Republican Rep. Keith Self of Texas has asked federal tax authorities to investigate whether the Islamic Society of North America violated restrictions on political campaigning at its annual convention in Detroit.
His September 16 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent followed reports that the campaign of Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s US Senate seat, operated a branded booth at the convention displaying donation and volunteer prompts. Self asked the IRS to examine whether ISNA permitted or facilitated the activity and whether it provided space, facilities, personnel, advertising or other organisational resources to the campaign.
The letter requests an investigation. There is no public indication that the IRS has opened one.
The complaint followed reporting by the Middle East Forum, which published photographs of an El-Sayed campaign booth inside the convention hall. The photographs show “Abdul for US Senate” and “Muslims for Abdul” branding alongside signs marked “Donate Today” and “Volunteer Today”. Another photographed sign offered a campaign T-shirt for a $50 contribution.
Middle East Forum reported that campaign workers solicited donations and volunteers at the booth. The photographs substantiate the presence of donation and volunteer prompts but do not establish whether contributions were actually made at the convention.
ISNA’s own convention material provides some context for how exhibition space is ordinarily handled.
Its 2026 bazaar information describes a formal booth system administered by ISNA. Standard booths include furniture and an identification sign, exhibitors receive badges from the Bazaar Management Office, cancellations are handled through an ISNA Bazaar Coordinator and exhibitors are prohibited from privately reselling their space.
That shows ISNA has an administrative role in its convention bazaar. The material reviewed for this article does not establish whether El-Sayed’s particular campaign booth was booked through that system or under the same terms.
ISNA describes itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Organisations with that status are prohibited from participating or intervening in political campaigns for or against candidates, but they are not prohibited from participating in public life.
IRS guidance allows charities to invite political candidates to events. When someone appears as a candidate, relevant factors include whether other candidates seeking the same office receive an equivalent opportunity, whether the organisation indicates support or opposition and whether political fundraising occurs.
El-Sayed was listed among the convention’s speakers. According to reporting cited in Self’s complaint, ISNA CEO Azhar Azeez identified him as Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee while introducing him. Azeez also told attendees that ISNA does not endorse political parties or candidates.
The campaign booth raises a related issue because IRS rules also address business transactions between tax-exempt organisations and candidates.
A 501(c)(3) can, under some circumstances, rent facilities or sell services to a political campaign without intervening in an election. The IRS considers factors including whether facilities or services are available to competing candidates on an equal basis, whether they are also available to the general public, whether customary rates are charged and whether providing them is part of the organisation’s ordinary activity.
The material reviewed for this article does not show what the campaign paid, whether it used ISNA’s ordinary booth-reservation process, what conditions governed political activity or whether equivalent access was available to other candidates for Michigan’s Senate seat.
Nor would an ordinary commercial arrangement necessarily resolve every issue. The IRS assesses the overall facts and circumstances, and El-Sayed was both present as an invited convention speaker and represented by a campaign booth at the event.
Self’s letter cites allegations that campaign personnel solicited contributions, recruited volunteers and distributed campaign literature. It asks the IRS to determine whether ISNA permitted or facilitated those activities.
The same legal test applies regardless of the religion of the organisation or the political party of the candidate. The relevant questions concern the organisation’s conduct and its relationship with the campaign.
Self has asked the government to investigate that relationship. His letter does not establish that ISNA violated tax law.
Reporting by Blaze News said neither ISNA nor El-Sayed’s campaign had responded to its requests for comment before publication. Dissenting Citizen has not independently sought responses from either organisation.
The relevant evidence still missing from the material reviewed for this article includes the agreement governing the campaign booth, any payment and booking terms, rules applying to political exhibitors, communications concerning fundraising and information about access available to other Senate candidates.
For now, the published evidence shows an El-Sayed campaign booth at ISNA’s convention displaying donation and volunteer prompts, while ISNA’s own material separately shows that it administers a formal bazaar and booth system.
What has not been publicly established is the relationship between the two.
That is the factual gap Self is asking federal authorities to investigate.
Sources
- Middle East Forum – Self investigation request
- Middle East Forum – Original reporting and photographs
- ISNA – 2026 convention bazaar information
- ISNA – Convention booth reservation site
- IRS – Inviting a candidate to speak
- IRS – Business activities with a candidate
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