AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, at a Republican Party election rally in the state of Michigan, sought to question Arabs by making remarks against them. At this event, he claimed that despite the Arab population of about 500 million in the world, they have no achievements in producing science, receiving prestigious scientific and literary awards, or creating literary works.
Kennedy made these remarks during an attack on Mohamed Abdelsayed, the Democratic Party's Muslim candidate in the US Senate election race from the state of Michigan. According to Steve Bannon, a political analyst at MS NOW, Kennedy first claimed to have expertise on the Muslim Brotherhood and then, instead of focusing on this group, generalized his remarks to the broader Arab and Muslim population. This is while Abdelsayed had previously denied any connection to the Muslim Brotherhood and declared his opposition to the organization.
The author of the report stressed that Kennedy's claims about the lack of scientific and literary achievements by Arabs are false. To refute this claim, he referred to the presence of Arab and Muslim scientists and writers in scientific and literary fields and named Naguib Mahfouz and Abdulrazak Gurnah, the winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature. According to this analyst, the US health secretary's remarks not only ignore the achievements of a large population but also present a humiliating image of Arabs and Muslims.
According to the MS NOW report, Kennedy's remarks come at a time when the US government is embroiled in war in the Middle East and its military forces are present in some allied countries in the region. The author of the report believes that the raising of such claims by a member of the White House cabinet goes beyond a mere incorrect statement and could have consequences for US relations with countries in the region and Arab and Muslim communities.
These remarks have also been made in the context of the US midterm elections and the increase in verbal attacks by Donald Trump and his Republican allies against Muslims. According to MS NOW, Michigan, one of the states with the highest share of Muslim population in the US, has become one of the focal points of this political conflict. Kennedy questioned the achievements of Arabs and Muslims in this state at a time when the race for Michigan's Senate seat is of particular importance in determining the balance of power in Congress.
The author of the report concludes by referring to the shift in the attitude of some Arab and Muslim voters toward the Republican Party; a group, some of whom voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election but now, according to American media, feel disillusioned and betrayed by the party's positions. This analysis warns that the continuation of the anti-Islamic tone and humiliating remarks against Arabs and Muslims may complicate the Republicans' efforts to maintain the support of this segment of voters.
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