US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Sparks Outrage Over Remarks on Arabs

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparked controversy during a Republican rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after claiming that the world's 500 million Arabs fail to produce science or literature. Speaking on Monday, Kennedy addressed the Muslim Brotherhood in the context of the state's Senate race.

Kennedy defended attacks on the Islamist group, arguing that discussing the organization does not constitute Islamophobia. He further characterized individuals living under its influence as members of a death cult bogged down by ideologies of victimization and murder.

"There are 500 million Arabs in the world. And yet, they do not produce science. They do not win the Nobel Prize. They do not win the Fields Medal. They do not win the Wolf Prize. They do not produce literature," Kennedy stated during the campaign event.

Fact-checkers and historians noted that Arabs have indeed won Nobel Prizes, albeit at a relatively low rate compared to their global population. Notable laureates include Egyptian scientist Ahmed Zewail, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999, Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, and Yemeni journalist and activist Tawakkol Karman, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

The remarks were delivered in Michigan, a state that boasts the highest proportion of residents of Arab descent in the United States, accounting for approximately 2.2 percent of the population according to 2024 Census Bureau data.

The controversy arose amid a heated Senate race between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. Rogers and his allies have sought to link El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood, an association the Democratic candidate has publicly denied and rejected.