'I am more Indian than Arab': Abdul El-Sayed on his Indian-origin wife

Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim Senator after the US midterm elections, as Democrats gained control of Congress. His wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, joined him in the celebrations. She is of Indian origin, belonging to the southern state of Karnataka. Meanwhile, El-Sayed is the son of Egyptian immigrants. A viral video from a podcast shows him talking about his marriage and his India connection. He shared that at a family function, one of his uncles asked him about choosing an Indian woman.

Speaking on the "Meet The Real Abdul El-Sayed" podcast, posted on YouTube in August this year, he said that his uncle asked him, "There are 80 million Egyptians, and you went and married an Indian woman?" To this, he replied in a lighter vein, "Amu (uncle in Arabic), there are a billion of them, so statistically speaking, this was a high probability." In another interview, El-Sayed even said that he considers himself "more Indian than Arab" after being married to his wife for 20 years.

Also Read: Abdul El-Sayed's first reaction after historic win, says we turned 'inshallah' into ‘Alhamdulillah’

Dr Jukaku hails from an Indian-American family that migrated to the US from Bhatkal in Karnataka. Her grandfather, Jukaku Shamshuddin, served as deputy minister for finance in the erstwhile Mysore State under then chief minister BD Jatti. Shamshuddin was also regarded as the first lawyer from the Bhatkal region. Her father studied medicine in Bengaluru and later moved to the US. El-Sayed and Dr Jukaku got married in May 2006. The couple has two daughters, Emmalee and Serene.

El-Sayed took shots at JD Vance and Donald Trump in his victory speech

El-Sayed scripted history this week after becoming a US Senator-elect from Michigan. He will be sworn into office in January 2027 as the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate. He delivered an impassioned speech to his supporters on election night. El-Sayed said, “Michigan, we did it! My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, and I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan.”

He further said, "Up until right about now, you might have noticed I always say 'inshallah,' or 'God willing,' whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned... But tonight, we can turn that 'inshallah' into an 'alhamdulillah' [praise be to God]."

Taking a shot at Vice President JD Vance, El-Sayed said, "JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you're constitutionally obligated to swear me in, in January." He also took a jab at Donald Trump and said, "Donald, I know you struggle with my name, so after JD swears me in, you can just go on and call me Senator."