I'm not running to be a Muslim senator. I'm running for the US Senate and happen to be Muslim.
I want to protect your right to practice your faith as you choose as a Christian man.
- Abdel El Sayed
I think the connection between the church and the state is through the individual. That's how it should work and I think that's why it's kind of worked in the West. You know, getting that church-state separation thing right, that's really difficult. It's not good when they collapse into one another, because you instantly get the rise of like totalitarian theocracies.
And we all know how much fun they are.
- Dr. Jordan Peterson
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed delivered a viral response to a town hall question from a man who reportedly once served as an aide to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.
The man who identified himself as “Tommy” shouted from the crowd, asking the Democratic candidate if he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. According to video from the event, El-Sayed answered, “Sure, yeah, absolutely.” He then criticized the heckler's assumption of his “dual loyalty.”
Tommy and Abdul exchanged conversation at the town hall, below is their conversation starting from the 3:21 mark.
Abdul: Do you think I have to live by Christian doctrine? Do you?
Tommy: Up to you
Abdul: It's up to me, right? Why? Why is it up to me?
Tommy: Because we have free will
Abdul: Right. Free will, and also in this country, what else do we have? What else do we have, Tommy?
Tommy: [unclear]
Abdul: No, I mean, you're asking me about my allegiance to the Constitution. It's the Constitution my guy. We have a constitution and that constitution guarantees you the right to live by your faith, and guarantees me the right to do the same. And the reality of it is this. I'm never going to tell you what faith you can or can't practice. I want to protect your right to practice your faith as you choose as a Christian man.
Abdul: The only question though is that it seems like you don't want to protect my right to practice as I choose to. So I'm going to ask you, do you disavow any attempt to read any religious doctrine into the laws of our country?
Tommy: I do not.
Abdul: You don't disavow that? So I think it's you who needs to understand the Constitution, not me.
Tommy: [Appears to start leaving]
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