“Abdul is not a practicing physician By the way, my name is Abdul, and I am also Muslim. The difference is that I am a practicing physician who treats patients. After spending several days in Michigan, I became even more convinced that the policies of Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, are disastrous in every sense of the word. Take his explicit support for gender transition for children. Whether he sincerely believes in it or is merely saying it for electoral reasons, either possibility is deeply troubling. If he means it, I consider that a terrible policy, particularly for children. If he does not believe in it but claims to support it to win votes, then he could be dishonest about any of his other policies as well. That was something I repeatedly encountered during my visit to Michigan. The Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Eastern Americans I spoke with kept telling me, “He only says that to win votes. He does not actually believe in those things.” To me, that is hypocrisy, and it is a serious problem. The same applies to his positions on Iran. He speaks as though he stands with the so-called “resistance” camp. Again, I heard Arabs and Sunni Muslims explain that he only says these things because many of his voters are members of our beloved Shia community and he does not want to lose their support. I heard similar explanations on most other issues. Take Medicare for All, for example a policy that I believe cannot realistically be implemented because its cost alone would reach $40 trillion. Everyone I spoke with told me that Abdul only promotes it to win votes from the left, even though he knows it cannot be implemented. The same goes for socialism and his advocacy of democratic socialism. People told me that he knows it would not work in America and that it is a failed policy, but that he promotes it to win left-wing votes. Yet they still want to vote for him simply because he is Arab and Muslim, despite disagreeing with most of his policies and his platform. As American from Syrian descent let me say that I have serious doubts about his position on Syria. I do not believe he would be an ally to Syria in the U.S. Senate. That is my personal assessment, based on his previous positions on Iran, his alignment with the so-called “resistance” camp, and his alliance with a left that has consistently opposed the new Syria. That raises a question for me: If we vote solely on the basis of religion and ethnicity, despite opposing a candidate’s policies, are we not also making religion and ethnicity the focus of the political backlash? We have made those identities the primary and almost the only reason for supporting him. If we chose candidates based on their policies instead, the criticism would focus on those policies rather than religion, ethnicity, or skin color. Of course, that does not excuse such attacks, but I believe it helps explain them. I still believe that the greatest domestic threat to America is the far left and the democratic socialism it promotes. Tying Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Eastern Americans to an alliance with that movement is, in my view, a deeply misguided and dangerous choice. Abdul also presents himself as a physician in the United States, when in fact he is not licensed to practice medicine here and has not completed clinical training in American hospitals. Yes, he graduated from medical school, but he is not authorized to practice medicine or treat patients, and he has never treated a single patient in his life. My view remains unchanged: This alliance between the socialist left in America and Arabs and Muslims does not reflect who we are or serve our interests. I believe it will do us considerable harm. It will benefit neither our community nor our beautiful country, the United States of America.