Three days after Abdul El-Sayed won election as America’s first Muslim senator, his arrival at the Arab America Foundation’s CONNECT Empowerment Summit looked like a celebrity entrance. A black luxury GMC Yukon Denali reached [1] a side security entrance of an upscale Marriott conference center in Chantilly, Virginia, at 7:39 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2026.
A man opened the rear door and shielded El-Sayed as the incoming senator stepped from the vehicle, put on a jacket, and climbed toward the entrance. The Democratic Party’s newly minted star had arrived for an event hosted by a nonprofit whose leaders supported his election.
Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed walks past a Fox News Digital reporter, declining to answer a question about his newly launched political action committee, Habibi PAC.
The exchange takes place as El-Sayed arrives to speak at an Arab America Foundation conference on Friday.
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— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 9, 2026 [2]
The next 45 minutes displayed the activists, organizations and political rhetoric surrounding El-Sayed’s rise. His coalition includes disaffected Democrats, Muslim and Arab advocacy organizations, communists and Islamists.
Medea Benjamin, a cofounder of CodePink, waited inside the conference center with her husband and fellow activist, Tighe Barry. CodePink is described as a pro communist and pro-China nonprofit funded by American born, Shanghai based tycoon Neville Roy Singham, whose financing of left-wing nonprofits has drawn congressional and prosecutorial scrutiny.
A new generation in Congress, and a renewed sense of hope.
At the Arab American Foundation event, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed spoke about an America that lives up to its highest ideals: one that stands for democracy, upholds international law, opposes genocide, and invests in people instead of bombs and tanks.
For many in the Arab American community, this moment represents both hope and an opportunity to demand meaningful change.
Hope is only the beginning. The work of holding Congress accountable continues.
— Medea Benjamin (@medeabenjamin) November 8, 2026 [3]
Barry wore a traditional Chinese jacket and a khaki Mao-style cap marked with a five point star associated with communist imagery. He also carried a backpack featuring a keffiyeh pattern and watermelons, symbols adopted by supporters of the Palestinian cause.
El-Sayed has also received support from prominent anti-Israel activists, including Linda Sarsour and streamer Hasan Piker. Piker has called Hamas “1,000 times better” than Israel, a comment he later described as intentionally provocative.
The gathering illustrated what Fox News Digital has examined as a red-green network. The red refers to socialist and communist organizations, while the green refers to Muslim and Arab political organizations that have converged around opposition to Israel and United States foreign policy.
The celebration itself was openly cultural rather than strictly religious. Women danced and sang, while tables offered keffiyehs, fundraising gifts and material supporting Palestinian villages, including artwork depicting Palestinian territory in the colors of the Palestinian flag.
Benjamin sat beside Hazami Barmada, a Syrian American activist who has staged demonstrations across Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Barmada has confronted officials from the Biden and Trump administrations and participated in actions targeting Palantir Technologies, Lockheed Martin and PETA.
Benjamin, Barry and Barmada declined to answer questions from Fox News Digital. Their presence nevertheless placed socialist and pro communist activists in the same room with Arab, Muslim and pro-Palestinian organizations that backed El-Sayed’s candidacy.
The Arab America Foundation describes itself as nonpartisan, although political participation appeared prominently in the summit’s programming. Scheduled participants included Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed, co-chairs of the Uncommitted National Movement, which organized Democratic voters in 2024 to protest the Biden administration’s policies toward Israel and the Gaza war.
“Michigan is the capital of Arab America.”
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed makes the claim during remarks in Washington, D.C., pointing to Michigan’s large Arab American population. https://t.co/xpY51R2IEp
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 7, 2026 [4]
When El-Sayed entered the ballroom at 7:51 p.m., supporters greeted him with cheers and zaghrouta, celebratory ululations traditionally heard at Arab weddings. Ameera David, the emcee and daughter of the foundation’s cofounders, told the audience her seven year old son had asked, “Mom, can he run for president?”
The presidential chatter came hours after El-Sayed registered Habibi PAC with the Federal Election Commission as a leadership PAC separate from his principal campaign committee. The committee provides a vehicle to raise money and contribute to candidates and political committees, although El-Sayed said he wants to serve Michigan in the Senate.
Arab America Foundation Chair Issam Andoni then praised El-Sayed’s victory and attacked Trump, Republicans, and what he called the “Democrat Zionist.” Referring to El-Sayed’s primary and general election victories, Andoni declared, “You destroyed AIPAC twice,” and predicted the movement surrounding him would continue growing and connecting with other movements.
Andoni also called for “a free Palestine from the river to the sea” and later said, “A free Palestine, free Palestine from the river to the sea. Free from occupation. Free from Zionists. And free from corruption. And free from apartheid.” El-Sayed listened with his hands clasped before briefly embracing Andoni.
Council on American-Islamic Relations Virginia organizer Abdullah Abualrub, speaking in his personal capacity, told Fox News Digital that Palestinians should have a right to return to their country. El-Sayed’s spokeswoman did not respond to a request for his position on a one state solution involving a Palestinian right of return to Israel.
During El-Sayed’s remarks, some supporters blocked a Fox News Digital reporter from filming near the stage and repeatedly demanded that the credentialed reporter move. The foundation’s cofounders eventually intervened and told them to stop harassing the reporter.
At the microphone, El-Sayed identified himself as Abdul-Rehman Mohammed El-Sayed and said he was honored to become Michigan’s next United States senator. He later criticized America’s conduct within the international system, declaring, “We led the effort in this country to build a rules-based international order,” before accusing the country of violating those same ideals.