Abraham Aiyash is an American politician serving as a member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

from the 4th district. The district covers much of Detroit's Midtown,

New Center New Center is a commercial and residential historic district located uptown in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles (5 km) north of Downtown. The area is ...

, North End, Boston Edison, Virginia Park, and all of the city of

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2020 Census, 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small po ...

. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. In 2023, Aiyash became majority leader of the House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Aiyash was born and raised in

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

, the seventh of eight children. His parents immigrated to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

from

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. Aiyash was educated in the

Hamtramck Public Schools Hamtramck Public Schools (HPS) is a public school district based in the city of Hamtramck, Michigan (USA) in Greater Detroit. The district has the Schools of Choice program, which allows non-district students to enroll in district schools. As o ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

, where he studied pre-medicine, political science, and Muslim studies.

Career

When he was 13, Aiyash worked as a community organizer for the

Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign The 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama began on February 10, 2007, when Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for President of the United States in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a ma ...

. In 2015 and 2016, he worked in the office of State Rep.

Rose Mary Robinson Rose Mary Robinson (born December 12, 1939) is an American lawyer and a former Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Early life and education Rose Mary Robinson was born on December 12, 1939. In 1972, Robinson earned a Ju ...

. In 2018, Aiyash was a candidate for the Democratic primary to represent

Michigan's 2nd Senate district Michigan's 2nd Senate district is one of 38 districts in the Michigan Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Sylvia Santana since 2023, succeeding fellow Democrat Adam Hollier. Geography District 2 encompasses part of Wayne County. 2011 A ...

. He finished second after

Adam Hollier Adam Hollier is the director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and was appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Hollier served in the Michigan Senate, representing the 2nd Senate district, serving Wayne County including Detroit, the Grosse Poin ...

, who won the general election. During his campaign, Aiyash was endorsed by the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''. Abraham announced his candidacy for the 4th district of the

following the death of Isaac Robinson in March 2020. In the Democratic primary, Aiyash placed first in a field of 13 candidates. He defeated Republican nominee Howard Weathington, Working Class Party candidate Linda Rayburn, and Independent MD Rabbi Alam in the November general election. He assumed office on December 1, 2020. In 2023, Aiyash became majority leader of the House of Representatives, the first Arab-American to do so. He also became the highest-ranking Muslim American in the state's legislative history.

Political positions

Aiyash has shown support for

clean energy Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music Al ...

, legislation against pollution and other issues surrounding the environmental and public health. Aiyash has advanced legislation aimed at gun reform to curb gun violence. Aiyash has proposed legislation to make

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...

and

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

state holidays. Aiyash supports expanding civil rights. In 2023, he co-sponsored a bill in the

Michigan state legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

which amended the

Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, or Public Act 453 of 1976, prohibits discrimination in Michigan on the basis of "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status" in employment, housing, ed ...

to include protections for the

LGBTQ community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Abraham Aiyash at ballotpedia.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiyash, Abraham 1994 births American people of Yemeni descent Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Michigan Living people Michigan State University alumni People from Hamtramck, Michigan 21st-century American politicians American LGBT rights activists Activists from Detroit