This is apropos a letter to the Editor carried by the newspaper on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and yesterday.
There are also important differences in political philosophy. Mamdani is publicly identified with democratic socialism and has emphasized public provision of essential services. El-Sayed is a progressive Democrat but is not generally presented as a formal member of the Democratic Socialists of America. His politics combine universal healthcare, anti-corporate populism, public-health expertise and institutional reform.
Mamdani emerged primarily from urban grassroots activism; El-Sayed rose through academic achievement, public administration and state-wide campaigning.
Their electoral environments are equally different. New York City strongly favours Democrats, meaning that Mamdani’s greatest obstacle was the Democratic primary. Michigan is a genuine swing state.
El-Sayed must win independents, union households, suburban voters, Arab and Muslim Americans, African Americans, young progressives and some moderate Democrats while facing an experienced Republican opponent. His primary victory was historic, but the general election will be the decisive test.
If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim member of the United States Senate. Mamdani has already become New York City’s first Muslim mayor.
Their rise does not prove that prejudice has disappeared, nor does it guarantee that progressive economic programmes will succeed. It does show that American voters can support candidates who openly identify as Muslim, defend immigrants and challenge powerful financial and foreign-policy interests.
Mamdani broke an important barrier. El-Sayed has reached the threshold of another. Their shared message is that Muslim politicians need not choose between religious identity and American citizenship. They can declare both openly, submit their programmes to the voters and be judged by their ability to improve ordinary lives.
Whether El-Sayed completes the journey will be decided in November. But his primary victory, following Mamdani’s breakthrough in New York, has already established a larger truth: a new generation of American Muslim leadership is no longer asking merely to be accepted. It is seeking—and increasingly winning—the authority to govern.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
The writer is a former Press Secretary to the President, An ex-Press Minister at Embassy of Pakistan to France, a former MD, SRBC Macomb, Detroit, Michigan