The coalition of more than seven hundred groups that calls itself the Combat Antisemitism Movement announced on Tuesday that Benton Harbor mayor Marcus Muhammad has been removed from its inaugural advisory committee.
CAM describes itself as a network of organizations dedicated to eradicating antisemitism in the United States. The advisory board, created in October of last year, was intended to give the coalition strategic guidance from a range of community leaders, scholars and public officials.
Mayor Muhammad, who was first elected in 2015 and was re‑elected in 2021, was appointed to the board in October. The Washington Free Beacon published a story earlier this week that identified Muhammad as a "student minister" in the Nation of Islam, a religious movement whose leader Louis Farrakhan has repeatedly made statements that are widely condemned as antisemitic.
The Free Beacon article cited Muhammad's own social‑media posts in which he shared videos of Farrakhan's speeches that blamed Jews for historic oppression of Black people and praised Hitler's policies against "usury." The report also noted that Muhammad has publicly endorsed the Nation of Islam's "Muslim Program," a document that calls for racial segregation and prohibits intermarriage.
In response, a CAM spokesperson said the organization "was recently made aware of positions and affiliations held by Mayor Muhammad that are inconsistent with CAM's mission. As a result, CAM decided he will no longer serve on the board, and he was notified accordingly." The statement added that the coalition "will collaborate with no one who legitimizes them."
Muhammad's removal creates a delicate situation for two prominent Michigan Democrats who have publicly praised him. Abdul El‑Sayed, a former Detroit health official now running for the U.S. Senate, has long been linked to Muhammad through campaign events and social media. Jocelyn Benson, the state secretary of state who won the Democratic primary in August, listed Muhammad's endorsement on her campaign website and thanked him in her victory speech.
El‑Sayed entered the 2024 Senate race after a 2018 bid for governor. His campaign has faced a series of reports alleging connections to individuals and groups that espouse antisemitic rhetoric, including the Nation of Islam. Critics have pointed to meetings between El‑Sayed and Troy Muhammad, the head of Detroit's Nation of Islam chapter, who has called Jewish organizations "Satanic."
Benson, who was elected secretary of state in 2018 and re‑elected in 2022, has positioned herself as a moderate Democrat in a swing state that voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Her outreach to local leaders like Marcus Muhammad was framed as an effort to build a broad coalition of Black voters, but the recent controversy may force her campaign to reassess those ties.
The Nation of Islam was founded in the 1930s and has long been at odds with mainstream Jewish organizations. Under Farrakhan's leadership since the 1970s, the group has promoted conspiracy theories that accuse Jews of controlling the media, the banking system and the U.S. government. Farrakhan's 2018 video message that referred to Jews as "the enemy" and his 2023 speech that suggested Adolf Hitler acted against "usury" have drawn condemnation from the Anti Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Farrakhan's rhetoric has also extended to claims that the Jewish community deliberately kept Black people in the South under slave codes and later forced them into sharecropping. These statements have been described by scholars as classic blood libel tropes that have historically fueled violence against Jews.
Marcus Muhammad has repeatedly amplified Farrakhan's messages. In July 2020, after a video of Farrakhan calling Jews "Satan" was removed from a public platform, Muhammad wrote that "yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him." He has also quoted the Nation of Islam's "Muslim Program," calling it "the ultimate solution" to America's "race problem."
These actions have placed the mayor at the center of a broader debate about how Democratic candidates in Michigan navigate relationships with controversial community figures. The state's Democratic Party has been trying to balance outreach to Black voters with the need to distance itself from extremist rhetoric that could alienate suburban and Jewish constituencies.
Nationally, watchdog groups and conservative media outlets have intensified scrutiny of political candidates' ties to organizations that promote hate. The Free Beacon, a conservative digital outlet, has published several stories this election cycle linking Democratic hopefuls to anti‑Jewish or extremist groups. While the outlet's reporting is often contested by the subjects, it has succeeded in forcing parties to address the allegations publicly.
CAM's decision may signal that anti‑hate coalitions are willing to take swift action when a board member's affiliations clash with their core mission. The coalition has not indicated whether it will review other members for similar conflicts, but its statement suggests a low tolerance for any perceived legitimization of the Nation of Islam's rhetoric.
For the El‑Sayed and Benson campaigns, the episode could translate into heightened pressure from Jewish voters and donors who are wary of any association with antisemitic figures. Both campaigns have yet to issue a public comment on the removal, leaving political analysts to speculate on whether they will distance themselves from Muhammad or double down on their existing alliances.
In the coming weeks, Michigan's Democratic primary voters will likely hear more about these connections as the Senate race tightens. The state's large Jewish population, concentrated in Detroit and its suburbs, has traditionally been a reliable source of campaign contributions and volunteer support for Democratic candidates. Any perception that a candidate is aligned with antisemitic rhetoric could affect fundraising and voter turnout.
Ultimately, the episode underscores the challenges that political leaders face when navigating community relationships in a polarized environment. As the 2024 elections approach, the ability of parties and advocacy groups to draw clear lines around hate speech may become a decisive factor in shaping voter perceptions and, potentially, election outcomes.