Did Abdul El-Sayed call Michigan the 'capital of Arab America'?

Claim: On Nov. 6, Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, D-Mich., said "Michigan is the capital of Arab America." On Nov. 3, Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed made history as the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. In the days that followed, a claim circulated that El-Sayed had said that "Michigan is the capital of Arab America," sparking vitriol from opponents. The alleged quote played into a trope — commonly used against Muslims, immigrants and other communities — that institutions such as the U.S. government are being "infiltrated" by foreigners. For example, the caption of one Facebook post sharing a purported clip of El-Sayed saying the quote began: "WE'VE BEEN INVADED" (archived). Other social media users, including Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, shared the clip (archived). "There is no 'Arab America.' There is only the United States of America," she wrote. Readers also wrote in to Snopes, looking for answers. The quote was correctly attributed to El-Sayed, and the clip of him saying it was authentic. He made the comment during a speech at the CONNECT Empowerment Summit, also known as the Arab American Leadership and Empowerment Summit, in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Chantilly, Virginia, on Nov. 6. The video clip is available on multiple platforms, including C-SPAN. "Ahlan wa sahlan," he opened his comments — "welcome" in Arabic. He then introduced himself as "Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed," his full name, before saying: I'm honored to be the next United States senator from the great state of Michigan. Which of course — I know we're here in D.C., which of course is the capital of the United States of America, but Michigan is the capital of Arab America. His remarks were met with cheers. Michigan has a rich Arab American history, with the highest-concentrated Arab population in the country, according to World Population Review. In cities such as Dearborn, Arab Americans make up more than half the population. For further reading on El-Sayed, we've previously covered a claim that he would force Michigan students to learn Arabic numerals (they already do) and a false rumor that he said it was acceptable for young girls to see male genitals in their locker rooms because "they are going to see them on the internet anyway." Sources 'Arab Population by State 2026'. World Population Review, 28 Oct. 2026, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/arab-population-by-state.Dearborn, Michigan: A Visit to the First Arab-Majority City in the US. 29 Apr. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240429-dearborn-michigan-a-visit-to-the-first-arab-majority-city-in-the-us.Warikoo, Niraj. 'Census: Arab Americans Now a Majority in Dearborn as Middle Eastern Michiganders Top 300K'. Detroit Free Press, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2023/09/26/arab-americans-now-a-majority-in-dearborn-new-census-data-shows/70929525007/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC248qr3UPM. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026. By Taija PerryCook Taija PerryCook is a Seattle-based journalist who previously worked for the PNW news site Crosscut and the Jordan Times in Amman. Article Tags