Muslim Scientists Win Top Awards Despite Harsh Words

Magid Abou-Gharbia grew up in Egypt. He moved to the United States in 1974 to study at the University of Pennsylvania. Today, he runs a drug research center at Temple University. His work has led to 145 patents and ten new medicines. Two of those drugs are antidepressants called Effexor and Pristiq. He also helps create treatments for opioid and cocaine addiction. Shortly before a recent speech, he won the John Scott Award. This is the oldest science prize in America. Past winners include Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, and Jonas Salk.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. serves as Secretary of Health and Human Services. He recently said Arab Muslims do not produce top science or writing prizes. That claim ignores people like Abou-Gharbia. It also ignores other winners. Mohamed ElBaradei from Egypt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Ahmed Zewail, an Egyptian American scientist, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1999. Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian novelist, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1988. These facts show the claim is wrong.

Some political leaders have used harsh words about Muslims during the election season. One senator posted a photo of a New York mayor next to images from the September 11 attacks. The message implied that the enemy is already inside. Other politicians have called for bans on Sharia law. A few have even suggested forcing Muslim citizens to leave the country. Sharia is a set of religious guidelines from the Quran for living a good life. Lawmakers have introduced at least 39 bills against Sharia in the last two years. Yet no state or city in America has ever adopted or required it.

A past president claimed that Muslims in New Jersey cheered after the September 11 attacks. That statement was hateful. It was also false. Some people in other parts of the world may have celebrated when the towers fell. But there is no proof that Muslims in the United States did so. Calling people racists or Islamophobes often makes them stop listening. Carl Rogers was a famous psychologist from the last century. He noticed that people change more easily when they feel accepted. They resist when they feel insulted. The best answer to false claims is not name-calling. It is sharing the truth.