RUTHFULLY YOURS

In the latest development concerning the relationship between U.S. universities and the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), the QFIS website reveals that six U.S. universities have established a permanent relationship with QFIS. According to a QFIS web page:

Established in 2007, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) is an international center for Islamic thinking and dialogue. Its aim is to enhance research into Islamic culture and promote the diversity and tolerance of the Islamic Fiqh, or understanding. Learning takes place in an open, intellectual environment and produces a structure of study that will enable future generations of scholars to become experts in Islamic culture and ideology. These graduates will be well-equipped to tackle the challenges facing Muslim communities across the world. QFIS offers programs in: Master of Science in Islamic Finance, Master of Arts in Public Policy in Islam, Master of Arts in Islamic Studies with a specialization in Contemporary Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and Religion and Contemporary Thought, Master of Science in Urban Design and Architecture in Muslim Societies, Master of Arts in Contemporary Muslim Societies .Postgraduate Diplomas in: Islamic Finance. General Islamic Studies. Public Policy in Islam. Research is a critical component, with six specialized centers providing opportunities for postgraduate students, residents, and visiting scholars to investigate research topics in their field of interest.

The QFIS page then goes on to identify its six research centers with the Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal at the top of the list. A post from 2008 had discussed the plans for the center named after Youssef Qaradawi, the most important leader of the Global Muslim Brotherhood. At that time, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar and Northwestern University in Qatar were identified as the two most recent additions to the Qatar Education City,

Another QFIS web page now identifies what it describes as “branch campuses of eight strategically selected elite international universities, delivering world-class programs chosen to ensure Qatar is equipped with essential skills and specialisms.” Six of those campuses represent the following U.S. universities:

Four of the above universities were among the six U.S. universities that helped to co-organized the launch ceremony for the newest of the QFIS research centers to be headed by Tariq Ramadan, another critically important leader of the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and co-directed by a close associate of Qaradawi. As discussed in an earlier post, the launch ceremony also included representatives of two organizations headed by Youssef Qaradawi and an organization tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas fundraising, and support for Al Qaeda. Another post reported that Georgetown University academic and Global Muslim Brotherhood supporter John Esposito was amongst the event speakers who also included Qaradawi himself.

The GMDR has devoted an unusual amount of space to this topic because we believe that the formation of the center represents a highly significant coming together of Qaradawi and Ramadan, the two most important leaders of the Global Muslim Brotherhood. Qaradawi is known as a virulent anti-Semite often referred to here as the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, an acknowledgement of his role as the de facto spiritual leader of the movement. In 2004, Qaradawi turned down the offer to lead the Egyptian Brotherhood after the death of the Supreme Guide. Based in Qatar, Sheikh Qaradawi has reportedly amassed substantial wealth through his role as Shari’ah adviser to many important Islamic banks and funds. He is also considered to be the “spiritual guide” for Hamas and his fatwas in support of suicide bombings against Israeli citizens were instrumental in the development of the phenomenon. A recent post has discussed a video compilation of Qaradawi’s extremist statements.

The fact that major U.S. universities feel comfortable with associating themselves so closely with Qaradawi and his representatives speaks volumes as to how rapidly the Global Muslim Brotherhood is becoming legitimized as a mainstream political force.

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The Qatar Foundation has identified Georgetown academic John Esposito among the list of speakers at recent the launch for the new Islamic center in Qatar to be headed by Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Tariq Ramadan. According to the Qatar Foundation report, the following individuals of note spoke at the event:

Dr. Esposito, a former U.S. State Department advisor, has espoused views consistent with Brotherhood doctrine and during the 1990′s was known for his claims that Islamic fundamentalism was, in fact, democratic and posed no threat to the U.S. Dr. Esposito has at least a dozen past or present affiliations with global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas organizations including having served on the advisory board of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in the U.K. headed by Azzam Tamimi, a leader in the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood and often described as a Hamas spokesman. Dr. Esposito has also served with global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi on the Steering Committee of the Circle of Tradition and Progress and enjoyed a close relationship with the United Association For Studies and Research (USAR), part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee and part of the Hamas support infrastructure. In 2005, Saudi prince Alaweed bin Talal, a financial supporter of the global Muslim Brotherhood, donated $20 million to the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown, headed by Dr. Esposito.

An earlier post reported on the formation of the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CLIE) which appears to be a highly significant coming together of Global Muslim Brotherhood leaders Tariq Ramadan and Youssef Qaradawi, noting that the Deputy Director is a close associate of Qaradawi’s at the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS).The new center appears to be the latest in the series of research centers being established by the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS). A subsequent post reported that the launch ceremony for Center was co-organized by a group that included five U.S. universities, among them Georgetown University, together with representatives of two organizations headed by Youssef Qaradawi and an organization tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas fundraising, and support for Al Qaeda.

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MEMRI has posted a report titled “Isma’il Haniya’s First Regional Tour Transforms Him From Hamas PM in Gaza to Regional Palestinian Leader.” The report begins:

In late December 2011, Hamas prime minister in Gaza Isma’il Haniya made an official tour of the region that included visits to Egypt, Sudan, Turkey and finally Tunisia. This was his first official trip abroad since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip five years ago. Especially noteworthy was his five-day visit to Tunisia, on which Haniya was accompanied by 20 of his government officials, and which came in response to an invitation by the new Tunisian government, headed by Hamadi Al-Jabali of the Islamist Al-Nahda party. Haniya was the first leader to visit Tunisia after the establishment of the new government there.[1] He was greeted at the airport by Tunisian Prime Minister Al-Jabali, government ministers, and Al-Nahda party chairman Rached Al-Ghannouchi, and was received by an honor guard and a band playing the Palestinian and Tunisian anthems – honors usually reserved for visiting heads of state.[2] During his visit, Haniya met with Prime Minister Al-Jabali, President Munsif Al-Marzouqi, government ministers, Constituent Assembly Chairman Mustafa bin Ja’far, and senior Al-Nahda officials, including Al-Ghannouchi.[3] In his meeting with the president, Haniya invited him to visit Gaza and the latter accepted the invitation.[4] Haniya toured several cities and visited a number of mosques, and delivered a Friday sermon to an audience of thousands at a mosque in Kairouan. In the capital Tunis, he was granted the special honor of attending the conversion ceremony of a Frenchwoman converting to Islam. Haniya’s Tunisian hosts expressed their belief in the legitimacy of the Hamas government and Haniya as its head. Hamas, for its part, indeed regards the visit to Tunisia, and the entire regional tour, as an indication of its growing acceptance in the Arab and Muslim world. Haniya stressed that the tour broke the political and economic siege on Gaza, and emphasized the connection between the Tunisian and Palestinian revolutions. He promised to continue on the path of jihad and resistance, and to refrain from recognizing Israel or relinquishing a single inch of Palestinian soil.

Read the rest here.

A series of earlier posts covered various aspects of Haniyeh’s tour.

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