Three days after Abdul El-Sayed won a historic election as America's first Muslim senator, a driver navigating a black luxury GMC Yukon Denali SUV pulled into a parking space beside a side security entrance of an upscale Marriott conference center here in this suburb of Washington, D.C., at 7:39 p.m. on Friday.
asserted
driver → win → Friday
A man jumped out of the front passenger seat and opened the rear door, from which El-Sayed emerged for an appearance at the Arab America Foundation's "CONNECT Empowerment Summit," hosted by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose leaders had supported his election.
asserted
leaders → jump → election
As the man extended an arm to shield El-Sayed, the senator-elect dipped out of the SUV, slipping on a jacket as he climbed the steps toward the entrance.
asserted
he → extend → entrance
The Democratic Party's newly minted rock star had arrived, in more ways than one.
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star → mint → one
The ensuing 45 minutes offered a window into some of the activists, organizations, political rhetoric and cultural forces surrounding the El-Sayed's dramatic rise, buoyed by an increasingly powerful coalition that includes many disaffected Democrats, but also outright Islamists and communists in an unlikely alliance.
asserted
that → ensue → alliance
Inside, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, a far-left nonprofit, paced in the hallway in a fuchsia tunic over leggings and white boots.
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Benjamin → pace → leggings
CodePink is a pro-communist, pro-China nonprofit funded by Neville Roy Singham, an American-born, Shanghai-based tycoon whose financing of left-wing nonprofits has drawn congressional and prosecutorial scrutiny.
asserted
financing → fund → scrutiny
Nearby, Benjamin's husband and fellow CodePink activist, Tighe Barry, wore a traditional Chinese jacket under a khaki Mao-style cap emblazoned with a five-point star associated with communist iconography.
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husband → wear → iconography
He carried a backpack patterned with a keffiyeh pattern and watermelons, symbols adopted by pro-Palestinian activists.
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He → carry → activists
His political rise has been supported by prominent anti-Israel activists including Linda Sarsour and left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who has called Hamas "1,000 times better" than Israel, a remark he later described as intentionally provocative.
asserted
he → support → Israel
Friday night provided a firsthand view of another part of that coalition.
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night → provide → coalition
They were among activists and representatives of organizations from different ideological traditions that have converged around El-Sayed — part of what Fox News Digital has examined as a "red-green" network linking elements of the socialist and communist hard-left with Muslim and Arab advocacy organizations.
asserted
Digital → converge → organizations
The gathering itself didn't fit neatly into a fundamentalist religious mold, amid questions about Islamism, or political Islam, and the Muslim Brotherhood that have followed El-Sayed.
asserted
that → fit → Sayed
He has denied being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, although his family reportedly has ties to the organization and he himself has written favorably about the organization's leaders.
uncertain
he → deny → leaders
Women danced and sang with bare shoulders and flowing hair, underscoring the secular and openly cultural character of much of the celebration.
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Women → dance → celebration
A table for Jinba Village and School outside Hebron in the West Bank displayed a flyer reading, "End Settler Outposts: Make Palestinian Villages Safe.
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Villages → display → Outposts
Another table offered keffiyehs with designs replacing the traditional fishbone pattern with the outlines of Palestinian territory.
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table → offer → territory
Along the far corner of the ballroom, a collection of gifts for a fundraiser included a handcrafted wooden "silhouette of Palestine, painted in the iconic colors of the Palestinian flag" by artist Hasan Munem.
asserted
collection → include → Munem
Benjamin eventually took a seat beside Hazami Barmada, a prominent Syrian American anti-Israel activist who has deployed political theater and demonstrations across Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., storming the offices of Palantir Technologies, Lockheed-Martin and PETA, the animal rights advocates, and confronting Biden and Trump administration officials to cut ties with Israel.
asserted
who → take → Israel
Barmada wore a keffiyeh over her hair like a turban.
asserted
Barmada → wear → turban
Benjamin, Barry and Barmada declined to answer questions from Fox News Digital.
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Benjamin → decline → Digital
Their presence put figures from different wings of the political coalition around El-Sayed in the same room: activists from the socialist, pro-communist Left alongside Arab, Muslim and pro-Palestinian activists and organizations that supported his candidacy.
asserted
that → put → candidacy
Fox News Digital has tracked the intersection of those movements as a "red-green" network — the "red" referring to socialist and communist organizations and "green" to Muslim and Arab political organizations.
asserted
Digital → track → organizations
The groups don't share a single ideology or formal organizational structure but have converged around causes including opposition to Israel and U.S. foreign policy.
asserted
groups → share → Israel
Co-founders Warren David and Dr. Amal David started the Arab America Foundation as an educational and cultural organization dedicated to promoting Arab heritage and connecting and empowering Arab Americans nationwide.
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David → start → Americans
Now they were waiting to greet the country's first Muslim senator.
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they → wait → senator
The foundation describes itself as nonpartisan, but political participation features prominently in its programming.
asserted
participation → describe → programming
The next morning, the summit's "Leading from the Front," included Abbas Alawieh and Layla Elabed, co-chairs of the Uncommitted National Movement, which organized Democratic voters in 2024 to cast "uncommitted" ballots in protest of the Biden administration's policies toward Israel and the war in Gaza.
asserted
which → lead → Gaza
El-Sayed supported the Uncommitted effort.
asserted
Sayed → support → effort
Also on the roster was Anas Shallal, CEO of the Washington, D.C., restaurant and bookstore, Bus Boys and Poets, which has hosted events involving left-wing organizations, including groups in the Singham network such as CodePink, on issues ranging from Israel and the Trump administration and Israel to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
asserted
which → host → Enforcement
The summit also included Arab American Institute founder James Zogby among dozens of artists, musicians and business, government and community leaders.
asserted
summit → include → artists
Benjamin, Barry and Barmada rushed into one hallway before being directed back toward another as organizers and supporters tried to determine where El-Sayed would enter.
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Sayed → rush → another
Supporters eventually gathered near a doorway beside displays depicting Israel and the Palestinian territories as a single state of Palestine.
asserted
Supporters → gather → Palestine
At 7:51 p.m., El-Sayed finally appeared through a side door, beaming.
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Sayed → appear → door
The ballroom erupted in zaghrouta, high-pitched celebratory ululations traditionally heard at Arab weddings.
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ballroom → erupt → weddings
In his khaki Mao-style cap, Barry filmed the arriving senator-elect on his phone, as El-Sayed passed Benjamin and Barmada, then then swung his camera toward Benjamin, who pumped her hands near her shoulders in celebration.
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who → film → celebration
Supporters cheered as El-Sayed made his way onto the stage.
asserted
Sayed → cheer → stage
Before the senator-elect even began his remarks, another office entered the conversation: the presidency.
asserted
office → begin → conversation
Emcee Ameera David, a journalist and daughter of the co-founders, told the audience that her seven-year-old Egyptian American son had awakened Wednesday morning after El-Sayed's victory and asked her, "Mom, can he run for president?"
asserted
he → tell → president
"Yeah!" someone shouted as the room exploded in cheers and applause.
asserted
room → shout → cheers
…and 108 more, not listed.
The Aporia
