{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/politics/abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists","slug":"abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists","url":"https://mediabias.news/politics/abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists","title":"Abdul El-Sayed led protest against speakers described as 'ex-terrorists'","subtitle":"A 2007 University of Michigan demonstration against three men who spoke about their past involvement with militant groups has resurfaced.","excerpt":"Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan Senate candidate, led a protest in 2007 against speakers who identified as former terrorists. The event and El-Sayed's role in the Muslim Students Association have drawn renewed attention.","category":"Politics","area":"United States","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T23:25:12.182Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-09-14T20:25:27.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-14T23:25:12.182Z","readTime":"4 min read","scores":{"trust":50,"critic":65,"hype":41,"notes":{"trust":"Central claim attributed to a named body, but relies on anonymous sourcing for some details.","critic":"Quotes from the candidate's spokesperson and affected parties are included.","hype":"Headline promises more than the body delivers, with mild sensationalism."}},"tags":["#AbdulElSayed","#MichiganPolitics","#SenateRace","#UniversityOfMichigan","#MuslimBrotherhood","#Terrorism"],"entities":["Abdul El-Sayed","University of Michigan","Walid Shoebat","Zachariah Annani","Kamal Saleem","Palestine Liberation Organization","Muslim Brotherhood","Mike Rogers","Cole Wozniak","New York Times"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["Abdul El-Sayed led a protest at the University of Michigan in 2007 against speakers described as 'ex-terrorists' who had converted to Christianity.","The speakers, Walid Shoebat, Zachariah Annani, and Kamal Saleem, had previously been involved with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Muslim Brotherhood.","El-Sayed's campaign stated he has 'unequivocally denounced terrorism' and protested speakers spreading misinformation.","The protest and El-Sayed's leadership role in the Muslim Students Association, an organization alleged to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, have resurfaced."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, led a protest in 2007 at the University of Michigan against three speakers who identified as 'ex-terrorists' and discussed their conversion to Christianity. The speakers, Walid Shoebat, Zachariah Annani, and Kamal Saleem, had previously been involved with groups including the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Muslim Brotherhood. The resurfaced event has drawn attention to El-Sayed's past leadership role in the Muslim Students Association, an organization alleged to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The protest targeted an event where Shoebat, Annani, and Saleem spoke about their past involvement with militant groups before converting to Christianity. El-Sayed, who was vice president of the Muslim Students Association at the time, praised the demonstration. His campaign spokesperson, Cole Wozniak, told Fox News Digital that El-Sayed has 'unequivocally denounced terrorism' and protested against speakers spreading misinformation and fabricating their backstories. The New York Times reported in 2008 that critics questioned the backgrounds of these speakers and why they had not been arrested or deported."},{"type":"heading","text":"Disagreement on protest motivation"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Organisers of the University of Michigan event told the Michigan Daily that the gathering was intended to educate attendees about the dangers of Muslim extremism, not to promote intolerance. However, protesters wearing yellow countered that the event was unfairly 'generalizing an entire group of people'."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the left-rated reports ran this story. The centre-rated report and the right-rated reports did not mention the specific concerns raised by Arab-American civil rights organizations in 2008 regarding why the speakers had not been arrested or deported."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"Felix Victorino","url":"https://fvdigital.do/abdul-el-sayed-once-led-protest-against-ex-terrorists","headline":"Abdul El-Sayed once led protest against 'ex-terrorists'","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T20:25:27.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Internewscast","url":"https://internewscast.com/news/us/abdul-el-sayed-previously-led-protest-against-ex-terrorists","headline":"Abdul El-Sayed Previously Led Protest Against ‘Ex-Terrorists’","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T20:24:41.000Z"},{"sourceName":"New York Post","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/09/14/us-news/abdul-el-sayed-once-led-protest-against-ex-terrorists","headline":"Abdul El-Sayed protested against ‘ex-terrorists’ who converted to Christianity, unearthed report reveals","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T20:16:31.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Slay News","url":"https://slaynews.com/michigan-democrat-abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-ex-terrorists-abandoned-islamic-extremism-converted-christianity","headline":"Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed Led Protest Against ‘Ex-Terrorists’ Who Abandoned Islamic Extremism, Converted to Christianity","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T19:11:43.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Senate Leadership Fund","url":"https://senateleadershipfund.org/press-releases/icymi-abdul-el-sayed-protested-against-ex-terrorists-who-converted-to-christianity","headline":"ICYMI: Abdul El-Sayed protested against 'ex-terrorists' who converted to Christianity","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T18:37:12.000Z"},{"sourceName":"wfmd.com","url":"https://wfmd.com/2026/09/14/abdul-el-sayed-protested-against-ex-terrorists-who-converted-to-christianity-unearthed-report-reveals","headline":"Abdul El-Sayed protested against ‘ex-terrorists’ who converted to Christianity, unearthed report reveals","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T17:47:47.613Z"},{"sourceName":"nytimespost.com","url":"https://nytimespost.com/abdul-el-sayed-protested-against-ex-terrorists-who-converted-to-christianity-unearthed-report-reveals","headline":"Abdul El-Sayed protested against 'ex-terrorists' who converted to Christianity, unearthed report reveals","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T17:39:10.000Z"},{"sourceName":"khbrknews","url":"https://khbrknews.com/abdul-el-sayed-protested-against-ex-terrorists-who-converted-to-christianity-unearthed-report-reveals","headline":"Abdul El-Sayed protested against ‘ex-terrorists’ who converted to Christianity, unearthed report reveals","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T17:35:01.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Fox News","url":"https://foxnews.com/politics/abdul-el-sayed-protested-against-ex-terrorists-who-converted-christianity-unearthed-report-reveals","headline":"Abdul El-Sayed protested against 'ex-terrorists' who converted to Christianity, unearthed report reveals","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-09-14T17:26:00.000Z"}],"analysis":{"distribution":{"percent":{"left":0,"centre":14,"right":86},"count":{"left":0,"centre":1,"right":6},"totalSources":9,"untracked":2,"rated":7,"observedAt":"2026-09-15T00:30:19.156342+00:00"},"lifecycle":{"state":"developing","lastCheckedAt":"2026-09-15T00:45:11.352Z","closedAt":null,"checks":6,"changes":0,"reopened":false},"framing":{"left":[],"centre":["Internewscast, the centre-rated report, led with Abdul El-Sayed protesting against 'ex-terrorists' who had converted to Christianity. The report detailed El-Sayed's role in organising the 2007 demonstration at the University of Michigan against speakers Walid Shoebat, Zachariah Annani, and Kamal Saleem. It noted that the speakers had previously been involved with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Muslim Brotherhood. The report included a quote from El-Sayed praising the protest and a statement from his campaign spokesperson, Cole Wozniak, denouncing terrorism and misinformation. Internewscast also reported on the New York Times' 2008 scrutiny of the speakers' backgrounds and mentioned the alleged ties of the Muslim Students Association to the Muslim Brotherhood."],"right":["The six right-rated reports led with Abdul El-Sayed protesting against 'ex-terrorists' who converted to Christianity. These reports highlighted El-Sayed's position as Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee and his role in the 2007 University of Michigan protest. They identified the speakers as Walid Shoebat, Zachariah Annani, and Kamal Saleem, noting their past involvement with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Muslim Brotherhood. The right-rated reports included El-Sayed's quote about doing 'something good' and his campaign spokesperson's statement that he had 'unequivocally denounced terrorism'. The New York Times' 2008 reporting on questions surrounding the speakers' backgrounds was also mentioned across these reports. 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They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"citation":{"recommended":"MediaBias News, \"Abdul El-Sayed led protest against speakers described as 'ex-terrorists'\", https://mediabias.news/politics/abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists","canonicalUrl":"https://mediabias.news/politics/abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists","instructions":["Cite and link the canonical article URL, not the API, markdown mirror, homepage, or an original outlet URL.","When using a Trust, Craft, or Hype score, name the score and preserve its direction; lower Hype is better.","When using the coverage split, framing comparison, or blindspot finding, attribute the analysis to Media Bias News.","Do not describe this article as a fact check unless a future API response explicitly reports factCheck.status as performed."]},"links":{"canonical":"https://mediabias.news/politics/abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists","json":"https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists","markdown":"https://mediabias.news/politics/abdul-el-sayed-led-protest-against-speakers-described-as-ex-terrorists.md","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology"}}}