The Little Interpreter
Shariq Ali
Valueversity
At four years old, Abdul was already interpreting for his two grandfathers. His Egyptian grandfather was Muslim and spoke Arabic. His American grandfather, Jan Johnson, was a Presbyterian Christian and spoke English. Abdul listened to each man in turn and passed on what he said in the language the other understood. Years later, Jan recalled the scene in an interview with ABC News.
Abdul was four when his father, Mohamed, married Jan and Judy Johnson’s daughter Jackie. His father and stepmother Jackie raised him, and Jan and Judy loved him as their grandson.
One day, Abdul asked Jan, ‘How are you my grandpa?’
Jan said, ‘Because I love you, and I’m here.’
That bond lasted. When Abdul was studying at the University of Michigan, he lived with Jan and Judy. Judy read his essays, told him what she thought and reminded him to do his laundry. Years later, even in the middle of his Senate campaign, Abdul still called his grandmother every week.
Judy also spoke about a family tradition. Every Thanksgiving, the whole family gets together. Everyone contributes to the meal, and Abdul has been hosting it for years.
In November 2026, the Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan. He became the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate.
Listening to Jan and Judy, I thought of families who, like mine, have left their homeland and settled in another country. For their children, moving between two cultures is part of everyday life. In some homes, the traditions of two faiths live side by side. Children sometimes explain what one grandparent has said to another, or what a particular custom means. The grown-ups, in the way they treat one another, show the children that people of different faiths can belong to the same family.
Our shared humanity gives us a reason to listen to one another. Love gives us the strength to stand by each other through our differences.
At four, Abdul helped his grandfathers understand each other. Years later, Jan still remembered the answer he had given Abdul.
‘Because I love you, and I’m here.’