Interesting article... who's donating to who...

[Guest guest]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121200

591.html

 

> Saudi Businessman Donates Millions to Georgetown and Harvard for Study of

> Islam

>

> By Caryle Murphy

> Washington Post Staff Writer

> Monday, December 12, 2005; 5:33 PM

>

> An internationally prominent Saudi businessman said today that he is

> donating $20 million each to Georgetown and Harvard universities to expand

> the study of Islam and the Muslim world as part of his philanthropic

> efforts aimed at promoting interreligious understanding.

>

> Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a member of the Saudi royal family, said in a

> telephone interview from the Saudi capital of Riyadh that he also has

> established the first two centers for American studies in the Middle East,

> to be located at universities in Beirut and Cairo.

>

> "As you know, since the 9/11 events, the image of Islam has been tarnished

> in the West," said Alwaleed, who is chairman of the Riyadh-based Kingdom

> Holding Company and has extensive business holdings in Europe and the

> United States.

>

> "We have worked very diligently to bridge the gap between the communities

> in the United States and Saudi Arabia," Alwaleed added, explaining that

> the American studies programs in the Middle East will "teach the Arab

> world about the American situation" and that his gifts to the two American

> universities will be used "to teach about the Islamic world to the United

> States."

>

> Alwaleed, one of the world's richest persons, offered a gift of $10

> million to the Twin Towers Fund shortly after the terrorist attacks of

> September 2001.

>

> But then-New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani rejected the donation because

> a press release about the gift quoted the prince as saying that the United

> States "should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more

> balanced stance towards the Palestinian cause."

>

> The $20 million gift to Georgetown is the second largest single gift ever

> received by the Jesuit-run university in Washington, officials said. It

> will be used to expand the activities of its 12-year-old Center for

> Muslim-Christian Understanding.

>

> "We are deeply honored by Prince Alwaleed's generosity," said university

> president John J. DeGioia, who met Alwaleed Nov. 7 in a Paris hotel to

> sign the documents formalizing the donation.

>

> "This gift will deepen Georgetown's ability to advance education in the

> fields of Islamic civilization and Muslim-Christian understanding and

> strengthen its presence as a world leader in facilitating cross-cultural

> and inter-religious dialogue," DeGioia's statement added.

>

> The center will be renamed the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for

> Muslim-Christian Understanding, but there are no restrictions on how the

> $20 million is to be spent, according to center director John L. Esposito.

>

> "A significant part of the money will be used to beef up the think tank

> part of what the Center does," Esposito said in an interview.

>

> Up to now, he added, the center has not had enough resources "to respond

> to the tremendous demand that is out there, from the government, church

> and religious groups, the media and corporations to address and answer

> issues like, 'What is the actual relationship between the West and the

> Muslim world? Is Islam compatible with modernization?' Now we can run

> workshops and conferences [on these subjects] both here and overseas."

>

> "I am pleased to support the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. It

> is vital for the monotheistic religions to reach a common ground of

> understanding and to gain knowledge about what unites our civilizations,"

> Alwaleed said in a statement released today. "We are determined to build a

> bridge between Islam and Christianity for tolerance that transcends

> cultural and geographical boundaries."

>

> His statement added that the $20 million "will endow three faculty chairs,

> expand programmatic and academic outreach activities, provide new

> scholarship support for students, broaden opportunities for research and

> policy discussions and expand library facilities."

>

> Esposito said that for the past year Alwaleed had examined several U.S.

> universities as possibilities for his donation. He chose Georgetown,

> Esposito added, "because he knew our track record."

>

> Alwaleed said in the telephone conversation that his $20 million donation

> to Harvard will fund its Islamic studies program which crosses many

> disciplines.

>

> Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers expressed gratitude to Alwaleed in a

> statement today, saying that his gift "will enable us to recruit

> additional faculty of the highest caliber, adding to our strong team of

> professors . . . [in] this important area of scholarship."

>

> Alwaleed also donated $5 million to establish the Center for American

> Studies and Research (CASAR) at the American University in Beirut (AUB)

> and $10 million to finance construction of the Humanities and Social

> Sciences (HUSS) building in the new campus of the American University in

> Cairo (AUC), according to his press release.