A record 51 Muslim candidates are contesting the US midterm elections, with voting set to begin within hours.
Eleven are running for Congress, while the other 40 are seeking positions in state legislatures, counties and local government. Most are Democrats.
The Michigan Senate race has drawn particular attention. Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health official, is facing former Republican congressman Mike Rogers.
If elected, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim senator in US history.
Prominent Muslim politicians Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Andre Carson are also running for the House of Representatives, alongside several new Muslim candidates who won their primaries.
The candidates’ religious identity has also become part of the political debate. President Donald Trump called El-Sayed a jihadist and alleged that he had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
El-Sayed denied the allegations. An Associated Press report found no evidence of a connection between him and the Muslim Brotherhood.
According to a 2026 count by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, at least 255 Muslim officials hold elected positions across 26 US states, including 110 women.
Attention is now focused on how the Muslim candidates perform and whether El-Sayed can make history in the Senate race.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report