Politics · United States · 2 hrs ago
RFK Jr. says Arabs do not produce science, drawing criticism
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Arabs do not produce science or literature at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
He made the remarks while supporting Republican Mike Rogers, who is running against Arab-American Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan’s Senate seat.
The race is described as closely contested, with the midterm election due next week.
Critics called Kennedy’s claims racist and factually inaccurate, pointing to Arab contributions across science, mathematics and literature.
During the Islamic Golden Age, Arabic was a language of scholarship, and Arab mathematicians helped spread the numerals used around the world today.
Arab scholars made lasting advances in fields including algebra, medicine and optics, with figures such as al-Khwarizmi and Ibn al-Haytham.
Their work is part of the historical record that contradicts Kennedy’s broad claim.
The Michigan Senate election is the next key event, though the sources do not say whether Kennedy has responded to the criticism.
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said Arabs do not produce science or literature and do not win major prizes.
He made the remarks at a Republican campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Critics called the comments racist, Islamophobic and factually inaccurate.
Al Jazeera cited historical and modern Arab contributions in fields including mathematics, medicine and literature.
- Who
- US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr made the remarks. Critics challenged them.
- What
- Kennedy claimed Arabs do not produce science or literature and do not win major prizes.
- When
- Monday. The articles were published on October 27, 2026.
- Where
- A campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Why
- Not stated.
Robert F Kennedy Jr
Critics of his remarks
Arab contributions
Robert F Kennedy Jr
Kennedy said Arabs do not produce science or literature.
Critics of his remarks
Critics said the claim was factually inaccurate and pointed to Arab contributions in many fields.
Characterization of the remarks
Robert F Kennedy Jr
Kennedy made the claims at a Republican campaign event.
Critics of his remarks
Critics described the comments as racist and Islamophobic.
Kennedy made the remarks at a Republican campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Critics called the comments racist, Islamophobic and factually inaccurate.
- Speaker
- Robert F Kennedy Jr, US Health Secretary
- Event location
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Arab population cited by Kennedy
- 500 million
- Prizes mentioned
- Nobel Prize, Fields Prize and Wolf Prize
- Article publication date
- October 27, 2026
3 sources
What people are saying
There’s five hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don’t produce science. They don’t win the Nobel Prize. They don’t win the Fields Prize. They don’t win the Wolf Prize. They don’t produce literature.