US’s RFK Jr claims Arabs ‘don’t produce science’: Why he’s very, very wrong

What the report says

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drew backlash after saying at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that Arabs do not contribute to science, mathematics or literature and do not win major prizes such as Nobel or Fields awards. According to Al Jazeera’s report, the remarks were made while he was speaking in support of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers in a closely watched race against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who is Arab American. The comments were widely described by critics as racist and Islamophobic.

Al Jazeera said the statement was contradicted by a long record of Arab and Arab-descended contributions to scholarship and research. The article pointed to the Islamic Golden Age and to figures such as al-Khwarizmi in algebra, Ibn al-Haytham in optics, al-Zahrawi in surgery and Ibn al-Nafis in medicine, along with major developments in Arabic literature and geography. It also noted that Arabs and people of Arab heritage have won or shared prominent international honors in science and literature, including Nobel Prizes and the Fields Medal.

The report said the reaction included criticism from scientists, broadcasters and advocacy groups. Some called for Kennedy’s removal and argued that his comments erased centuries of intellectual achievement across the Arab world and among Arab diaspora communities. The article presents the episode as part of broader concern over anti-Arab prejudice in US political discourse.