‘inshallah’ during his speech on election night.” Other accounts similarly presented the common Arabic expression as evidence of a sinister agenda. Far-right figure Laura Loomer described the clip as “disgusting” while one account even claimed an “Islamic communist takeover of the left is coming” before final results were tallied.

Coordinated Digital Network

Al Jazeera’s investigation mapped a network of 1,966 accounts and over 2,500 connections within the first 24 hours. The analysis revealed that the spread of anti-El-Sayed content relied heavily on reposting rather than original discussion, with 1,847 reposts, 1,157 quotes, and 1,536 mentions recorded. Accounts like End Wokeness shared an out-of-context clip of El-Sayed saying, “When they go low, we don’t go high. We take them to the mud and choke them out,” which originated from a 2025 event where he was critiquing attacks by Donald Trump's supporters – a subversion of Michelle Obama’s famous phrase.

Political and Pro-Israel Alignment

The far-right narrative quickly gained traction as political figures and pro-Israel organizations joined the discourse. This followed a Fox News report alleging that El-Sayed received donations from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization frequently targeted by right-wing groups. Republican Senator Ted Cruz amplified these claims, sharing a clip of testimony alleging ties between El-Sayed and Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups and urging voters to investigate his background. The American Jewish Committee expressed concern over what they described as divisive rhetoric in his candidacy, while Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad labeled him “dangerous.” Hananya Naftali, a YouTuber and former aide to Benjamin Netanyahu, called on Americans to defend “Judeo-Christian values before it is too late”.

Trump's Direct Attacks

The campaign received further momentum when Donald Trump attacked candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, calling them “crazy” and predicting they would make cities “filthy and disgusting.” Following the primary results, Trump directly targeted El-Sayed, labeling him a “hater of Jews” and “hater of Israel,” who he claimed would bring “filth, crime, death, destruction, embarrassment”. Trump’s statements merged existing far-right narratives into a unified Republican attack aimed at mobilizing voters behind his opponent in November, Mike Rogers.

El-Sayed has responded to the accusations by emphasizing his commitment to the safety of all Americans and focusing on policy proposals centered around equality. Despite support from within the Democratic Party, commentators predict he will continue to be a target for negative campaigning in the coming months.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.