Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Abdul El Sayed appeared Saturday at an Islamic convention that drew criticism for inviting figures who have questioned the official account of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The appearance came just six days before the twenty fifth anniversary of the attacks that devastated the nation.

El Sayed addressed roughly 1,000 attendees at the Islamic Society of North America annual convention in Detroit.

Sharing the program were The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur and Muslim cleric Zaid Shakir, both of whom have publicly cast doubt on elements of the government narrative surrounding September 11.

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The gathering placed El Sayed in politically combustible company as he campaigns for a Michigan Senate seat.

Rather than confront the controversy surrounding the speakers or their past statements, the progressive candidate focused his remarks on what he described as hostility toward Muslim Americans.

“We found ourselves in a moment now where, as people point to us, Muslim Americans, they want to tell us that we don’t belong,” El Sayed told the audience.

“They want to tell us that this country is not ours. They want to tell us that because of our names or how we pray, that somehow we are less than.”

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His appearance followed renewed scrutiny of a deleted social media post from September 11, 2021.

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In that message, El Sayed mourned those murdered in the attacks while also criticizing the United States, a combination that generated fresh political heat as the anniversary approached.

El Sayed offered a warmer assessment of Michigan voters, arguing that residents have not judged him according to his religion.

“Michiganders don’t care how you pray; they care what you pray for and what you hope for,” he said.

He also said voters care less about a candidate’s name than whether that candidate makes an effort to understand them.

It was a polished campaign message, but it did not address why a Senate hopeful would appear at an event alongside speakers carrying such a controversial record.

While El Sayed remained careful, Uygur charged directly into the most divisive territory available.

He attacked American support for Israel, saying, “it is unbearable to me as an American,” before ridiculing media descriptions of the Hamas assault against Israel on October 7.

“‘Oh my god, on October 7, the worst thing since the Holocaust,’” Uygur said while mocking coverage of the massacre.

The remark treated the slaughter and kidnapping of Israeli civilians with a casualness certain to deepen questions about the judgment behind his invitation.

“They make it sound like the Palestinians are occupying the Israelis rather than the other way around,” Uygur claimed.

“No, I’m not going to let them get away with that anymore.”

Uygur then escalated his rhetoric before the crowd. “None of us are going to let them get away with that anymore,” he warned, adding, “But they’re going to have to come through me first.”

The Young Turks founder has also promoted doubts about the accepted account of September 11.

In February, he wrote on X, “I no longer believe [the] official 9/11 story,” making his position anything but mysterious before the Detroit convention.

“Two paper passports did not burn and were found on the rubble but it was so hot WTC7 burned down across the street. Nonsense,” Uygur wrote.

That declaration revived familiar conspiracy claims about the attacks while dismissing the official findings in blunt terms.

Shakir has raised similar suspicions, previously arguing that there are “glaring weaknesses and inconsistencies” in the official account.

He has also accused political and religious forces of exploiting the attacks to target Islam, framing the national response as part of a broader campaign.

In one article, Shakir complained that “9/11 has been used by both the government and a significant segment of the Christian Right in this country, along with their allies, to launch a war on Islam.” That history made his place beside El Sayed especially notable.

El Sayed may have avoided repeating the more incendiary claims from the stage, but candidates are judged by more than carefully scripted remarks.

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Appearing beside conspiracy theorists and fierce Israel critics days before the September 11 anniversary creates questions that soothing campaign language cannot simply wish away.

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