The Story
This year a man named Abdul El-Sayed is running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan. His campaign website talks a lot about faith. It says he regularly attends Sunday church services. It lists more than a dozen Michigan pastors who endorsed him in April, and in July the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity came out in full support. One of their leaders called him “a breath of fresh air.”
That’s only part of the story.
On June 24, El-Sayed held a campaign event at the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights. Photos show him speaking beside the mosque’s imam, Mohammad Ali Elahi, and embracing him. Federal records show Elahi gave to the campaign in July. That same month, Elahi organized an interfaith roundtable for him. In September, Elahi attended a Dearborn fundraiser that raised $350,000 for the campaign.
Here is what is publicly reported about Elahi. In the 1980s, after Ayatollah Khomeini appointed him, he headed the Iranian Navy’s political-ideological office, and he has not denied it. After 9/11, he said Israel was behind the attacks. This past February, he held a vigil at his mosque honoring Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a man whose regime chanted “Death to America” for decades.
When reporters have asked El-Sayed about that relationship, he has said very little.
I’m not writing this to tell you what’s in a man’s heart. Only God knows that. I’m writing because so many Christians see the church endorsements and the Sunday visits and stop there. Scripture tells us to look at the whole picture.
The Scripture
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 (NIV)
“But test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21 to 22 (NIV)
How I Understand This Scripture
When I read Matthew 10:16, I see Jesus preparing His disciples for a world that would not always be honest with them. He didn’t tell them to be suspicious of everyone, and He didn’t tell them to be naive either. He asked them to hold both at once: wise enough to see what’s really going on, and pure enough not to become hateful in the process.
To me, Paul’s words to the Thessalonians say the same thing. Test everything. Don’t accept something because it comes wrapped in church language, and don’t reject it because of where it came from. Look at the fruit, hold on to what’s good, and walk away from what’s evil.
My Reflection
I’ve learned something over the years. A person’s words tell you what they want you to believe. The people they stand beside, especially when they think nobody’s watching, tell you a lot more.
A pastor’s endorsement is not a test of faith. A visit to a church on Sunday is not a test of faith. Every candidate in America knows how to show up at church in an election year. What counts is what someone does when the cameras are on the other side of town.
Let me be clear about something else. This is not about hating Muslims. I love Muslim people, and I pray for them to know Jesus. Many of them came to this country to get away from the very regimes that Elahi honored. They deserve better than leaders who celebrate their oppressors.
So my challenge to you is simple. Before you vote, before you share a headline, before you trust anyone with power, test them. Read what they say, and also look at who they embrace. Be shrewd and be innocent. Don’t let anger take over your heart, and don’t let a smile and a Sunday visit close your eyes.
A Prayer
Father, thank You for giving us Your Word as a light in confusing times. Give us wisdom to see clearly and hearts that stay clean while we do it. Protect us from deception, whether it comes from the left, the right, or our own hearts. Help us test everything and hold on to what is good. Lord, we pray for the Muslim people in our communities. Open their eyes to the love of Jesus, and let them see that love in us. Guide the leaders of this nation, and give us courage to stand for truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Please share this post with as many people as you can. Too many believers only see half the story. Send it to your church family, your friends, and your group chats. Someone you love needs to read this before they vote.
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