Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is running for the United States Senate at a moment that could reshape both Michigan politics and Muslim representation in America.

A physician, epidemiologist and former public-health official, El-Sayed rebuilt Detroit’s Health Department and later led Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services. Now, he is seeking the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s open Senate seat.

If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim to serve in the United States Senate.

But when asked what that historic possibility means to him, El-Sayed is careful not to frame his campaign solely around being the first.

“I’m not really running to be the first of anything,” he told Muslim. “I certainly don’t want to be the last.”

His campaign has become one of the most closely watched races in the country, drawing attention not only for what his candidacy could mean for Muslim Americans, but also for the larger political forces surrounding it.

AIPAC and its affiliated groups spent close to $30 million backing El-Sayed’s opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, ahead of Michigan’s August 4 Democratic primary. According to the Associated Press, it was the organization’s largest investment in a single race.

El-Sayed has made the influence of corporations, billionaires and special-interest groups central to his campaign. He is running on a platform that includes Medicare for All, lowering the cost of living, regulating artificial intelligence and ending the use of American tax dollars to fund Israel’s military assault on Palestinians.

In an interview with Muslim, El-Sayed reflected on growing up Muslim in Michigan, the impact Muhammad Ali had on him as a child, his path from medicine into politics and what his campaign could represent for a generation of young Muslims who have never seen themselves in the U.S. Senate.

Introduce yourself. Who is Abdul?

My name is Abdul El-Sayed. I’m a doctor and epidemiologist. I rebuilt Detroit’s Health Department and led Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services.

I’m running a campaign to get money out of politics, put money in people’s pockets and pass Medicare for All.

In many ways, my work is still about addressing the circumstances that lead to illness in communities, circumstances that leave so many children without the basic things they need and deserve.

I’m hoping that, in the U.S. Senate, we can build the kind of legislation that addresses the circumstances forcing children into poverty, forcing communities into stagnation and leaving people without the healthcare they need and deserve.

If you win this election, you would become the first Muslim senator in American history. Have you allowed yourself to fully process what that would mean?

I’m not really running to be the first of anything. I certainly don’t want to be the last.

The beautiful thing about American democracy is that you can put yourself forward to test the hypothesis of what America is. In doing this, I offer our country and our state the opportunity to demonstrate just who we are.

I’ve been a guy named Abdul in Michigan my whole life. I’ve been Muslim in Michigan almost my whole life. I’m really grateful for what I’ve come to know about a state that is open-minded and big-hearted.

It’s less about what it means for me and more about what it means for America. It is about what it means for other people who have been told that they are different, whether it is because of how they pray or something else about them.

I’m hoping that, once again, America can prove just how big we really are and how much bigger we are than the people who want to define us as being too small to include people like us.

What would seeing a Muslim take the oath of office in the U.S. Senate have meant to you as a young Muslim growing up in Michigan?

I’m never going to forget watching Muhammad Ali do what he did.

The day he passed away was a Friday. I processed it as news that day, but it didn’t really hit me until the next morning. I woke up and couldn’t stop weeping.

He showed me what it meant to be fully proud of who he was in public.

Growing up, there weren’t many Muslims in public spaces, certainly not in politics. As a kid, seeing a Muslim in the U.S. Senate would have shown me something in myself that I never knew was possible.

For most of my life, I thought politics was off-limits.

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I hope that an entire generation of young people can watch Muslim elected officials, including the people who came before me and hopefully the people who come after me, and understand what it means to see people who look like you and pray like you fully embraced in their whole selves within our politics.

I think that’s really important.

Michigan is home to one of the most significant Arab and Muslim communities in the country. What has that community taught you about organizing, solidarity and political power?

Michigan is a microcosm of the rest of the country. We’re an extremely diverse state. There are all kinds of people here. I grew up in a house built by my father, who is an Egyptian immigrant, and my stepmother, Jackie, who is a daughter of the American Revolution.

Here in Michigan, Muslims have been engaged in public service and public life for a very long time. Michigan is also a place where we have always been able to come together beyond our differences.

What it has taught me is that you shouldn’t apologize for who you are. But you have to bring the best of who you are, embrace the best in others and come together around the goals we share for the kind of community we want for all of our children.

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You trained as a physician and led public-health agencies. When did you realize that treating individual patients was not enough and that you needed to confront the political system itself?

In medical school, I remember watching a patient of mine effectively get chewed up and spit out by our system.

She had been in and out of the healthcare system for a long time and had endured terrible experiences. I thought deeply about what it would take to build circumstances where she would feel welcomed in our healthcare spaces.

I also thought about what it means to keep people healthy in the first place.

That means having clean air and clean water. It means being able to walk through your community without becoming the victim of violence. It means not having to worry about what will happen if you become sick. It means being able to receive care within your own community.

That ultimately led me into public health.

Most of my work has been about building public-health institutions that keep people healthy in the first place and empower communities against the ways corporations are too often allowed to have their way at the expense of everyone’s health.

You have faced millions of dollars in outside spending and attacks connected to your positions on Israel and Palestine. What do those attacks reveal about who is permitted to challenge the political consensus in Washington?

Whenever there is a political consensus that differs from the public consensus, meaning both political parties agree on something that the broader public does not agree with, the difference is usually somebody’s money.

When it comes to healthcare, that money is usually from Big Pharma or the insurance industry. When it comes to the question of Palestinian self-determination, that money is AIPAC money.

I’m for Medicare for All. I’m for regulating artificial intelligence. I’m for keeping our money here to invest in our children, rather than sending it elsewhere to drop bombs on children elsewhere.

That has meant there has been a record amount of money spent against me in this race. But it is also a reminder of just how much better our politics can be.

If we believe in a government of the people, by the people and for the people, then we have to get money out of politics.

But we have also shown that their money is beatable if you are willing to speak the truth, speak it consistently, speak it everywhere and do the work of building a movement that can take on their money.

What do you want your community to understand about why you chose to run?

It shouldn’t be this hard.

It shouldn’t be this hard, in the richest and most powerful country in the world, to pay your rent, believe you could ever own a home, buy a second bag of groceries or see a doctor.

It shouldn’t be this hard to pay your taxes and know that your money is being spent on you, rather than being used to do the worst things to somebody else.

Images taken by Ali Imam for Muslim

Photo Assist: Tufail Uddin & Mohtashim Mahin

WATCH: Paul Pogba Opens Up About Islam & His Revert Journey | 7 Spiritual Questions | MUSLIM

World Cup winner Paul Pogba opens up about his journey to Islam, his revert story, faith, football, fame, and the moments that brought him closer to Allah.

In this episode of 7 Spiritual Questions, Paul Pogba sits down with @Muslim for a powerful and personal conversation about becoming Muslim, finding peace through Islam, staying grounded through success and struggle, and how faith has shaped his life on and off the pitch.

From winning the FIFA World Cup with France to facing injuries, pressure, and public attention, Pogba reflects on the faith that carried him through every chapter of his journey.

Watch Paul Pogba share his Muslim revert story, his relationship with Allah, and the lessons Islam has taught him about purpose, gratitude, patience, and identity.

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There’s a moment in every athlete’s career where the achievements stop being the headline.

For Paul Pogba, World Cup winner, one of the most talked-about midfielders of his generation, a man who has been adored and dragged through the press in equal measure, that moment didn’t arrive on a pitch. It arrived in sujood.

He’s settled into the couch now, head tipped down, a ball turning slowly between his fingertips. “When you’re in sujood, this is the perfect connection between you and Allah,” Pogba tells me. “When I score a goal, I do it. In a moment of success, when you’re really happy, I like to remember that He’s my creator and I have to thank Him first.”

It’s a small detail that’s followed him through some of football’s biggest stages: the forehead to the grass after a goal, the stillness in the middle of all that noise. Most people watching read it as a celebration.

For Pogba, it’s his whole purpose. It was his center.

Pogba reverted to Islam at 18, raised between two faiths in a household that, in his words, “just let us choose.” His mother was Muslim. His father wasn’t. An uncle who lived with them kept Ramadan in the house. And later, in Manchester, it was someone unexpected who helped him lock in: his barber.

“I had my barber that was Muslim, so I used to go and cut my hair there and listen to him giving me talk about life and everything,” Pogba says. “He gave me some CDs to understand Islam.”

The barber’s name was Gaza. Somali, not Palestinian, Pogba clarifies with a laugh while wearing a keffiyeh tucked into the pocket of his thobe, just a name. But the role he played was anything but small.

What followed wasn’t a straight line to peace. Pogba has spent his career navigating the intense public spotlight throughout his career, with his sights set on a higher goal, praised, then picked apart, then praised again, his every haircut and headline turned into a storyline he never asked to star in.

Asked how he stays rooted to his faith while being tested so publicly, his answer doesn’t flinch.

“Everything that happens in this dunya is short. It will come and go. With Allah, it’s forever. I don’t even look in the media. I don’t know the people, they don’t know me.”

That same grounding shows up in how he talks about success, a word he’s been handed his entire adult life, often before he was ready for it. “Islam taught me to be humble first of all with success, that everything comes and goes, and that’s not the ultimate goal,” he says.

“Alhamdulillah, Allah gave it to me, and I will be tested by that also. When you’re successful, you can become arrogant, you can become greedy. Islam teaches Muslims to be humble. This life is just for a short time. It’s temporary.”

There’s a discipline underneath all of it that has nothing to do with training. Pogba says he recites the last three surahs of the Qur’an before each match as a necessity for spiritual survival rather than mere ritual. “I always make dua before the game. Otherwise I don’t feel protected, I don’t feel confident,” he says. “There is evil eye also. I want to protect myself from all the bad eyes,” he says with a smile.

For Pogba, excellence on the pitch carries a deeper purpose. “I can give a good image for the people watching. I can be an example for the Muslims, for the kids. I hope I can be the greatest on the pitch that shows a Muslim is the best on the pitch.”

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He’s been to Makkah for Umrah six times, he says, not yet for Hajj, “insha’Allah,” and the first trip came right after losing his father. “Every time it was different,” he says quietly. “Alhamdulillah. All good feelings.”

When asked which surah stays with him most, he doesn’t hesitate. Surah Yusuf. “It explains the story of Prophet Yusuf (alayhi salam) for every Muslim. When you see his life, with everything that happened to him, everything that happens to you in this dunya is nothing. Prophet Yusuf, Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), they had the hardest test, the hardest hardship in the world. When something happens to me, I’m like, this is nothing compared to the prophets.”

It’s that perspective, pulled from scripture and not from a sports psychologist, that seems to hold him together. And by the end of the conversation, what Pogba wants to leave behind isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a reminder.

“To the brothers and sisters, always keep having faith in Allah, because Allah has faith in you,” he says.

He pauses, then brings it all back to the truth at the center of his life:

“This life, we enjoy it, you have to enjoy it. But that is not the ultimate place.”

^{Watch Paul Pogba answer 7 Spiritual Questions, full video interview now live on @Muslim’s YouTube.}

_{CREDITS / CREW:}

_{Editor-in-Chief: Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh}

_{Photographer + Director: Ali Imam}

_{Strategy & Direction: Hasan Khalid}

_{Talent: Paul Pogba}

_{Cover Design: Rob Vargas}

_{Photo Assist: Sharmeen Chaudhry}

_{BTS: Ammar Habib}

_{Special thanks to: KidSuper, Fem}

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“I reached billions of people, the truth reached billions of people, and nothing changed.”

Motaz Azaiza opened the eyes of millions, with a mere click from his camera. His photos revealed a truth that revolutionized a new world, transforming how people perceive Palestinians – forever.

In the last year, Azaiza documented the active genocide in Gaza, uncovering photos and stories that would have been ignored if it weren’t for his camera being at the scene. He quickly amassed a tremendous following across social media, reaching millions, and becoming the central source to what is happening on the grounds in Gaza – stories that Western media avoided covering. 

When escalations and breaking news took place, it was almost instinctual for everyone to tune into Azaiza’s Instagram Stories. Images taken by Azaiza populated our feeds and timelines throughout the year, with his photos turning the hearts of those who were uninformed about the plight of Palestinians.

After Oct. 7, when Israel intensified its actions in Gaza, foreign journalists were prohibited from entering and to cover the situation. As a result, journalists and Palestinians on the ground became a vital source for the world.

Azaiza, working for UNRWA and living in Gaza, took it upon himself to reveal to the world what was truly happening.

“What happened to me is for a reason,” Azaiza told Muslim. “Nobody could just count on Western media. They saw the truth through me, through other journalists on the ground, by Gazans themselves.”

The Israeli occupation restricted journalists from having contact with Palestinians in Gaza and threatened journalists to submit reports for review before publication. 

“It’s easy for them to cover from the Israeli side, because Israel is controlling everything on the ground there,” Azaiza said. “The problem is they don't show the real time footage at the same time as that happening. They don't show all the stories of the people. This was our responsibility to show it.”

Though he amassed millions of followers and became the central pivotal force in documenting the genocide of his own people, he doesn’t accept being called a “hero.”

“I just wanted to find my way to be a travel photographer, capture the beauty. And yeah, just find a life. That's it. I'm not a hero. I can't fly.”

I felt choked up meeting Azaiza. We made contact through @Muslim’s Instagram DM’s when Israel initially declared war on Gaza. Reflecting on our messages, I sent him a QR code of an e-sim, as an attempt to provide him network to continue his coverage when the situation escalated. 

When he hadn’t uploaded in a day, I would feel anxious and message to make sure he was okay. His updates created a sincere connection with those online, captivating several of us personally. 

Now, just 25-years-old, it feels surreal to have him sit in front of Muslim and speak of the trauma his body has kept a score of and endured in the last year.

While photography has always been a passion of his, Azaiza wasn’t always a photojournalist. Azaiza shared fond memories picking up the camera at the age of 15 and capturing photos with his friend Mohammed, who he lost at the hands of an Israeli sniper.

“He got killed by an Israeli sniper when he was waiting for a flour truck,” said Azaiza. “We were always taking pictures together, and he was always trying to avoid catching the war. He just wants to capture beauty. But unfortunately, the Israeli sniper was faster to him.”

He also recalled the harrowing time he spent hours retrieving his friend Khalid from under the rubble.

“When I lost like 25 of my family in one day, and just six hours before, I lost two of my close friends, they were twins. In front of my eyes, I spent like hours trying to get them from under the rubble.”

Having faced a lot of loss, Azaiza admitted his journey with grief and faith has been difficult, with his faith often feeling low.

“To be honest, a lot of times I felt that I'm going to lose my faith, but my mom taught me that once it gets harder, you should stick to your faith and your beliefs,” he said. “So everything that happened, I believe it's from God, and it happened for a reason.”

But despite what he endured, Azaiza continued to hold on to his faith and persist.

“When an Israeli tank fired at me and I survived, there was something from inside telling me that God will save me. I spent a lot of days scared, but God was there for me. Alhamdulillah.”

Photojournalist by trade, make no mistake, Azaiza is a first responder. At times he would be at a scene and jump into help, rather than capture an image. But sometimes, Azaiza would arrive at a scene to discover that it would be someone familiar that was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

The last year took a toll on Azaiza in a way that he couldn't handle, or even understand. “Witnessing the loss of my relatives, family, and friends in front of my own eyes, yeah, definitely this, this will change you. Maybe it's changed me forever, I don't know. But I'm not focusing on myself right now.”

His purpose, he shared, has shifted. “I have a huge responsibility on my shoulders, I'm trying to respect this and be the voice for my people and keep pushing so people can continue taking actions to stop the genocide. It's been a year.”

As he continues to advocate for his people, he shared he is working on bringing back his passion for photography, something he feels he lost while documenting the horrors of the current genocide.

“Until now maybe I touch my camera a little bit,” he said. “I don't feel myself taking pictures anymore. I don't have the passion again.” 

“I don't want the world to forget that we are humans. So we feel weak, we feel strong, we cry, we smile, we laugh, we dance. We are humans.”

A year has passed since the start of Israel’s reign on Gaza on Oct. 7, with estimates of hundreds of thousands killed.

When asked if he believes history is repeating itself given the current conditions around the world with Israel expanding invasions in Lebanon and Syria, while also sending airstrikes to Yemen, Azaiza noted history is “not repeating itself.” 

“It's [been] happening for a long time and it's still happening. It didn't stop to repeat itself.”

“Thank you for watching us being killed for almost a year in front of the cameras. And doing nothing,” he added. “I reached billions of people, the truth reached billions of people, and nothing changed.”

Now outside of Gaza, Azaiza is devoting his time to make change for Palestinians. From spending his time in the last year documenting Israel’s genocide, he now hopes to make progress by being an advocate. 

You can watch Motaz Azaiza’s full uncut raw interview here.

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CREDITS/ CREW:

Editor-in-Chief & Interviewer: Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh

Interview Assistant & Copy Editor: Aysha Qamar

Photographer: Ali Imam

Co-Directors: Shayma Al-shiri, Ali Imam

Cinematographer : Joshua Echevarria

Lighting & Digitech: Hasnain Bhatti

Video Editor: Shayma Al-shiri

Producers: Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, Shayma Al-shiri, Ali Imam, Hasnain Bhatti, Aysha Qamar

“I wish to just have the power to go back again. I'm a genocide survivor and I’m now telling a story.” – Gaza Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza

Motaz Azaiza opened the eyes of millions, with a mere click from his camera. His photos revealed a truth that revolutionized a new world, transforming how people perceive Palestinians – forever.

In the last year, Azaiza has documented the active genocide in Gaza, uncovering photos and stories that would have been ignored if it weren’t for his camera being at the scene. He quickly amassed a tremendous following across social media, reaching millions, and becoming the central source to what is happening on the grounds in Gaza – stories that Western media avoided covering.

Now outside of Gaza— Azaiza opened up to Muslim.co in an exclusive interview, during which he retold his story of having to dig out a friend from under the rubble, and shared both reflections from Oct. 7 and times when his Muslim faith was at an all-time low.

The full cover story and editorial feature comes out on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024 for free members.

CREDITS/ CREW:

Editor-in-Chief & Interviewer: Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh

Co-Directors: Shayma Al-shiri, Ali Imam

Cinematographer : Joshua Echevarria

Photographer: Ali Imam

Lighting & Digitech: Hasnain Bhatti

Interview Assistant: Aysha Qamar

Editor: Shayma Al-shiri

Producers: Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, Shayma Al-shiri, Ali Imam, Hasnain Bhatti, Aysha Qamar

While he does not identify as one, Azaiza is known as a hero internationally for risking his life to document the violence Palestinians faced in Gaza during ongoing attacks by Israel.

Watch the full interview on Friday, Oct. 11. Consider being a paid subscriber to access the full raw uncut interview.

Subscribe now

CREDITS/ CREW:

Editor-in-Chief & Interviewer: Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh

Co-Directors: Shayma Al-shiri, Ali Imam

Cinematographer : Joshua Echevarria

Photographer: Ali Imam

Lighting & Digitech: Hasnain Bhatti

Interview Assistant: Aysha Qamar

Editor: Shayma Al-shiri

Producers: Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, Shayma Al-shiri, Ali Imam, Hasnain Bhatti, Aysha Qamar