During a campaign appearance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. turned heads by arguing that the true genocide in the Middle East is the historic erasure and expulsion of millions of Christians across former Christian strongholds such as Egypt, Iraq and Libya.
"Egypt was a Christian country," he said. "Libya was a Christian country. Iraq was a Christian country. The Christians have been expelled. These are the genocides."
He argued that a tolerant and pluralistic "Golden Age" of Islam — which once led the world in science, art and medicine — was ultimately ruined by the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, which he blamed for creating stagnant societies.
To illustrate his point, he highlighted how ancient Christian populations have been driven out and noted that the number of Jewish people living in Arab states has fallen from roughly 1 million in 1948 to fewer than 15,000 due to forced expulsions and persecution.
Kennedy made similar comments during a studio interview on Fox News evening show in June.
His claim that the 500 million Arabs in the world today "don't produce science" and "don't win the Nobel Prize" has drawn widespread condemnation from civil rights organizations, Democratic politicians and healthcare advocates.
Critics, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations and prominent scientists, pointed out that Arab individuals have recently won prestigious awards such as the Nobel Prize, directly disproving his claims. Opponents also condemned the remarks as xenophobic "race baiting" designed to smear his political rivals and stoke fear for electoral gain.
Reacting on American Family Radio, author and broadcaster Steve Deace said RFK Jr. is pointing out basic historical facts — truths that he said American pastors have shied away from for a generation.
"Because they haven't done their job, a lot of our people … don't truly understand what RFK Jr. is saying there," he told Jenna Ellis, referencing Hosea 4:6. "This was common sense and known in every era of the Western Church from the Crusades till now, that this is what happens when Islam takes over."
Christianity originated in the Middle East during the first century in regions that later became parts of the Arab world. For centuries, Christian communities coexisted alongside the region's Muslim majorities under various empires and dynamic political systems. However, over the last century, Christianity has sharply declined in those countries due to low birth rates, regional instability, economic hardships and targeted persecution or violence.
In the U.S., the Muslim population is growing rapidly due to steady immigration and higher-than-average fertility rates, with Pew Research Center data showing it has more than doubled over the last two decades.
Meanwhile, Christianity is experiencing a demographic decline.
Deace argued that political shifts are downstream from the spiritual state of the Church. He cautioned that if Christian leaders fail to confront cultural realities and teach a biblical worldview, Western civilization will continue its decay.
