The massive Texas A&M University System announced Thursday it would close its controversial campus in the small, oil-rich, authoritarian state of Qatar, citing instability in the Middle East, prompting an angry reaction from the Qatar Foundation. Ta.
Texas A&M said in a statement that the university's “Board of Trustees has decided to reevaluate the university's physical presence in Qatar in the fall of 2023 in response to the heightened instability in the Middle East.”
Texas A&M – Qatar campus to close by 2028: https://t.co/1O2RnP3k2z pic.twitter.com/1TjJbJaWQZ
— Texas A&M System (@tamusystem) February 8, 2024
The Qatari regime has hosted leaders of the US-designated terrorist movement Hamas, and Doha's Sunni Muslim government is currently under parliamentary scrutiny because of its fervent political and financial support for Hamas.
Qatar has funneled more than $2 billion into Hamas' coffers over the past decade. Critics claim that Qatari funds played a key role in the Hamas massacre that killed 1,200 people, including more than 30 Americans, in southern Israel on October 7.
Fox News Digital reported in January and the Associated Press reported that in 2022, the Qatari regime hired a former U.S. CIA official to spy on senators, including Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and a congressman who opposes Muslims. It was reported that he is suspected of having hired Kevin Chalker. the Brotherhood and its Palestinian offshoot, Hamas.
“Mr. Chalker has a long record of service to the United States, and there are no allegations of wrongdoing by him or the GRA, much less defamatory allegations of criminal activity,” Kevin Carroll, Chalker's attorney, told Fox News Digital. “This is a falsehood.” ” GRA is the acronym for Mr. Chalker's company, his Global Risk Advisors.
In a post on X, the Qatar Foundation said the university's decision to close the campus was “influenced by a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining QF's interests.”
Statement from Qatar Foundation The Texas A&M University Board of Trustees’ decision to end its partnership with Qatar Foundation (QF) was influenced by a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining QF’s interests. It is alarming that this disinformation is being spread…
— Qatar Foundation (@QF) February 9, 2024
“We have determined that Texas A&M's core mission should be pursued primarily within the state of Texas and the nation,” said Bill Mahomes, chairman of the Texas A&M Board of Trustees. He added, “By the mid-21st century, universities will not necessarily need campus infrastructure 8,000 miles apart to support teaching and research collaboration.”
The regents' vote to end the partnership with Qatar passed 7-1. The Qatar campus will cease operations from his 2028. The official name of the Qatar campus is Texas A&M at Qatar (TAMUQ), which was established in 2003 “to advance education and research in chemical, electrical, mechanical, and petroleum engineering.” According to a statement from the university.
of jerusalem post office On January 5, the Institute for Global Anti-Semitism Policy (ISGAP) announced that Texas A&M's relationship with Qatar was due to an alleged threat to U.S. security over Qatar's access to classified nuclear and weapons information. It reported that it had asked U.S. authorities to investigate the partnership.
ISGAP sent a letter to U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm regarding “alarming findings exposing unreported and unregulated funding by Qatar to Texas A&M University.” Qatar has effective ownership of nuclear research and the development of sensitive weapons at universities, raising the alarm of serious potential threats to U.S. national security. ”
According to an ISGAP study, “Qatar has taken full ownership of more than 500 research projects at Texas A&M, some of which are in areas such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotech robotics, and weapons development.” “It's in a very sensitive area.”
Qatar 'donates' billions of dollars in exchange for intellectual property rights for research projects
ISGAP's investigation found that Qatar and its state-owned agents gave Texas A&M more than $1 billion in exchange for ownership of intellectual property rights for more than 500 research projects. ”
post's January report was widely cited in local media in College Station, Texas, where the prominent university is located.
“Last month, online reports questioned A&M's safety practices related to the Qatar campus and its connection to nuclear engineering research,” according to a Thursday article in the Bryan College Station Eagle reporting on the university. jerusalem postIsrael's top English-language newspaper reported on the letter from the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism Policy (ISGAP).
Texas television station KBTX3 reported Thursday. post, referred to a letter from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP). ”
Texas A&M President Mark Welsh flatly denied to KBTX's Rusty Surrett that Qatar secured highly sensitive national security information, calling the allegations “insane” and “irresponsible.” I declared that there was.
ISGAP Director Dr. Charles Asher Small said on Friday: By reevaluating Texas A&M's presence in Qatar, the Board of Regents demonstrated its commitment to academic integrity, ethical principles, and national security concerns. This is an important statement affirming that billions of dollars from states that support and finance terrorism and promote and spread the Muslim Brotherhood's extremist Islamist ideology have no place in American academia. ”
Small continued, “Texas A&M's withdrawal from Education City in Doha marks an important and meaningful change in the relationship between U.S. academia and the Qatari regime, and we look forward to supporting the remaining U.S. We strongly urge universities (Virginia Commonwealth University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, and Northwestern University) to do so.” – Follow this example by relocating educational activities elsewhere and refraining from receiving funds contaminated by anti-Western, anti-democratic and pro-jihad regimes. ”
said Richard Goldberg, a Northwestern University graduate who worked on the National Security Council during the Trump administration. post, “Northwestern plays a major role in Qatar's malign activities. Qatar not only offers chairs in Middle East studies to inflame anti-Israel sentiment on campus, but also engages in terrorism, anti-American incitement, and pure Despite the department's material support for anti-Semitism, the university is affiliated with Al Jazeera in Doha.
Other universities also intend to continue cooperation with Qatar
post We approached an American university with a satellite campus in Qatar. post They asked whether American universities planned to close their campuses and about Qatar's reported role in spreading anti-Semitism and funding Islamist terrorist movements and organizations.
Northwestern University spokesman John Yates said: post“Northwestern University partners with institutions in more than 30 countries around the world, including two universities in Israel. We maintain a campus in Doha, Qatar, and are committed to making a positive impact in the region. , educating future generations of journalists and people working in the communications field, representing more than 50 nationalities. Northwestern University looks forward to continuing to educate students from across the region and around the world.”
Yates declined to comment when asked about Qatar's role in inciting hatred against Jews in school curricula and its alleged funding of Islamist terrorist movements, according to an investigation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). .
said Joel M. Marina, vice president for university relations at Cornell University. post“Cornell University received funding to operate its medical school in Qatar, which has graduated more than 500 students from the Middle East, Asia, and many other countries, including the United States. We are proud of this collaboration, which is contributing to the development of much-needed physicians,” patient care, biomedical research, and overall quality of life. ”
According to MEMRI's research, Islamic education textbooks in Qatar for grades 1 to 12 “praise jihad and self-sacrifice for the cause of Islam, treating them as virtues and divine commandments to earn Allah's favor and reward.” The main thing is admission to the highest order.” Paradise level. Furthermore, starting in grade 8, the book emphasizes the importance of death in Islam, rather than the importance of life. ”
Memri added further. “Textbooks repeatedly emphasize the difference between Muslims and non-Muslims, describing the latter as 'unbelievers' who will suffer severe torture in hell and Muslims who must apostate. These books emphasize the superiority of Islam over other religions, especially Judaism and Christianity. These religions are portrayed as false and distorted religions and also feature anti-Semitic motifs, portraying Jews as traitors, dishonest, cunning, and weak at the same time. It's miserable and cowardly. ”
Marina declined to comment when asked about reports of anti-Semitism in Qatar and enabling Islamist terrorism.
Northwestern and Cornell have been rocked by outbreaks of anti-Semitism since Hamas invaded Israel in October.
Virginia Commonwealth University, Carnegie Mellon University, Arkansas State University and Georgetown University did not immediately respond. of the post Press inquiries about our campus and activities in Qatar.
Texas A&M's decision to close its campus in Qatar shocked the pro-Israel community and counterterrorism experts in the United States.
Pastor John Hagee, founder and president of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), said of his alma mater, Texas A&M: Relationship between the university and Qatar. Doha has decided to side with the terrorists. So Aggie doesn't have to deal with his administration. ”
CUFI is based in San Antonio, Texas. Hagy added, “Across the country, we have seen examples of leaders at (allegedly) elite institutions failing to act on, let alone articulate, the right decisions.” added. The actions of Chancellor Sharp and the Board of Governors should serve as inspiration to those in academia across the country. We should not do business with supporters of terrorism and should not tolerate anti-Semitism under any circumstances. ”
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, deputy director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), told Mr.he post “SWC hopes that Texas A&M's decision will encourage other universities to sever ties with anti-Semitic and Hamas-supporting Qatar. Thank you, CUFI, for your generous support of the Jewish state. .”
Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, CEO of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), said: “Qatar’s global isolation is understandably increasing every day. The university should be greatly praised for refusing to accept sponsorship from other universities. If the remaining universities with ties to Qatar do not follow suit, they risk serious reputational damage.”
He added, “Academic integrity, freedom of expression, and tolerance cannot exist alongside support for terrorism. Texas A&M rejects this sponsorship and attempts to whitewash its bloody legacy.” We took the right step in refusing to participate in Qatar's attempt to do so.”
