Newly elected Senator Abdul-Sayed on Friday declared Michigan the “capital of Arab America,” prompting a wide range of reactions on social media, ranging from criticism to others offering data to support his claim.
El-Sayed made the statement after speaking at the Connecting Arab America Empowerment Summit in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Chantilly, Virginia, where he said his name in Arabic.
“I am honored to be the next United States Senator from the great state of Michigan, and I certainly know that we are in Washington, D.C., and Washington, D.C., of course, is the capital of the United States of America,” he said. “But Michigan is the capital of Arab America.”
The term “Capital of Arab America” has historically been used to describe the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest Arab population in the United States, many of whom are descendants of families who came to Henry Ford’s automobile assembly plants in the early 20th century to find work. It also has the largest Lebanese-American population in the United States
With the exception of Dearborn, statewide, California reportedly has more Arab Americans than Michigan.
Despite El-Sayed’s boasts, Michigan’s Arab-American community remains predominantly Christian, starting with Lebanese Maronite Catholics who have lived in the Detroit area for 100 years, as well as Chaldeans from Iraq and other Lebanese Christians who have historically been Republican voters.
El-Said’s comments sparked a firestorm of comments on X, with some accounts posting videos of them.
Ryan Fournier, founder of Students for Trump, warned against discounting El-Sayed’s claims.
“Dearborn’s hometown, deep roots and real political strength—Michigan is no longer just a battleground state,” he wrote. “It’s officially the powerhouse of the Arab-American movement. Pay attention. Everything is changing.”
“You are not ready for the full reality of what is coming. No one is,” wrote Proud American Jew influencer Jamie Mitchell.
Imtiaz Mahmoud, a self-proclaimed supporter of Israel and an “Abraham Accords activist,” published a lengthy paper on El Said and the state’s Muslim population. “The Muslim population has roughly quadrupled since the 1990s, driven by waves of refugees from Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Syria, whom Washington has welcomed with open arms.”
According to some reports, Michigan’s Arab-American population has increased by more than 87 percent since 2000, from about 150,000 to the current 400,000.
Because Arab Americans are not officially recognized as a federal minority, it is difficult to determine the exact number of Arab Americans in Michigan. Estimates range from 409,000 to 490,000, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Zogby International Poll. In the greater Detroit area, estimates range from 300,000 to 350,000. While the latest Zogby Poll ranks Michigan’s Arab-American population as the second-largest in the United States, behind California, southeastern Michigan’s Arab-American community remains the most concentrated locally (California’s Arab-American population is more dispersed).
Dearborn and parts of Detroit are also represented by “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who in 2018 became the first Palestinian American woman elected to Congress.
Breitbart writer Lowell Cauffiel is a former reporter for The Detroit News, former Dearborn resident, and best-selling author Masquerade: A true story of seduction, compulsion and murderIt tells the story of an elite Detroit psychologist whose double life with a young street prostitute was only revealed after he was murdered and dismembered. look lowellcauffiel.com learn more.