Arab Nobel Winners and the Science Debate

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Arabs do not produce science. He claimed they do not win Nobel Prizes. He said they do not win the Fields Prize or the Wolf Prize. He also said they do not produce literature. These statements were made at a campaign event in Michigan.

The record shows otherwise. Ahmed Zewail won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999. Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988. Mohamed ElBaradei won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Tawakkol Karman won the same peace prize in 2011. She was the first Arab woman to receive it.

More examples exist. Omar Yaghi won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2025. Michael Atiyah won a Fields Prize in 1966. Anwar Sadat shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. Yasser Arafat shared one in 1994. It helps to know that Arab describes language and heritage. Muslim describes a religion. Most Muslims around the world are not Arab.

Kennedy spoke in Grand Rapids while backing a Republican Senate candidate. Michigan is home to many Arab American families. Many people called his words false and biased. A spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.

The comments came during a debate about the Muslim Brotherhood. Kennedy said this group damaged Arab society. The group began in Egypt in 1928. Several nations have labeled it a terrorist organization. The Senate candidate had accused his opponent of ties to the group.