Cruz characterizes El-Sayed’s past statement about Sharia law
Ted CruzU.S. senator speaking at the Republican midterm convention
At the Republican midterm convention, Cruz cited El-Sayed’s earlier statement about an obligation to follow Sharia rules when buying a home and presented it as a position that should be taken at face value. CNN’s report placed the older quote in the mortgage context.
Responding to
El-Sayed supports Sharia law and treats opposition to it as white supremacy.
“When Abdul El-Sayed says he has a, quote, ‘obligation,’ to comply with Sharia law, he means it.”
Original video
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Abdul El-Sayed’s Sharia-law defense: religious freedom or support for religious government?
JD Vance characterized Abdul El-Sayed’s opposition to Sharia bans as support for Sharia and hostility to its critics. El-Sayed defended his position as equal religious freedom and rejected imposing his faith. Hasan Piker challenged the premise of a threatened imposition while questioning El-Sayed’s reliance on a canon-law analogy. Andrew Kolvet, Dana Loesch and Todd Aglialoro disputed that analogy, arguing that it understated Sharia’s relationship to civil government.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Full convention speech in Dallas on September 10, 2026, from the opening greeting through closing thanks. Cruz argues that Sharia is incompatible with the Constitution, includes El-Sayed among the people whose statements listeners should take seriously, and subsequently describes their threats as substantive. The recording establishes Cruz's accusation, not that El-Sayed advocated replacing U.S. law. CNN's report documents the earlier remark's personal mortgage context.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
CNN reporting syndicated by KTVZ quotes Cruz’s September 10 Republican midterm-convention speech and explains that the referenced 2009 New York Times interview concerned El-Sayed’s personal effort to follow Sharia rules while seeking a mortgage.
Before the quotation
Cruz told the convention audience to take several Democratic candidates’ past statements seriously.
After the quotation
The same CNN report said crowd members shouted violent language after El-Sayed’s name and separately reported El-Sayed’s response.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Cruz used the prior statement to criticize El-Sayed’s political values, rather than describe its original personal-practice context.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Abdul El-Sayed
More from this case
Read the full caseMatt Whitlock says El-Sayed "has spoken out on support of Sharia law"
“This is a pretty wild pretzel to twist into just to justify supporting somebody who actually has spoken out on support of Sharia law.”Read statement
Evita Duffy-Alfonso says El-Sayed "likes Sharia law"
“Abdul El-Sayed likes Sharia law, wants racial reparations, and hates American football. He comes from a violent tradition that is fundamentally incompatible with American culture and values.”Read statement
Mehdi Hasan calls the claim that El-Sayed pushes Sharia law absurd
“So the idea that they're pushing Sharia law is absurd.”Read statement
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- Cruz characterizes El-Sayed’s past statement about Sharia law
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The Dispute Index. "Cruz characterizes El-Sayed’s past statement about Sharia law". First published: 2026-09-13. Last updated: 2026-09-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/510-at-the-republican-midterm-convention-cruz-cited-el