A prominent Shi’ite Muslim cleric in Michigan celebrated the death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and asked worshippers to pray for President Donald Trump’s death, before later urging Muslims to elect Abdul El-Sayed, who this week won the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s US Senate seat.
Mohammad Baqer Qazwini made the remarks during a July 17 Friday sermon at the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights, according to footage published Friday by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). MEMRI identified the original source as the Islamic Institute of America’s YouTube channel. The remarks in the clip were delivered in English.
Qazwini told worshippers he had awakened to “very good news” following Graham’s death and said Allah had taken the senator’s soul to hell.
He blamed Graham for what he called the “genocide in Gaza” and for the deaths of civilians in Lebanon, and described the senator’s death as “a slap” from Allah that Graham had not anticipated.
Qazwini then turned to Trump.
He asked worshippers to raise their hands and pray that Allah would also take “the friend of Lindsey Graham,” referring to the president, according to the footage. Qazwini said Allah could bring about sudden miracles and ended the passage by calling for victory for Islam and Muslims.
Imam said Muslims had responsibility to elect El-Sayed
Graham, 71, died on July 11 from an aortic dissection caused by cardiovascular disease. The South Carolina Republican had become one of Israel’s strongest supporters in Congress and a close Trump ally, advocating military assistance for Israel and a hard line against Iran.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Graham one of Israel’s greatest friends after his death and said the senator understood that “the security of Israel and America are inseparable.” President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Defense Minister Israel Katz and other Israeli officials also paid tribute to him.
The political significance of Qazwini’s remarks increased two weeks later, when he publicly backed El-Sayed ahead of Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary.
In his July 31 sermon, Mohammad Baqer Qazwini said Muslim men and women had a responsibility to elect El-Sayed because he was Muslim and would support issues important to Muslims in the United States, according to MEMRI’s account of the sermon.
Four days later, Michigan voters went to the polls.
El-Sayed, a 41-year-old physician and former Detroit health director, narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens and secured the Democratic nomination. He will face Republican former congressman Mike Rogers in November in a race that could help determine control of the Senate. El-Sayed would become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate if he wins.
Mohammad Baqer Qazwini is based at the Islamic Institute of America and studied for 10 years at the Shi’ite seminary in Qom, Iran, according to his biography at Al-Hujjah Islamic Seminary. He also holds a sociology degree from the University of Michigan.
His endorsement came alongside a broader effort by leaders at the Islamic Institute to mobilize support for El-Sayed.
Hassan Qazwini, who founded the Islamic Institute of America in 2015, repeatedly urged worshippers to back El-Sayed during sermons in the final days of the primary, according to footage reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
During a July 24 sermon, Hassan Qazwini described voting for El-Sayed as a “moral responsibility” and a “religious duty,” while accusing the pro-Israel lobby of attempting to influence Michigan voters.
In a July 31 sermon, he told worshippers that their votes represented a powerful tool and urged them to “deal the Zionist a bigger blow” by voting against Stevens, whom he portrayed as serving Israeli interests. The Islamic Institute and El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to the Free Beacon’s requests for comment for its August 3 report.
The two clerics’ support for El-Sayed followed the candidate’s own appearance at the Islamic Institute weeks earlier.
El-Sayed appeared at Islamic Institute opening
El-Sayed attended the June 6 dedication of the Islamic Institute’s new campus in Dearborn Heights, joining Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun and other political and religious figures.
Local Arab-American media reported that El-Sayed spoke about the responsibility of mosques to feed the hungry, assist vulnerable people, promote justice and strengthen their communities.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that El-Sayed called attending the opening an “honor and a privilege,” praised the new mosque and congratulated Hassan Qazwini. El-Sayed also used his remarks to criticize US support for Israel and accuse Israel of committing genocide with American taxpayer support.
The new Islamic Institute complex, built on seven acres in Dearborn Heights, cost approximately $16 million and includes a mosque accommodating more than 1,100 worshippers, educational facilities, youth programs and community spaces.
The Free Beacon has previously documented a series of inflammatory remarks by Hassan Qazwini, including statements concerning Israel, Iran and Hezbollah. Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign publicly denounced what it called Qazwini’s “antisemitic conspiracy theories” and “toxic” rhetoric after the imam appeared at a Sanders campaign event.
There is no indication in the material published by MEMRI that El-Sayed participated in, knew about or endorsed Mohammad Baqer Qazwini’s July 17 comments about Graham and Trump.
The Jerusalem Post also did not locate a public response from El-Sayed specifically addressing those newly published remarks as of Friday afternoon.
El-Sayed rejects accusations of antisemitism
El-Sayed has repeatedly rejected accusations that his criticism of Israel reflects hostility toward Jews.
After winning the primary, he directly appealed to Jewish voters, calling them his “sisters and brothers” and pledging to protect their safety. His campaign has centered its Israel policy on opposition to unconditional US military assistance, a position he has said should also apply to countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this year, after Jewish Insider reported that a campaign donor had posted antisemitic material online, El-Sayed’s campaign refunded the donation and said he “condemns any and all antisemitic or racist comments made, no matter who or where they come from.”
He also condemned a March attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, saying Jewish Americans had the right to worship safely and declaring that there was “no room for antisemitism in America.”
His handling of that attack nevertheless drew criticism from Michigan Jewish leaders after El-Sayed later discussed the attacker’s family losses in Lebanon and said that “hurt people hurt people.”
Temple Israel Rabbi Jen Lader called that framing “offensive” and argued that an attack on a Michigan synagogue could not be explained through Israeli actions overseas. El-Sayed subsequently told JTA that nothing justified the attack and said he would always defend the rights of his “Jewish sisters and brothers.”
Michigan Democratic state Rep. Noah Arbit, whose district includes West Bloomfield and who grew up attending Temple Israel, was even more critical at the time, accusing El-Sayed of having “done more than most to stoke & inflame hatred against Jews.”
Those comments preceded the newly released Qazwini footage.
Trump, Republicans target El-Sayed
El-Sayed’s views on Israel have already emerged as a major line of Republican attack following his primary victory.
Trump wrote on social media Wednesday that El-Sayed was a “Communist loser who hates Jews and Israel” and described his nomination as good news for Republicans. El-Sayed does not identify as a communist and has rejected allegations of antisemitism.
Rogers, his Republican opponent, said the November contest presented voters with a choice between “common sense or complete insanity,” while Republican campaign organizations have described El-Sayed as one of the most radical Senate nominees in the country.
The Democratic primary had already become one of the country’s most expensive and closely watched battles over Israel policy. Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside spending from a pro-Israel super PAC, while El-Sayed repeatedly used that spending to cast himself as a grassroots candidate challenging powerful political interests.
El-Sayed’s victory has now moved that argument into a general election in a state Trump carried in 2024 and that Democrats likely need to hold if they hope to regain control of the Senate.