Shakira Joins 'Shakira Law' Meme, Asks Abdul El-Sayed to Bring It to Congress After GOP's Sharia Attacks Backfire

Shakira has joined the viral 'Shakira Law' meme, playfully asking Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed to take the fictional legislation to Congress after Republican attacks over his Muslim identity failed to derail his election campaign.

The Colombian singer posted the comment from her verified Instagram account beneath a post by El-Sayed's team: 'Finally, a law my hips can agree with! Habibi, think you can get it through Congress?' Her response gave the long-running internet joke an unexpected celebrity endorsement.

The comment references Shakira's hit song 'Hips Don't Lie' and plays on the similarity between her name and Sharia, the Islamic religious and ethical framework. The joke has increasingly been used to mock political warnings about Muslims imposing religious law in Western countries.

El-Sayed Turned a Campaign Attack Into a Pop-Culture Joke

During his Senate campaign, El-Sayed faced repeated claims from political opponents that he wanted to impose Sharia law in the United States. He rejected the suggestion and used humour to challenge the premise.

In a video posted on 14 October, he said: 'No one is trying to push Sharia law on anyone. But there is Shakira law, and Shakira law has one commandment that the hips don't lie.' The clip attracted about 2.4 million views and more than 335,000 likes in three weeks, according to the figures supplied with the post.

The meme has circulated online since at least 2013 and has previously been used by US Representative Ilhan Omar, who joked about it in a 2018 video after an Instagram commenter accused her of supporting 'Shakira Law'.

Michigan Voters Rejected a Campaign Focused on His Faith

El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan's 3 November Senate election, becoming the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. He is due to take office in January 2027.

National attention followed when President Donald Trump called El-Sayed a 'jihadist' at a rally in October and falsely claimed he wanted to impose Sharia law. Other Republican figures also questioned his loyalty and portrayed his religion as a threat.

A Washington Post analysis found that Republican advertisers spent $46 million on attack advertisements against El-Sayed that invoked terrorism or 9/11, or referred to Islam or Muslim groups. That represented more than one-third of Republican spending on advertisements targeting him.

El-Sayed won by about seven percentage points, according to unofficial returns. Michigan Republican Party chair Jim Runestad later said national Republicans needed greater sensitivity to local conditions, acknowledging that portraying El-Sayed through Muslim stereotypes was the wrong message for the state.

An Old Meme Has Become a Form of Political Pushback

'Shakira Law' is not a real legislative proposal. Its humour comes from replacing the word 'Sharia' with the singer's name and imagining rules inspired by her music and dance moves.

The joke resurfaced after Zohran Mamdani's 2025 New York mayoral victory, with social media users pairing Shakira's music with celebrations. It returned during the 2026 midterm campaign as Republican rhetoric about Sharia law again targeted Muslim candidates.

The latest message to El-Sayed shows how the meme has shifted from mocking fears about Muslim communities to giving supporters a way to ridicule those fears. The invitation is playful, not an actual bill or policy proposal.