Democratic U.S. Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan says he is going to be sworn into office with a Qur’an.
El-Sayed will become the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate after beating Mike Rogers in the midterm elections.
'It really doesn't matter what your name is, doesn't matter how you pray. Like, America is big enough.'
El-Sayed also mocked Vice President JD Vance while pointing out the "delicious irony" that Vance is "constitutionally obligated" to swear him in as senator.
"I will likely swear in on the Qur’an," said El-Sayed in an interview with NPR host Leila Fadel that published Thursday.
"Which Qur’an, we're not sure. I mean, Thomas Jefferson had a copy of the Qur’an. So when Keith Ellison was sworn in to Congress, he swore in on that copy. There's also the University of Michigan holds the first Qur’an in the state of Michigan. It's very, very old," he added.
"And that might be the choice. So I don't know," El-Sayed said. "But I will swear on the Qur’an."
He went on to say that it was more important to America than it was to him personally that a Muslim be sworn in to the U.S. Senate for the first time in history.
"It's less about what it means to me and more about what it means for America. I mean, everybody has the experience of being told they're less-than or excluded or that they don't belong," said El-Sayed.
"I hope that when people see that, there is this sense that America really is big enough for you, right?" he added. "It really doesn't matter what your name is, doesn't matter how you pray. Like, America is big enough."
RELATED: 'Fire will rise': Muslim pundit promises 'reckoning' if El-Sayed loses — and also if he wins
El-Sayed easily defeated Rogers and was one of the beneficiaries of the blue wave of Democratic victories in the midterms.
Rogers garnered only 45.5% of the vote, while El-Sayed got 52.5%, according to the latest count in the Michigan election.
The University of Michigan does have many old Qur’anic manuscripts, but it is unclear whether it has the "oldest" in Michigan.
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[H/T Blaze Media]
