Saudi Arabia Funded Columbia Program
Little Green Footballs
At the New York Sun, Jacob Gershman’s article on Saudi grants to Columbia University’s Middle East Institute raises once again a very troubling question: how deeply has Saudi money and propaganda penetrated America’s educational system?
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Saudis Funded Columbia Program At Institute That Trained Teachers.
Saudi Arabia has funneled tens of thousands of dollars into the “outreach” programs of Columbia University’s Middle East Institute, which until last week was training some of the city’s public-school teachers in how to teach students about Middle East politics.
Since 2002, the government-owned Saudi Aramco has given the institute annual grants of $15,000 for unspecified outreach activities. The institute’s outreach activities have included a 15-week teacher-training course on Middle East politics led by Columbia faculty members and graduate students.
In a letter dated April 27, 2004, a scholar of Arab nationalism who took over the Middle East Institute in 2003, Rashid Khalidi, wrote to a senior executive in public affairs at Saudi Aramco, Mustafa Jalali, thanking him for “your generous contribution to the Middle East Institute’s outreach activities in 2004.” The money, Mr. Khalidi wrote, “will enable us to be more proactive and seek out wider outreach opportunities.”
A student provided a copy of the letter to The New York Sun, along with a separate document, which the student said Mr. Khalidi had attached to the letter, containing a description of the 2003-04 outreach activities conducted by the institute.
“The faculty and a group of advanced graduate students are also an important resource for the dissemination of information on the Middle East for non-specialist audiences such as schools, colleges, and community groups,” the document stated. It then described the institute’s course for public-school teachers.
A Columbia spokeswoman, Susan Brown, denied the money from Saudi Aramco was used to finance the program that the institute coordinated for the city’s Department of Education. Rather, she said, the program - for which participating teachers paid tuition of $145 - was supported through federal funds. The institute must demonstrate a certain level of community outreach activity to qualify for federal funds.
Ms. Brown would not disclose how the Middle East Institute, which is part of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, spent the Aramco money. Other outreach activities carried out by the institute include a public lecture series and a one-day educational program in 2002 for New York public-school teachers that provided participants with a special “sensitivity” curriculum for teaching issues related to Islam.
nysun.com
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