The Washington Free Beacon uncovered a 2012 Arabic letter in which then‑medical student Abdul El‑Sayed, then a Columbia graduate, signed his name urging President Mohamed Morsi to “purge the media and the police.”
Forty‑six Egyptian‑American leaders endorsed Morsi’s sweeping powers as “revolutionary,” according to the same document, which Al‑Ahram Gate published in November 2012, just days after Morsi assumed expanded authority.
Signature No. 33 read “Dr. Abdul Rahman El‑Sayed” of New York, the Free Beacon confirmed, identifying the future Senate candidate as the signatory.
El‑Sayed’s campaign declined to comment when asked for a response.
Morsi’s power grab drew immediate condemnation; a liberal Egyptian legislator called it “outright tyranny,” and Human Rights Watch warned the move gutted the rule of law.
The crackdown that followed saw journalists hauled into court for alleged insults to Islam and the president, while critical outlets were shuttered, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.
Morsi’s brief rule ended in 2013 when the military ousted him and Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
Brotherhood Connections
El‑Sayed previously argued in 2011 columns for the Huffington Post and the Guardian that a Brotherhood takeover would not resemble Iran or Hamas, a stance the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) now cites as evidence of his long‑standing sympathy.
His father‑in‑law leads an Islamic group linked to the Brotherhood and contributes heavily to a super PAC supporting El‑Sayed’s campaign, Mariam Wahba of the FDD told the Free Beacon, adding that the connection “should raise serious questions.”
The FDD’s 2025 research memo described the Brotherhood as a “gateway” to terrorism, noting its role in spawning Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981, and al‑Qaeda leader Ayman al‑Zawahiri, a Brotherhood alumnus who merged the group into al‑Qaeda in 1993.
Recent actions underscore the group’s ongoing threat: Jordanian authorities busted Brotherhood‑linked cells in 2025 that were manufacturing rockets and drones before banning the organization, and a Lebanese affiliate claimed responsibility for rockets fired on northern Israel alongside Hezbollah.
In Yemen, a co‑founder of the Brotherhood‑aligned Islah party was blacklisted by the Treasury Department over his ties to Osama bin Laden, while U.S. courts have convicted Brotherhood affiliates for financing Hamas and al‑Qaeda.
U.S. Crackdown
The Treasury Department imposed terror designations on the Brotherhood’s Egyptian and Jordanian branches in January, and in July sanctioned a senior Egyptian official accused of funneling funds to Hamas‑linked institutions and providing financial assistance through Brotherhood networks.
