{"id":2305,"date":"2026-08-15T15:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T15:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305"},"modified":"2026-08-15T15:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T15:07:53","slug":"el-sayed-to-speak-at-conference-that-will-include-cleric-who-forced-13-year-old-into-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305","title":{"rendered":"El-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will spend Labor Day weekend speaking at a Muslim conference alongside an antisemitic cleric who said he forced his 13-year-old niece into marriage.<\/p>

Read more Multiple People Shot At Virginia State University<\/a><\/p>

El-Sayed, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan, is slated to speak at the Islamic Society of North America\u2019s annual convention, held in Detroit from September 4-7, The Washington Free Beacon reported. ISNA was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 federal prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation, and a judge ruled in 2009 that the government had presented \u201cample evidence\u201d tying the group to Hamas.<\/p>

Also on the convention roster is Tariq Masood, a Pakistani cleric who has urged followers to marry off their young female relatives, citing his own niece\u2019s marriage at 13.<\/p>

Masood is scheduled to moderate a panel on \u201cavoiding mental illness in youth\u201d aimed at addressing how parents \u201ccan prevent or minimize the impact of any trauma leading to a mental illness.\u201d He will moderate that session alongside ISNA president Syed Imtiaz Ahmad, who is separately listed on El-Sayed\u2019s own panel, according to the convention itinerary.<\/p>

Masood has also preached against Jews. In a 2024 sermon titled \u201cThe Final Humiliation of the Jews,\u201d he said Jews\u2019 \u201ccunning minds\u201d had worked to bring the world under their control, according to translations reviewed by the Free Beacon. \u201cThe Quran condemns Jews,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cnot all Jews are the same\u201d before claiming no other community in the world matched Jews for \u201cevil and turmoil.\u201d<\/p>

The El-Sayed campaign told The Daily Wire on Saturday that the Democrat \u201cdoes not endorse\u201d anyone speaking at the conference.<\/p>

\u201cAbdul is not affiliated with and does not endorse any other participant of the conference,\u201d El-Sayed\u2019s communications director Roxie Richner said. \u201cHe is scheduled to participate in a different panel at the ISNA conference to speak on unity and commitment to justice in public service.\u201d<\/p>

El-Sayed is scheduled to speak on a panel titled \u201cCultivating God Awareness in a Turmoiled America.\u201d Ahmad is listed on that panel as well, alongside Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks founder and uncle of America-hating streamer Hasan Piker.<\/p>

Read more DFW Airport Scraps Islamic Foot-Washing Stations After Governor Threatens Its Funding<\/a><\/p>

El-Sayed\u2019s panel discussion is advertised as a way to push Muslim Americans and their faith into the public square.<\/p>

\u201cIn this storm, remaining principled, morally clear, and emotionally steady is essential for Muslim Americans,\u201d the ISNA wrote. \u201cISNA meets the moment by framing taqwa (God-Awareness) not only as personal piety but as a public strategy for success. It urges the Muslim community to mobilize taqwa to uphold unity, ethical integrity, and an uncompromised commitment to justice. This session turns taqwa into actionable guidance, equipping participants not merely to survive but to thrive in workplaces, schools, digital spaces, and community life \u2014 and to succeed on their own terms.\u201d<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>

El-Sayed\u2019s ties to ISNA are also familial and financial. His father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, has sat on the group\u2019s founders committee since at least 2007 and also serves on the board of CAIR\u2019s Michigan chapter, according to the Free Beacon. Jukaku has given $300,000 to a super PAC backing El-Sayed\u2019s Senate bid.<\/p>

Another scheduled speaker is Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn imam who testified as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the \u201cblind sheikh\u201d convicted in 1995 of plotting a wave of New York terror attacks. Prosecutors listed Wahhaj among roughly 170 people who might be named as co-conspirators in that case, though he was never charged and the lead prosecutor has said inclusion on the list did not mean the government alleged he was a conspirator.<\/p>

The leftist Democratic Senate nominee narrowly won his party\u2019s primary earlier this month pushing a far-Left agenda that includes Medicare for all and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the recent past, he has also called to defund the police and restructure the U.S. Supreme Court, both issues that are pushed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). While El-Sayed has said that he doesn\u2019t identify as a socialist, the Democrat rode a wave of DSA support in his primary election.<\/p>

El-Sayed campaigned alongside Hasan Piker ahead of the primary and has resisted calls to cut ties with him, dismissing Piker\u2019s claim that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11\u201d as a \u201cdumb statement.\u201d Asked on Meet the Press<\/em> whether he would campaign with the communist streamer again, El-Sayed said he was \u201ca lot more focused on who I\u2019m campaigning to.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Multiple People Shot At Virginia State University<\/a><\/p>

El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.<\/p><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will spend Labor Day weekend speaking at a Muslim conference alongside an antisemitic cleric who said he forced his 13-year-old niece into marriage.El-Sayed, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan, is slated to speak at the Islamic Society of North America\u2019s annual convention, held in Detroit from September 4-7, The Washington Free Beacon reported. ISNA was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 federal prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation, and a judge ruled in 2009 that the government had presented \u201cample evidence\u201d tying the group to Hamas.Also on the convention roster is Tariq Masood, a Pakistani cleric who has urged followers to marry off their young female relatives, citing his own niece\u2019s marriage at 13.Masood is scheduled to moderate a panel on \u201cavoiding mental illness in youth\u201d aimed at addressing how parents \u201ccan prevent or minimize the impact of any trauma leading to a mental illness.\u201d He will moderate that session alongside ISNA president Syed Imtiaz Ahmad, who is separately listed on El-Sayed\u2019s own panel, according to the convention itinerary.Masood has also preached against Jews. In a 2024 sermon titled \u201cThe Final Humiliation of the Jews,\u201d he said Jews\u2019 \u201ccunning minds\u201d had worked to bring the world under their control, according to translations reviewed by the Free Beacon. \u201cThe Quran condemns Jews,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cnot all Jews are the same\u201d before claiming no other community in the world matched Jews for \u201cevil and turmoil.\u201dThe El-Sayed campaign told The Daily Wire on Saturday that the Democrat \u201cdoes not endorse\u201d anyone speaking at the conference.\u201cAbdul is not affiliated with and does not endorse any other participant of the conference,\u201d El-Sayed\u2019s communications director Roxie Richner said. \u201cHe is scheduled to participate in a different panel at the ISNA conference to speak on unity and commitment to justice in public service.\u201dEl-Sayed is scheduled to speak on a panel titled \u201cCultivating God Awareness in a Turmoiled America.\u201d Ahmad is listed on that panel as well, alongside Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks founder and uncle of America-hating streamer Hasan Piker.El-Sayed\u2019s panel discussion is advertised as a way to push Muslim Americans and their faith into the public square.\u201cIn this storm, remaining principled, morally clear, and emotionally steady is essential for Muslim Americans,\u201d the ISNA wrote. \u201cISNA meets the moment by framing taqwa (God-Awareness) not only as personal piety but as a public strategy for success. It urges the Muslim community to mobilize taqwa to uphold unity, ethical integrity, and an uncompromised commitment to justice. This session turns taqwa into actionable guidance, equipping participants not merely to survive but to thrive in workplaces, schools, digital spaces, and community life \u2014 and to succeed on their own terms.\u201d El-Sayed\u2019s ties to ISNA are also familial and financial. His father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, has sat on the group\u2019s founders committee since at least 2007 and also serves on the board of CAIR\u2019s Michigan chapter, according to the Free Beacon. Jukaku has given $300,000 to a super PAC backing El-Sayed\u2019s Senate bid.Another scheduled speaker is Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn imam who testified as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the \u201cblind sheikh\u201d convicted in 1995 of plotting a wave of New York terror attacks. Prosecutors listed Wahhaj among roughly 170 people who might be named as co-conspirators in that case, though he was never charged and the lead prosecutor has said inclusion on the list did not mean the government alleged he was a conspirator.The leftist Democratic Senate nominee narrowly won his party\u2019s primary earlier this month pushing a far-Left agenda that includes Medicare for all and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the recent past, he has also called to defund the police and restructure the U.S. Supreme Court, both issues that are pushed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). While El-Sayed has said that he doesn\u2019t identify as a socialist, the Democrat rode a wave of DSA support in his primary election.El-Sayed campaigned alongside Hasan Piker ahead of the primary and has resisted calls to cut ties with him, dismissing Piker\u2019s claim that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11\u201d as a \u201cdumb statement.\u201d Asked on Meet the Press whether he would campaign with the communist streamer again, El-Sayed said he was \u201ca lot more focused on who I\u2019m campaigning to.\u201dEl-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2"],"yoast_head":"\nEl-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage - Blue Route Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"El-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage - Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will spend Labor Day weekend speaking at a Muslim conference alongside an antisemitic cleric who said he forced his 13-year-old niece into marriage.El-Sayed, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan, is slated to speak at the Islamic Society of North America\u2019s annual convention, held in Detroit from September 4-7, The Washington Free Beacon reported. ISNA was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 federal prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation, and a judge ruled in 2009 that the government had presented \u201cample evidence\u201d tying the group to Hamas.Also on the convention roster is Tariq Masood, a Pakistani cleric who has urged followers to marry off their young female relatives, citing his own niece\u2019s marriage at 13.Masood is scheduled to moderate a panel on \u201cavoiding mental illness in youth\u201d aimed at addressing how parents \u201ccan prevent or minimize the impact of any trauma leading to a mental illness.\u201d He will moderate that session alongside ISNA president Syed Imtiaz Ahmad, who is separately listed on El-Sayed\u2019s own panel, according to the convention itinerary.Masood has also preached against Jews. In a 2024 sermon titled \u201cThe Final Humiliation of the Jews,\u201d he said Jews\u2019 \u201ccunning minds\u201d had worked to bring the world under their control, according to translations reviewed by the Free Beacon. \u201cThe Quran condemns Jews,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cnot all Jews are the same\u201d before claiming no other community in the world matched Jews for \u201cevil and turmoil.\u201dThe El-Sayed campaign told The Daily Wire on Saturday that the Democrat \u201cdoes not endorse\u201d anyone speaking at the conference.\u201cAbdul is not affiliated with and does not endorse any other participant of the conference,\u201d El-Sayed\u2019s communications director Roxie Richner said. \u201cHe is scheduled to participate in a different panel at the ISNA conference to speak on unity and commitment to justice in public service.\u201dEl-Sayed is scheduled to speak on a panel titled \u201cCultivating God Awareness in a Turmoiled America.\u201d Ahmad is listed on that panel as well, alongside Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks founder and uncle of America-hating streamer Hasan Piker.El-Sayed\u2019s panel discussion is advertised as a way to push Muslim Americans and their faith into the public square.\u201cIn this storm, remaining principled, morally clear, and emotionally steady is essential for Muslim Americans,\u201d the ISNA wrote. \u201cISNA meets the moment by framing taqwa (God-Awareness) not only as personal piety but as a public strategy for success. It urges the Muslim community to mobilize taqwa to uphold unity, ethical integrity, and an uncompromised commitment to justice. This session turns taqwa into actionable guidance, equipping participants not merely to survive but to thrive in workplaces, schools, digital spaces, and community life \u2014 and to succeed on their own terms.\u201d El-Sayed\u2019s ties to ISNA are also familial and financial. His father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, has sat on the group\u2019s founders committee since at least 2007 and also serves on the board of CAIR\u2019s Michigan chapter, according to the Free Beacon. Jukaku has given $300,000 to a super PAC backing El-Sayed\u2019s Senate bid.Another scheduled speaker is Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn imam who testified as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the \u201cblind sheikh\u201d convicted in 1995 of plotting a wave of New York terror attacks. Prosecutors listed Wahhaj among roughly 170 people who might be named as co-conspirators in that case, though he was never charged and the lead prosecutor has said inclusion on the list did not mean the government alleged he was a conspirator.The leftist Democratic Senate nominee narrowly won his party\u2019s primary earlier this month pushing a far-Left agenda that includes Medicare for all and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the recent past, he has also called to defund the police and restructure the U.S. Supreme Court, both issues that are pushed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). While El-Sayed has said that he doesn\u2019t identify as a socialist, the Democrat rode a wave of DSA support in his primary election.El-Sayed campaigned alongside Hasan Piker ahead of the primary and has resisted calls to cut ties with him, dismissing Piker\u2019s claim that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11\u201d as a \u201cdumb statement.\u201d Asked on Meet the Press whether he would campaign with the communist streamer again, El-Sayed said he was \u201ca lot more focused on who I\u2019m campaigning to.\u201dEl-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-15T15:07:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=2305#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=2305\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"headline\":\"El-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-15T15:07:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=2305\"},\"wordCount\":778,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=2305#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/c9a068340aac355a86946ee561e6daff.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=2305#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=2305\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=2305\",\"name\":\"El-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage - 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Blue Route Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"El-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage - Blue Route Journal","og_description":"Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will spend Labor Day weekend speaking at a Muslim conference alongside an antisemitic cleric who said he forced his 13-year-old niece into marriage.El-Sayed, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Michigan, is slated to speak at the Islamic Society of North America\u2019s annual convention, held in Detroit from September 4-7, The Washington Free Beacon reported. ISNA was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 federal prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation, and a judge ruled in 2009 that the government had presented \u201cample evidence\u201d tying the group to Hamas.Also on the convention roster is Tariq Masood, a Pakistani cleric who has urged followers to marry off their young female relatives, citing his own niece\u2019s marriage at 13.Masood is scheduled to moderate a panel on \u201cavoiding mental illness in youth\u201d aimed at addressing how parents \u201ccan prevent or minimize the impact of any trauma leading to a mental illness.\u201d He will moderate that session alongside ISNA president Syed Imtiaz Ahmad, who is separately listed on El-Sayed\u2019s own panel, according to the convention itinerary.Masood has also preached against Jews. In a 2024 sermon titled \u201cThe Final Humiliation of the Jews,\u201d he said Jews\u2019 \u201ccunning minds\u201d had worked to bring the world under their control, according to translations reviewed by the Free Beacon. \u201cThe Quran condemns Jews,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cnot all Jews are the same\u201d before claiming no other community in the world matched Jews for \u201cevil and turmoil.\u201dThe El-Sayed campaign told The Daily Wire on Saturday that the Democrat \u201cdoes not endorse\u201d anyone speaking at the conference.\u201cAbdul is not affiliated with and does not endorse any other participant of the conference,\u201d El-Sayed\u2019s communications director Roxie Richner said. \u201cHe is scheduled to participate in a different panel at the ISNA conference to speak on unity and commitment to justice in public service.\u201dEl-Sayed is scheduled to speak on a panel titled \u201cCultivating God Awareness in a Turmoiled America.\u201d Ahmad is listed on that panel as well, alongside Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks founder and uncle of America-hating streamer Hasan Piker.El-Sayed\u2019s panel discussion is advertised as a way to push Muslim Americans and their faith into the public square.\u201cIn this storm, remaining principled, morally clear, and emotionally steady is essential for Muslim Americans,\u201d the ISNA wrote. \u201cISNA meets the moment by framing taqwa (God-Awareness) not only as personal piety but as a public strategy for success. It urges the Muslim community to mobilize taqwa to uphold unity, ethical integrity, and an uncompromised commitment to justice. This session turns taqwa into actionable guidance, equipping participants not merely to survive but to thrive in workplaces, schools, digital spaces, and community life \u2014 and to succeed on their own terms.\u201d El-Sayed\u2019s ties to ISNA are also familial and financial. His father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, has sat on the group\u2019s founders committee since at least 2007 and also serves on the board of CAIR\u2019s Michigan chapter, according to the Free Beacon. Jukaku has given $300,000 to a super PAC backing El-Sayed\u2019s Senate bid.Another scheduled speaker is Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn imam who testified as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the \u201cblind sheikh\u201d convicted in 1995 of plotting a wave of New York terror attacks. Prosecutors listed Wahhaj among roughly 170 people who might be named as co-conspirators in that case, though he was never charged and the lead prosecutor has said inclusion on the list did not mean the government alleged he was a conspirator.The leftist Democratic Senate nominee narrowly won his party\u2019s primary earlier this month pushing a far-Left agenda that includes Medicare for all and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In the recent past, he has also called to defund the police and restructure the U.S. Supreme Court, both issues that are pushed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). While El-Sayed has said that he doesn\u2019t identify as a socialist, the Democrat rode a wave of DSA support in his primary election.El-Sayed campaigned alongside Hasan Piker ahead of the primary and has resisted calls to cut ties with him, dismissing Piker\u2019s claim that \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11\u201d as a \u201cdumb statement.\u201d Asked on Meet the Press whether he would campaign with the communist streamer again, El-Sayed said he was \u201ca lot more focused on who I\u2019m campaigning to.\u201dEl-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.","og_url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305","og_site_name":"Blue Route Journal","article_published_time":"2026-08-15T15:07:53+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"headline":"El-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage","datePublished":"2026-08-15T15:07:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305"},"wordCount":778,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/c9a068340aac355a86946ee561e6daff.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=2305","name":"El-Sayed To Speak At Conference That Will Include Cleric Who Forced 13-Year-Old Into Marriage - 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