Far-right activists spread El-Sayed smear using "inshallah

An Al Jazeera investigation has found that far-right activists in the US rapidly weaponised a single Arabic phrase, “inshallah”, against Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after his victory in Michigan’s primary.

The phrase, meaning “God willing”, was clipped from El-Sayed’s election-night speech where he used it to express hope that voters had rejected the idea that money alone decides elections. Far-right influencers stripped it of context and framed it as proof of a Muslim “takeover.” Influencer Benny Johnson’s post reached 193,000 views, while the account ALX claimed it was “suspicious.” Other accounts pushed terms like “socialist Muslim candidate” and called the speech “disgusting.” Within 24 hours, Al Jazeera mapped 1,966 accounts and 2,500 connections amplifying the narrative. The campaign relied heavily on reposts—1,847 reshares, 1,157 quotes, and 1,536 mentions—rather than original debate.

The smear campaign escalated fast. One account falsely claimed an “Islamic communist takeover of the left is coming,” while others twisted El-Sayed’s words to portray him as violent. A clip of him saying, “When they go low, we don’t go high. We take them to the mud and choke them out,” was shared without context. That line was actually from a 2025 event where he was parodying attacks by the MAGA movement. The rhetoric soon turned to baseless claims of “Sharia coming to America” and Michigan facing “invasion.” Hamtramck, where 25% of the 28,000 residents are Arab Muslims, was falsely labelled an “occupied city” under demographic threat. The narrative gained traction after Fox News alleged El-Sayed received donations from CAIR, a civil rights group often targeted by right-wing figures.

The episode shows how a single word can be distorted into a political weapon. It also highlights the growing influence of far-right voices in shaping narratives around Muslim candidates. The tactic mirrors broader disinformation campaigns that exploit religion and identity to stoke fear. As El-Sayed advances in the Senate race, his campaign and allies may need to counter these narratives directly. The incident underscores how quickly misinformation can spread—and why platforms like X must be held accountable for allowing such campaigns to thrive.