Funding hate
I was glad to see Columbia University finally disclose publicly the list of names funding the Edward Said Chair, their professorship in Middle East studies currently held by radical activist Rashid Khalidi.
It's important to know who endows these chairs given the post-September 11 climate. For instance, a Harvard student raised a big stink last year when she found out that a position in Islamic studies at the institution's Divinity School was funded by an anti-Semitic think tank associated with the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up (yes, that's the real name).
I worked on the Said Chair story last year and wrote the article that disclosed the original three donors (they were the only ones that could be confirmed at the time.)
One of the donors that I didn't disclose because I couldn't confirm it (but that I did know about) was the UAE. Officials in Sheik Zayed's office, whom I spoke with, were not interested in playing ball.
Now, Columbia only says the "United Arab Emirates" was the donor. That's very ambiguous and pretty unhelpful. The UAE's "government", much like the Saudi royal family, is very large, diverse and nuanced. Who knows who gave the money exactly. It would be interesting to learn more specifically who it was, and if the donation is at all linked to Sheik Zayed. See the blog of Martin Kramer -- who follows these issues very closely -- for more info.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:09 AM
