Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 28: US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has faced widespread criticism from civil rights groups, healthcare advocates and Democratic leaders over remarks about Arabs that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) described as racist and bigoted.
Speaking at a campaign event in Michigan on Monday, Kennedy claimed that Arabs had not won major international awards and did not contribute to science or literature. He said that despite the Arab world's population of around 500 million, Arabs did not win the Nobel Prize, Fields Medal or Wolf Prize, or produce literature. However, Arabs have won these prestigious awards.
Peter Hotez, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine who specialises in vaccine development and tropical medicine, challenged Kennedy's remarks by referring to his late colleague Ahmed Zewail, an Arab scientist who won the Nobel Prize and died in 2016.
CAIR condemned Kennedy's comments, describing them as an attempt to erase Arab contributions to humanity and warning that such rhetoric could fuel anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hatred. The US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kennedy also criticised the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world's oldest and most influential Islamist groups, claiming it had created stagnant societies.
The remarks came amid an increasingly contentious US midterm election campaign in Michigan, where Republican Mike Rogers is contesting the US Senate seat against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health official. El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim US senator if elected, has faced repeated anti-Muslim attacks during the campaign. He has publicly rejected claims linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood.
US President Donald Trump has also invoked the September 11, 2001, attacks while speaking about El-Sayed and has repeatedly, and falsely, described him as a “jihadist.”
Cole Wozniak, a spokesperson for El-Sayed's campaign, accused Kennedy of making racially charged comments to influence voters. He criticised Kennedy's record on science and said El-Sayed had spent his career working in public health.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut also condemned the remarks, warning of what he described as a coordinated campaign to undermine the legitimacy of Muslim Americans.
Healthcare advocacy organisation Protect Our Care called Kennedy's comments a “wildly racist tirade.”
Kennedy, who has faced criticism over his anti-vaccine views, was also in Michigan on Monday to promote funding for Detroit's health department and highlight agreements with hospitals aimed at providing healthier food.