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Abdul El-Sayed
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Abdul El-Sayed stands at a podium with a sign reading Fight Oligarchy, smiling and clapping while speaking at an event. An American flag is visible in the background. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Abdul El-Sayed, and Bernie Sanders stand on stage holding hands raised, with supporters holding Abdul for Senate signs in the background.
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Abdul El-Sayed stands at a podium with a sign reading Fight Oligarchy, smiling and clapping while speaking at an event. An American flag is visible in the background.
Abdul El-Sayed A Rhodes scholar and medical doctor, Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate in 2026.

Abdul El-Sayed

A Rhodes scholar and public health expert, he’s about to become the U.S.’s first Muslim senator
Also known as: Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed
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Tracy Grant
Tracy Grant is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. She previously served as editor in chief, the first woman to hold that title. 
Tracy Grant
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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In 2007 as he prepared to go on to medical school, Abdul El-Sayed was selected as the student speaker at the University of Michigan’s graduation ceremony. The address caught the attention of another speaker set to deliver the school’s commencement address, who told El-Sayed he had “a natural gift for speaking” and encouraged him to consider politics over medicine. That commencement speaker was Bill Clinton. El-Sayed went on to graduate from medical school, but he...

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