Fact Check: Did Abdul El-Sayed declare Shawarma as the national dish of Michigan?
LANSING, MICHIGAN: Following the historic victory of Abdul El-Sayed in the midterm election, a rumor is circulating on social media platforms claiming that El-Sayed has declared shawarma the national dish of Michigan. The claim has drawn criticism and concern from online users, with many being skeptical and calling for a fact-check.
Claim: Abdul El-Sayed declares shawarma Michigan's national dish
The claim surfaced as an X post claiming Abdul El-Sayed officially declared shawarma as the national dish of Michigan.
The post has also spread on other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, collectively garnering hundreds of thousands of views as of this writing.
The claim has drawn mixed reactions online: many users are critical of the announcement, while others mock it in disbelief; some believe it is authentic, while others express skepticism, prompting a fact-check.
Fact Check: The claim originated as satire
However, the claim is false, as there are no reports of the newly elected Senator declaring shawarma the state’s national dish.
Although he joked that he favors "shawarma law" instead of Sharia law, there are no records of him declaring it a national dish.
There are no recent statements, official announcements, or social media posts from El-Sayed about declaring a national dish for the state.
If he had made such an announcement, credible news outlets would have covered it widely and made it headlines, but a Google search for the claim yielded no such reports.
Additionally, the claim originated from a known parody X account called ‘Hoops Crave,’ which describes itself in the bio as ‘satire.’
Abdul El-Sayed's shawarma joke
The post is a satirical take on the claims that El-Sayed supports introducing Sharia law in the country, to which he responded with a joke about shawarma.
"Do not believe the people who say I'm for Sharia law, I'm for shawarma law," he told reporters.
He then went on to say, “If you get a shawarma and it's got lettuce in it, it's not shawarma, it's just a sandwich. Someone has lied to you.”
El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, won Michigan's 2026 US Senate race against Republican Mike Rogers, making him the first Muslim elected to the country’s Senate.
He has also publicly identified as a practising Muslim and openly discussed his faith during his election campaign, including expressions such as "inshallah" and "alhamdulillah."
