‘A Terrorist-Loving Crazy Person’: Constituents Demand Answers From Congressmen-Elect on Relationship to ‘Blind Sheikh’

During Congressman-elect Dr. Adam Hamawy’s successful campaign, he largely skated past questions on his connections to the late “Blind Sheikh,” Omar Abdel-Rahman, who masterminded the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.Now, as Dr. Hamawy prepares to be sworn in this coming January to represent New Jersey’s deep-blue 12th Congressional District, some constituents and skeptics say those questions about his past bear directly on his future as a congressman.“We just elected a terrorist-loving crazy person to the U.S. Congress,” the head of the America First Republicans of New Jersey, Michael Crispi, told The New York Sun. “Our Founding Fathers could never have envisioned this happening. How does this happen?”“I think many people in the district are confused – and that’s the word I’ve heard,” said the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, Micah Rasmussen.Dr. Hamawy buried his Republican challenger by more than 40 points in a reliably blue district that includes Princeton and the city of Plainfield, which is majority black and Hispanic. He earned the endorsements of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker early in his primary race, but largely flew under the radar during the lopsided general election as the media and Republicans focused on other races.One of the few media outlets that did come calling during the campaign was the Atlantic magazine. Just before Election Day, the magazine published a probing interview with Dr. Hamawy, in which he stressed his time with Abdel-Rahman happened when he was very young. But Dr. Hamawy did not speak to key details and was occasionally evasive and frustrated. The Atlantic called him an “acolyte” to Abdel-Rahman and said trial documents show the two shared a hotel room on a 1991 road trip to Detroit to attend a conference entitled “Towards a Global Islamic Economy.” The sheikh spoke there on the topic of “The Best Way on Supporting Jihad.” “I get why he might be reluctant to talk about it while he’s standing for election, even in a safe district, but now that that’s over, at least for now, I’d like to hear more from how he squares it so his constituents can too,” Mr. Rasmussen told the Sun.During his testimony on behalf of the defense in Abdel-Rahman’s trial, Dr. Hamawy was asked by prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald if what the sheikh preached about was a “trade war,” as the defense contended, or “jihad.”“It was a struggle in the sake of God, yes,” Dr. Hamawy answered, according to a copy of the transcript published by Jewish Voice. “It was a jihad.”After Dr. Hamawy won the Democratic primary in June, New York Congressman Mike Lawler vowed a “full investigation” into Dr. Hamawy’s background. But Mr. Lawler lost his bid for reelection earlier this week, ending his prospect of conducting a query in the next Congress.Dr. Hamawy clearly disliked the line of questioning about his allegiance during the Atlantic interview. Like Muslim candidates throughout the nation, including Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, he used his victory speech to blame Islamophobia for pressure on his campaign.“Now I have to speak plainly,” he said. “I have served this country and I have worn its uniform. I have served it in war and I have served it in peace. And I have never seen anti-Muslim hate as open and as loud and as accepted as it is today.”Born in Egypt, Dr. Hamawy’s family immigrated to the United States and settled in New Jersey while he was still a child. As a resident at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Hamawy said he was a first responder in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.Dr. Hamawy became a physician in the U.S. Army, and he was one of the combat surgeons who saved future Senator Tammy Duckworth’s life when she was wounded in Iraq. After his military service ended in 2011, Dr. Hamawy entered private practice as a plastic surgeon and volunteered to conduct surgeries in Gaza in 2024.Dr. Hamawy had never run for office before when he announced his congressional campaign. He focused on issues like abolishing ICE and ending all American aid to Israel. His campaign did not return a Sun request to be interviewed. The retiring Democrat who currently represents the district, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, first thrust Dr. Hamawy into the spotlight, making him her guest to the State of the Union address in 2025. “It is my distinct honor to pass the torch to Dr. Adam Hamawy,” she said in a social media post.Ms. Watson Coleman’s roots in state politics run deep. Her father John S. Watson was a pioneering black Democrat who served in the state Assembly. Like her father, Ms. Watson Coleman served in the Assembly and served as majority leader from 2006 to 2010. She frequently and loudly clashed with Governor Chris Christie. “We reject hate and division,” Ms. Watson Coleman said in a statement. “We stand by our neighbors. We reject a violent, reckless foreign policy. We demand an economy where if you work hard, you can do well.”Mr. Rasmussen points out that 45,000 Jewish people live in the district and may now be uncertain as to any withheld opinions the congressman may have for this constituency. He said those concerns need to be answered. “He has told at least one group of voters that he does not support Israel as a sovereign Jewish state,” Mr. Rassmussen said. “That’s a pretty substantial difference with many of those constituents, and one election is not going to make it go away.”While the victory was nearly a foregone conclusion in a deeply blue region of central and southern New Jersey, Mr. Cripsi faulted state and national Republican leaders for failing to recruit a strong challenger to Dr. Hamawy.“You cannot inspire voters with bold promises, fail to deliver, and expect them to remain enthusiastic indefinitely,” Mr. Crispi said. “The Republican Party needs a complete rebuilding of its congressional leadership, a renewed commitment to its promises, and a serious reckoning with why it lost the confidence of so many Americans.”On Election Night at his victory celebration, Dr. Hamawy spoke to his supporters saying he would “fight for every American who has been left behind by the establishment.”“I’m a surgeon and I can tell you, we are going to stop the bleeding,” Dr. Hamawy said. He then closed with an Arabic call and response to his supporters.“Takbir,” said Dr. Hamawy in Arabic, which translates into “God is greater.” “Allahu Akbar,” his supporters chanted, meaning “Allah is the greatest.”

‘A Terrorist-Loving Crazy Person’: Constituents Demand Answers From Congressmen-Elect on Relationship to ‘Blind Sheikh’

‘A Terrorist-Loving Crazy Person’: Constituents Demand Answers From Congressmen-Elect on Relationship to ‘Blind Sheikh’

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