Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made comments at a Republican campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, criticizing Islamic culture. He stated that 500 million Arabs do not produce much of value for humanity due to the rise of fundamentalist extremism. Kennedy argued that Arabs do not win notable awards such as the Nobel Prize, Fields Prize, or Wolf Prize.
He also claimed that Arab institutions have not produced any science Nobel laureates or Fields Medal winners in recent decades. A medical student, Abdul El-Sayed, has been criticized for signing a 2012 statement supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and the Mohamed Morsi regime.
The statement called for the purge of media and police. The left-wing media has defended Islam and attacked Kennedy as a "bigot." They have pointed out a few exceptions to the rule, citing Arab scientists and writers who have won prizes in recent decades.