U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville fired back Tuesday at Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, after El-Sayed criticized Tuberville’s coaching record and Sharia law push during a Fox News interview.
El-Sayed appeared Monday on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” where he defended his views on Sharia law and accused Republicans of targeting Muslims because of their faith.
Sounds like something a terrorist sympathizer would say. https://t.co/4i741EHJbt
— Tommy Tuberville (@CoachForGov) August 25, 2026
“The idea that you have somebody like Tommy Tuberville, who barely was good at coaching football, is trying to ban Sharia law when there’s less than 1% of the Muslim community in America, as if somehow Muslims are out here trying to push Sharia law, that seems to me to be deliberately targeting the Muslim community because they’re different,” El-Sayed said.
Tuberville (R-Auburn), Alabama’s Republican nominee for governor, responded Tuesday by sharing a clip of the remarks on X.
“Sounds like something a terrorist sympathizer would say,” Tuberville wrote.
The exchange comes amid an ongoing clash between Tuberville and El-Sayed following the Michigan Democrat’s victory in the state’s U.S. Senate primary earlier this month.
Tuberville has been one of the most outspoken Republicans criticizing El-Sayed since his nomination, previously labeling him a “terrorist” and “radical Islamist.” El-Sayed has argued that attacks against him are based on his Muslim faith.
The Alabama senator has also made opposition to Sharia law a prominent issue over the past year.
In October, Tuberville introduced the No Sharia Act, which would prohibit the application of Sharia law when it conflicts with constitutional rights, along with the Preserving a Sharia Free America Act, which would bar foreign nationals advocating for Sharia law from entering the United States.
El-Sayed argued during the Fox News interview that Americans should be free to practice their religion while maintaining that Muslims are not attempting to impose Sharia law on others.
“Nobody is trying to push Sharia law on anyone else,” he said.
El-Sayed is running against Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan’s November Senate election.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
