WATCH: Abdul El-Sayed Declares Michigan the 'Capital of Arab America,' Ignites Viral Response

Newly elected Senator Abdul El-Sayed on Friday declared Michigan “the capital of Arab America,” causing a viral reaction on social media ranging from criticism to others offering data to support his claim. Speaking at the Connect Arab America Empowerment Summit in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Chantilly, Virginia, El-Sayed opened his remarks speaking his name in Arabic fashion and went on to make the claim. “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,” he said. “But Michigan is the capital of Arab America.” The term “Capital of Arab America” has historically been used to describe the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, the city that has the largest Arab population in the United States, many of them descendants of families that came in the early 20th century seeking jobs in Henry Ford’s auto assembly plants. It also has the largest Lebanese-American population in the U.S. Dearborn aside, statewide, California reportedly has more Arab Americans than Michigan. Despite El-Sayed’s boast, the Arab American community in Michigan is still predominantly Christian, starting with the Lebanese Maronite Catholics who have been in the Detroit area for 100 years, as well as Chaldeans from Iraq and other Lebanese Christians who have historically been Republican voters. El-Sayed’s comments ignited a firestorm of comments on X, with accounts posting videos of the remarks. ”WTF,” wrote influencer Mario Nawfal. Ryan Fournier, founder of Students for Trump, cautioned not to take El-Sayed’s claim lightly. “Home to Dearborn, deep roots, and real political muscle — Michigan isn’t just a battleground state anymore.,” he wrote. “It is officially the powerhouse of the Arab American movement. Pay attention. Everything is shifting.” “You are not ready for the full reality of what is coming. No one is,” wrote “proud American Jew” influencer Jaimee Michell. Imtiaz Mahmood, who described himself as an Israel supporter and “Abraham accord activist,” posted a lengthy dissertation on El-Sayed and the state’s Muslim population “which has roughly quadrupled since the 1990s, driven by waves of refugees from Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and Syria that Washington welcomed with open arms.” Mahmood is not wrong. The Arab American population in Michigan has grown by more than 87 percent since 2000, expanding from roughly 150,000 to as high as 400,000 currently, according to some reports. The website Arab America explains: Because Arab Americans are not officially recognized as a federal minority group, it is hard to determine the exact number of Arab Americans in Michigan. The estimates range from 409,000 to 490,000 based on information from the Michigan Health Department and the Zogby International polls respectively. In the Greater Detroit area, estimates range from 300,000 to 350,000. While the latest Zogby polls rank Michigan’s Arab-American population as second largest in the U.S., after California, Michigan’s Arab-American community in Southeast Michigan still has the greatest local concentration (California’s Arab-American population is much more spread out). Dearborn and parts of Detroit are also represented by “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) who in 2018 because the first Palestinian American woman to be elected to Congress. Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel, a former reporter for the Detroit News and a former Dearborn resident, is the best-selling author of Masquerade: A True Story of Seduction, Compulsion and Murder, the story of the double life of an elite Detroit psychologist with a young street prostitute which was revealed only after his murder and dismemberment. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.