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Abdul El-Sayed’s mother worked for group tied to bin Laden funding

The mother of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed worked for a charity later designated a terrorist organization, though she faced no charges.

Eleni Papadaki-Van Der Merwe Staff Writer

AUGUST 19, 2026 AT 11:24 AM

Fatten Fathy Elkomy, El-Sayed’s biological mother, was employed by the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) from 1999 through at least 2004, the year the US Department of Treasury connected the group to terrorism financing, as reported by The Midwesterner.

The organization operated dozens of offices worldwide and presented itself as a humanitarian aid group dedicated to healthcare, orphan assistance, and helping vulnerable populations in conflict zones. The group was also known as the Islamic African Relief Agency.

However, Treasury Department officials alleged in 2004 that the organization provided direct financial support to Osama Bin Laden, the architect of the September 11 terror attacks.

According to Treasury Department findings, intelligence available to the United States indicated that IARA’s international branches transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bin Laden in 1999.

The worldwide organization was also accused of providing support to Hamas and Taliban fighters, among other terrorist organizations.

In March 2007, the Department of Justice brought charges against IARA-US for illegally moving funds to Iraq in violation of sanctions.

Elkomy herself was never accused of criminal conduct, and none of the individuals referenced in the federal prosecution faced terrorism-related charges.

The US branch of IARA entered a guilty plea to conspiracy charges for illegally funneling approximately $1.4 million to Iraq in defiance of sanctions, and consented to dissolution in 2016.

A July 2016 statement from the US Attorney’s Office noted that the plea agreement recognized that IARA had no accessible funds to pay any fine due to its designation as a specially designated global terrorist and the subsequent freezing of all its assets.

In a 2004 interview, Elkomy rejected any ties between IARA and terrorist operations, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she had been working to serve orphans and children who had lost at least one parent, expressing heartbreak that they would no longer receive assistance.

El-Sayed’s parents divorced and both remarried following their immigration to the United States in the early 1980s.

During his campaign, El-Sayed has regularly referenced his father, Mohamed El-Sayed, and stepmother, Jacqueline El-Sayed, while making virtually no public mention of Elkomy, The Midwesterner noted.

After remarrying, Elkomy returned to the Middle East but later moved back to the United States, where she currently works as a nurse practitioner in Missouri.

El-Sayed’s campaign has been contacted for comment but has not yet responded.

With information from New York Post

Eleni Papadaki-Van Der Merwe

She was born in 1986 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the granddaughter of an immigrant from Crete who settled in the Greek community of Johannesburg (one of the largest in Africa). She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg and a master’s degree in Journalism from Rhodes University in Grahamstown. She began her career at English-language media outlets in Johannesburg, covering politics and economics, with a focus on issues related to migration and the diaspora. She moved to Athens in 2015 to “return to her roots,” initially to pursue graduate studies, and has remained there permanently. She is married to an Afrikaner; they have two children and live in the southern suburbs of Athens.