Ameera AlSaid

Overview

Ameera AlSaid has spread incitement and demonized Israel. AlSaid has also spread hatred of Israel as well as Zionism and Zionists.

AlSaid is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of November 2021, AlSaid’s LinkedIn said she was a full-time "Content lead and presenter" for 360 Nautica, a venture and growth capital platform in Qatar from June-September 2021. 

AlSaid’s LinkedIn also said that she was a “News presenter and content creator” with the Qatari news website Doha News from May 2020 - February 2021. As of June 2021, Doha News listed AlSaid as an author.

In 2019, NU-Q’s student media site The Daily Q listed AlSaid as the co-host of their online broadcast “The Not So Daily Show.”

AlSaid’s LinkedIn indicated she was an Intern with Al Jazeera English (AJ English) from April 2018 – June 2018.

As of November 2021, AlSaid’s LinkedIn indicated that she was located in Qatar and that she graduated NU-Q in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies.

Spreading Incitement

AlSaid retweeted a May 7, 2021 tweet that said: “Stop #EthnicCleansing in Palestine #SaveSheikhJarrah #انقذوا_حي_الشيخ_جراح [Save Sheikh Jarrah].”

In May 2021, Palestinian violence erupted in anticipation of an Israel High Court ruling on eviction proceedings concerning over 70 Palestinian tenants illegally residing in Jewish-owned properties in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. 

On May 9, 2021, AlSaid tweeted: “I want to make this here☹️,” accompanied by another tweet that said: “اللوحات المضادة لفكرة التطبيع تنتشر في شوارع الكويت، وهذه في الجهراء #التطبيع_خيانة 
#القدس_تنتفض #القدس_قضيتنا #انقذوا_حي_الشيخ_الجراح [“Posters against the idea of normalization are spreading in the streets of Kuwait city, and these onesare in Jahra. #Normalization is a betrayal.” #Jerusalem is rising up #Jerusalem is our cause #Save Sheikh Al-Jarrah’s neighbourhood].”

The tweet was accompanied by a photo of a poster that said, in Arabic, “teach your children that Palestine is under occupation, that Al-Aqsa is a prisoner, that the Zionist entity is enemy and that the resistance is honor and that there is no state whose name is Israel.”

On May 10, 2021, AlSaid tweeted: “الله يقويهم يارب [Oh God, Give them strength],” accompanied by another tweet that said: “الوضع صعب جدا بس الشباب مش تعبانة.. انتقاضة [The situation is very difficult but the youth are not getting tired..Intifada]” and a video of Palestinian youth throwing stones and clashing with Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa compound.

In May 2021, violent clashes broke out between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police at the Al-Aqsa compound following claims the Al-Aqsa Mosque was in danger. The subsequent incitement was a leading factor in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists firing over 4,300 rockets from Gaza into Israel later that month. Israel responded by launching “Operation Guardian of the Walls (OGW),” carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza. Allegations of Jews “threatening” to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque have been a traditional pretext for Arab attacks on Jews predating the State of Israel.

On May 16, 2021, AlSaid tweeted: “For Palestine... always🇵🇸🇵🇸#SaveSheikhJarrahh #Palestine #تجمع_قطر_من_أجل_القدس #فلسطين_قضيتي [gathering_Qatar_for_Al_Quds #Palestine_my cause] #AlQuds,” accompanied by photos of demonstrators at an anti-Israel protest.

On May 21, 2021, Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire following 11 days of conflict.

AlSaid retweeted a May 21, 2021 tweet that said: “See why a ceasefire means very little? The occupation and its brutal forces are still harassing and abusing Palestinians. This occupation must be lifted and uprooted.”

The tweet included another tweet that said: “#عاجلالاحتلال يقتحم المسجد #الأقصى ويلقي قنابل الصوت تجاه المصلين [urgent__the_occupation_is_ invading_al_Aqsa Mosque_and _throwing_stun grenades_at_the_worshippers]” and a video of Palestinian youth running and throwing stones at the Al-Aqsa compound.

On May 21, 2021, clashes erupted outside of the Al-Aqsa compound after Palestinian worshippers threw rocks and petrol bombs at Israeli officers. Thousands of worshippers had gathered at the compound in solidarity with Gaza, following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.  

Demonizing Israel

On May 14, 2021, AlSaid shared a photo of an anti-Israel demonstrator at a protest, holding up a sign that said, in Arabic: “The governments betrayed, but the street did not" [ i.e. Arab governments have normalized with Israel but not the Arab street]." AlSaid added: “Id carry that tmw but I’d be ✈️."

Proponents of the “anti-normalization” policy seek to police all interactions between Israelis and Palestinians and shut down all conversations and interactions perceived as being ideologically unaligned with their own agenda. They believe “liberal Zionist” dialogue with Palestinians “normalizes” entrenched power dynamics. This policy was originally dictated by the BDS National Committee (BNC), which prioritized the “Monitoring & Rapid Response” against interactions that recognize or cooperate with “Israel’s regime.”


On May 15, 2021, AlSaid tweeted: “Take photos, paint, sing, and post about Palestine. It pisses those who are pro Israel and anyone who supports the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. We need to show them they’re up against many more around the world and not just the Palestinians. We all stand with Palestine🇵🇸.”

AlSaid retweeted a May 21, 2021 tweet that said: “please understand that ceasefire doesn't mean that this is the end of this genocide, illegal occupation, colonisation and ethnic cleansing.”

On June 15, 2020, AlSaid tweeted, referring to Israel’s security barrier: “Something added to my bucketlist: talk to and film artists who paint on the apartheid wall without showing their faces but their powerful art.”

Israel’s security barrier, 97 percent of which is a low chain-link barrier, was built as a deterrent to Palestinian terror attacks. The concrete portions of the fence were built in response to Palestinian sniper attacks.


On May 17, 2018, AlSaid uploaded a vlog [video log] to her YouTube channel titled: “Hebron, Palestine. 2017.”

AlSaid added in the description section of the vlog: “It breaks my heart to see what's happening in Gaza now and the moving of the embassy. ‘Moving the embassy is another means of ethnically cleansing Palestinians, complete erasure of our existence for colonial expansion’...Our right to return will never fall. WE WILL RETURN.”

In December 2017, the U.S. government announced its decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.


In the film, AlSaid captured [00:03:42] a section of Israel’s security fence, labeling it the “Apartheid Wall.”

AlSaid ended [00:04:11] her vlog with a slide of the Palestinian flag and the caption: “We will continue to resist against the Zionist Israeli state until Palestine is free and Jerusalem is restored as its eternal capital.”

Hatred of Israel

On May 13, 2021, AlSaid tweeted: “لانهم طبعو مع العدو ما بيقدرو الله ينتقم منهم بس [They normalized with the enemy, they will not succeed and Allah will take revenge from them]” in response to a tweet that referred to the United Arab Emirates [UAE]’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper, said: “The UAE didn’t even bother lighting up their stupid burj with the Palestinian flag. But are we even surprised?”

On August 13, 2020, the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to a joint statement referred to as the “Abraham Accords” in which the UAE consented to formally normalize its relationship with Israel. 

AlSaid retweeted a June 11, 2021 tweet that said: “cool! when will they ban killing children lol,” in response to a tweet that said: “Israel has banned the sale of fur.”

AlSaid retweeted a June 15, 2021 tweet that said: “An insecure nation of militarized settler pigs needed trigger-happy, terroristic occupation forces to expel all Palestinians from Damascus Gate in order for them to dance ‘victoriously.’ What victory? Word to the stones of our streets, they’re Palestinian.”

The tweet was accompanied by a video of Israeli youth waving Israeli flags and celebrating Jerusalem Day, an Israeli national holiday.

Hatred of Zionists and Zionism

AlSaid retweeted a June 16, 2021 tweet that said: “all i want” accompanied by a meme of two people driving in a car, with the words “f**k zionism” over the first person and “free palestine” over the second person. The second frame shows the two embracing.

On April 13, 2020, AlSaid responded to a tweet that said: “omg this zionist dude that was in one of my classes last quarter is in my class now I HATE HIM,” by tweeting: “Hack into his computer and put a Palestinian flag as his background😏

On March 4, 2018, AlSaid tweeted, referring to Jewish-American lawyer Alan Dershowitz: “I was shocked to hear him say ‘I’m a proud Zionist’ I honestly couldn’t stay in that hall I was disgusted! I thought he wasn’t there to be vocal on his views but guess not.”

AlSaid then responded to a tweet that said: “Same ! My heart actually literally dropped and I’m like f**k you and your Zionist heart,” by tweeting: “Man same I was literally shaking it’s the first time I hear someone saying it comfortably! I was furious.”

On March 4, 2018, the Qatar Foundation (QF) invited Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, to give a lecture at NU-Q titled “Law and Media.”

Supporting BDS

AlSaid retweeted a June 5, 2021 tweet that said: “Wow this deserves more coverage. Members of the Pillsbury family call for a boycott of Pillsbury products as long as the company operates a factory in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank.”

On May 27, 2021, AlSaid tweeted: “Wait guys Macdonald’s supports israel?”

On May 22, 2021, AlSaid tweeted: “عقبال العرب بس [I wish the Arabs also did this]” accompanied by a tweet that included a headline by the Pakistani news site the Pakistan Tribune, titled “Maldives suspends all kinds of Relations with Israel, Including Ban on Israelis Products.”

AlSaid retweeted a May 19, 2021 tweet that said: “للتذكير مقاطعة المنتجات الاىىىراىلىه منهج حياة كامله مش اسبوع اسبوعين [As a reminder, boycotting Israeli products is a complete lifestyle approach, not just a week or two].”

Qatar - Terrorism  

Qatar is one of the primary state backers of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and has provided funding for Hamas in the past. Qatar facilitates funding to advance extremism around the world, including the West.
  
Founded in Egypt 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamist organization, listed as a terrorist organization in at least six countries, including Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction, is listed as one of the Brotherhood’s offshoots.

Hamas has been designated aterrorist organizationby the European Union, Canada, Australia, the United States and Israel.

The Hamas founding charter has called for the murder of Jews, and Hamas has hosted “summer camps,” that taught children how to wage war.

Qatar Foundation

In 1995, the then-Emir of Qatar and his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, created the Qatar Foundation (QF) to “advance education, science, and cultural development.” 

In 1995, QF was given two billion dollars in resources by the Qatari Government “to address knowledge and capacity deficits” and transform into a “knowledge-based economy.”

QF launched Education City (EC) in 1997, with the stated goal of providing “world-class education to the people of Qatar.” 

In 2003, the campus was officially inaugurated

Qatar Foundation - Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the Muslim Brotherhood  

In 2007, Yusuf al-Qaradawi announced QF’s establishment of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) in EC. The QFIS structure was to be created by an advisory committee, chaired by al-Qaradawi.
  
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi [Yousef Al-Qaradhawi] was the founder and, as of April 2020, remained head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. In 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported the council used the anti-Semitic fabricated text, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as a basis for some of its deliberations.

al-Qaradawi said in a statement that aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 30, 2009: "Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the Jews...The last punishment was carried out by Hitler...Allah Willing, the next time will be at the hand of the Believers."

al-Qaradawi has also called for the murder of American civilians, as well as American troops in Iraq, homosexuals and Jews and expressed support for domestic violence against women. 

In 2008, Moza bint Nasser and QF established within QFIS, the al-Qaradawi Centre for Research in Moderate Thought, also known as the “Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal,” in honor of “His Eminence” Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
 
QFIS described al-Qaradawi as “a pioneer of Islamic moderate thought” and the research center’s “main theorist.” 

In January 2012, QF opened the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), “under the guidance of Director Dr. Tariq Ramadan.” In October 2015, Ramadan was listed as the CILE Director. 

Tariq Ramadan is the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) founder Hassan al-Banna and son of senior Brotherhood operative Said Ramadan. Tariq Ramadanis also alleged to be a serial-rapist, as well asa terrorist supporter. 

In 2015, Ramadan gave a “Principles of Leadership in Islam” seminar series, open to all EC students.As of May 2020, CILE listed Ramadan as part of “Our Team” on their website.  

NU-Q - Qatar Foundation  

In 2008, QF invited Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois to set up a Qatari satellite campus in EC, Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), focusing on journalism and communications. 

The degree that NU-Q awards students upon graduation would be identical to that earned at NU’s Evanston, IL campus.

On July 10, 2009, the Chronicle of Higher Education released an article critical of the academic standards of EC, noting that: "Administrators at several branch campuses of American universities in Qatar acknowledge that they accept students with admissions standards that fall below those expected on their home campuses…"

On April 5, 2014, Everett Dennis, NU-Q’s then-Dean and CEO said [00:12:25] in an interview with Richard Heffner, a former professor of Communications and Public policy at Rutgers University (Rutgers), that QF was “paying the bill” for NU-Q’s building, faculty, research and housing.

In March 2015, Stephen F. Eisenman, President of the Northwestern Faculty Senate, reported to the NU Faculty Senate that Qatari students receive full scholarships from the QF, while non-Qatari students, with some exceptions, must pay full costs. Eisenman also reported that “that five new endowed professorships at NU were recently funded out of QF money.”

In 2016, NU signed a 10-year extension to its agreement with QF, enabling NU-Q to operate through the 2027-2028 school year.

As of November 2019, the United States Department of Education (DoE) reported that Qatar gave NU $323.4 million in contract revenue since January 2013, averaging $49.6 million per year.

As of April 2020, Qatar Foundation’s contract with NU-Q was not available to the public. 

As of May 2020, EC hosted six American university satellite campuses, in addition to NU-Q, including Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Texas A&M University.

QF lawyers, according to a January 2016 Washington Post article, petitioned the Texas attorney general in an attempt to keep the operational and financial details confidential.

However, the Washington Post was able to publish the 2012 10-year contract between VCU and QF because it was “disclosed as a matter of public record.” The projected budget included a VCU management fee of $3.6 million dollars for 2013, to rise to $4.1 in 2015.

The Washington Post article added: “The other four U.S. schools involved are private: Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern and Georgetown universities. They all declined Post requests for their Qatar contracts.”

The Washington Post later published the 2014 contract between Texas A&M and QF in a March 2016 article. The contract stated: “Texas A&M is eligible for a management fee for running the branch — an amount set at $8.2 million in fiscal 2014.” 

In 2019, the U.S. DoE was reportedly “quietly investigating Georgetown and three other universities — Texas A&M, Cornell and Rutgers — over their funding from Qatar.” 

Qatar Foundation - Anti-Israel Campaign  

In 2009, the Qatar Foundation hired the U.S. public relations firm, Fenton Communications, to develop “a communications action plan for an 18-month campaign,” using Al Fakhoora, a Qatari-based pro-Palestine initiative.

The Fenton plan aimed to delegitimize Israel and generate international support for the Hamas-run Gaza strip, with a reported budget of $120,000.

Al Fakhoora was reportedly launched in 2009, following “the Israeli aggression on Gaza,” in support of promoting and facilitating access to higher education.  

Israel commenced Operation Cast Lead (OCL)in 2008-09 in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians. In 2010, Hamas admitted that nearly 700 of the Palestinian casualties in OCL were combatants.

In May 2010, Farook Burney, director of Al Fakhoora, reportedly participated in the Mavi Marmara attempt to “break the siege in Gaza.”  

The Mavi Marmara was the lead ship in a “Freedom Flotilla” of six ships that attempted to sail to Gaza in May 2010 to “break the siege.” A 2011 United Nations’ report found that the flotilla activists initiated a violent confrontation with Israeli forces. Following the incident there was no humanitarian aid found onboard the ship, only crude weaponry.  

In June 2010, Burney reportedly told students at QFIS that "Al Fakhoora has launched an advocacy campaign to file legal charges against Israel and change the public perception in the West about its actions."

As of 2020, Fakhoora was located in Education City (EC), Qatar.  

Qatar Foundation -EC Mosque Hosting Anti-Semitic Preachers  

In April 2015, QF opened the Education City (EC) Mosque, located in Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) campus, adjacent to NU-Q.

Since the opening of the mosque, QF’s newspaper has encouraged readers to “join the QF community for prayer” at the EC Mosque, which has hosted 18 preachers and clerics who have variously spread anti-Semitism, expressed support for terror, spread [00:00:20] a conspiracy theory that radicalized Muslims played no part in 9/11 or the Charlie Hebdo attacks and declared that the Jews use pornographic movies to “destroy the world and control it.” 

One preacher, Salman al-Audah, claimed [00:02:48] in a sermon broadcast on a major Gulf media channel in August 2012, that Jews use “human blood” for Passover matzah

A cleric, Tareq al-Hawas, stated [00:04:11] about Jews "If only Hitler had finished them off, thus relieving humanity of them." Hawas was reportedly a member of Yusuf al-Qaradawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in 2013.
 
Another cleric, Mohammed al-Arifi, proclaimed in 2012, that “one’s devotion to jihad for the sake of Allah and one’s will to shed blood, smash skulls, and chop off body parts...constitute an honor.”

On March 18, 2016, preacher Mudassir Ahmed spoke at the EC mosque, urging attendees to [00:37:47]: “Kill the infidels... Count them in number and do not spare one.”

On April 1, 2016, preacher Khalid Al-Bakr, who has expressed support for Hamas, spoke at EC’s Mosque, calling [00:36:47] for Allah to “render victorious our brothers the mujahideen...in every place” and to “guide their shooting.”

On October 30, 2015, during the “Knife Intifada,” al-Hawas used his pulpit at the EC mosque to condemn [00:30:18] “the aggressor Zionists,” adding: “Allah, Help out Islam and Muslims, humiliate the heathens; destroy the foes of the religion.” al Hawas also said: "Protect your house, Al-Aqsa mosque from the hands of the Zionist aggressors."  

October 2015 saw a wave of stabbings, known as the “Knife Intifada,” where young Palestinians throughout Israel were stabbing and attempting to stab Israeli civilians. The upsurge in violence across Israel was incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. The attacks were sparked and fueled by Palestinian leaders propagating the libel that Israel intended to desecrate the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.  

NU-Q - Al Jazeera  

Since 2008, NU-Q has worked closely with the Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera). In 2013, NU-Q signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) with Al Jazeera “which deepens ties between the two organizations.”
  
Al Jazeera is a multinational multimedia conglomerate and parent company of the Qatari state-funded Al Jazeera. AJMN comprises an entirely state-owned network, chaired by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.

AJMN has been repeatedly accused of slanting news reports to promote and advance the agenda of theMuslim Brotherhood (MB), as well as MB’s offshoot, the Hamas terrorist organization.

On March 13, 2013, Qatari-based news site Marhaba reported that NU-Q’s MoU with Al Jazeera aimed to “further facilitate collaboration and knowledge transfer between the two media organisations.” NU-Q’s announcement of the MoU referred to itself and Al Jazeera as “two of Qatar’s foremost media organisations.”

The MoU was created, in part, so NU faculty would provide consultations to launch Al Jazeera America (AJAM), based on NU’s “expertise in the American Media Industry.”Al Jazeera, for its part, expressed “willingness to support NU-Q students with scholarships as well as training opportunities.” 

Al Jazeera launched AJAM, an American news channel, 2013. However, the channel closed in April 2016 due to low viewership and following a crisis in 2015 when CEO Ehab Al Shihabi reportedly stepped down after accusations of sexism and anti-Semitism.

NU-Q’s MoU with Al Jazeera was signed by Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani, Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce and Director General of Al Jazeera, as well as Everette Dennis, the Dean and CEO of NU-Q.

Since the MoU, Al Jazeera has maintained a close partnership with NU-Q, including funding NU-Q’s professorial research.  

NU-Q Joint Advisory Board  

Since NU-Q and Al Jazeera signed their initial MoU in 2013, NU-Q has a Joint Advisory Board (JAB), which consists of ten to eleven people; five or six positions filled by Qatari-connected members and five positions filled by Western members. 

All eleven of the current or previous Qatari-connected JAB members were directly affiliated with QF, Al Jazeera or the Qatari government.

There is little information available about the role of NU-Q’s JAB. The role of the Texas A&M University, Qatar (TAMUQ) JAB was exposed by the Washington Post in a 2016 article, to include general oversight and close monitoring and review of every aspect of TAMUQ, with QF paying the JAB TAMUQ expenses.

Multiple people associated with the NU-Q’s JAB have whitewashed al-Qaradawi, including the QF CEO and JAB Co-Chair from 2008-2019, Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, JAB 2019-2020 member and president of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Ahmad Hasnah, as well as JAB 2012 - 2014 member and QF Vice President of education Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani.

Qatari State Minister, NU-Q JAB 2019-2020 member and AJ Vice Chairman Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, reportedly recommended a book that spread anti-semitism and authored an introduction praising the book. Yaser Bishr, 2017-2020 JAB member and Executive Director of digital media at Al Jazeera has demonized Israel.

Professor Rami Khouri was a Western NU-Q JAB member from 2012-2020 and a senior fellow at American University of Beirut (AUB). As of January 2020, Khouri was also an Al Jazeera contributor.

Khouri has legitimized terrorism, defended the “Knife Intifada,” has glorified violent protesters and spread anti-Israel conspiracy theories.  

NU-Q - Hosting Annual Al Jazeera Speaker Series  

Since the signing of the MoU in 2013, NU-Q has hosted an annual Al Jazeera Speakers Series. Thirteen of the 17 speakers who participated in the series at NU-Q from 2013-2019 have whitewashed terrorism, demonized Israel or expressed supportfor the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Dima Khatib, managing director of AJ+, spoke at NU-Q as part of the series on November 8, 2016. Khatib has spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, defended Hamas terror and whitewashed Hezbollah. She has also glorified a terrorist, demonized Israel and is a supporter of the BDS movement.

Elia Ghorbiah, a journalist at AJ’s immersive storytelling studio Contrast VR [Virtual Reality], spoke at NU-Q on November 8, 2018, as part of the series, helping to launch the NU-Q’s new Media Innovations Lab (MIL). 

Ghorbiah has compared Israel to Nazi Germany, exressed support for terrorists, as well as the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and urged the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. She is also a supporter of the BDS movement.  

NU-Q - Anti-Israel Middle East Studies Minor  

In 2017, NU-Q launched a Middle East Studies minor in their Liberal Arts program. From 2017-2019, four of the seven members of the NU-Q’s Middle East Studies committee included anti-Israel NU-Q professors Justin Martin, Ibraham Abusharif, Khaled Hroub and Sami Hermez.

Khaled Hroub, a Professor at NU-Q who taught the 2018 and 2019 course “Islamism & Politics in the Middle East,” has reportedly whitewashed the terror group Hamas.

Sami Hermez, an NU-Q Professor who taught the 2018-2019 NU-Q courses “Anthropology of Palestine” and “Advanced Topics: Violence/Power/Resistance,” has promoted a terrorist and demonized Israel.

All of the required reading for Hermez’s “Anthropology of Palestine” course was authored by anti-Israel professors, eight of whom were activists in or supporters of the BDS movement. One of the authors, Edward Said, has advocated for the “right of return,” a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.

Justin Martin, an Associate Professor at NU-Q, has mocked America’s suffering following the 9-11 terror bombings and demonized Israel. Martin has also broadcast his desire for Qatari funding to boost the BDS movement on U.S college campuses.

Ibrahim Abusharif was an editor and Treasurer of the Quranic Literacy Institute (QLI) from 1990 to 1998. The QLI “was allegedly part of a large web of organizations and individuals that were funding terrorist groups.”

QLI, along with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), and the Islamic Association of Palestine, was found to have funded Hamas militant activities and therefore liable for the death of David Boim, an American citizen killed by Hamas in the West Bank. This was later reversed as it could not be proven the funds were intended to be used to kill Boim.

The minor also required students to attend two guest lectures a year, chosen by the Middle East Studies Committee.  

NU-Q - Student Internships in International Media  

As of January 2020, third-year NU-Q Journalism and Strategic Communication students were required to intern for ten weeks at media or public relations firms, off-campus.

In 2019, students reportedly interned at international communication firms and news outlets in Washington D.C., New York City, London, Berlin, Stockholm and Doha.

As of February 2020, news outlets where NU-Q students have interned included: BBC News, TIME Magazine, Forbes, the Washington Post, National Geographic, the Guardian, National Public Radio (NPR), the Boston Globe, USA Today, Vox, the Financial Times, the Huffington Post and VICE
.
Students also interned at sports outlets, including: Sports Illustrated and ESPN, as well as fashion outlets Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire.

NU-Q reported in 2012 that they were able to offer students residencies at prestigious media organizations “because of the high-level contacts that NU-Q faculty and staff have in the international media.” 

Qatar - Terrorism  

Qatar is one of the primary state backers of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and has provided funding for Hamas in the past. Qatar facilitates funding to advance extremism around the world, including the West.
  
Founded in Egypt 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Islamist organization, listed as a terrorist organization in at least six countries, including Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to Israel’s destruction, is listed as one of the Brotherhood’s offshoots.

Hamas has been designated aterrorist organizationby the European Union, Canada, Australia, the United States and Israel.

The Hamas founding charter has called for the murder of Jews, and Hamas has hosted “summer camps,” that taught children how to wage war.

Qatar Foundation

In 1995, the then-Emir of Qatar and his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, created the Qatar Foundation (QF) to “advance education, science, and cultural development.” 

In 1995, QF was given two billion dollars in resources by the Qatari Government “to address knowledge and capacity deficits” and transform into a “knowledge-based economy.”

QF launched Education City (EC) in 1997, with the stated goal of providing “world-class education to the people of Qatar.” 

In 2003, the campus was officially inaugurated

Qatar Foundation - Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the Muslim Brotherhood  

In 2007, Yusuf al-Qaradawi announced QF’s establishment of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) in EC. The QFIS structure was to be created by an advisory committee, chaired by al-Qaradawi.
  
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi [Yousef Al-Qaradhawi] was the founder and, as of April 2020, remained head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. In 2005, The Wall Street Journal reported the council used the anti-Semitic fabricated text, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as a basis for some of its deliberations.

al-Qaradawi said in a statement that aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 30, 2009: "Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the Jews...The last punishment was carried out by Hitler...Allah Willing, the next time will be at the hand of the Believers."

al-Qaradawi has also called for the murder of American civilians, as well as American troops in Iraq, homosexuals and Jews and expressed support for domestic violence against women. 

In 2008, Moza bint Nasser and QF established within QFIS, the al-Qaradawi Centre for Research in Moderate Thought, also known as the “Al-Qaradawi Center for Islamic Moderation and Renewal,” in honor of “His Eminence” Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
 
QFIS described al-Qaradawi as “a pioneer of Islamic moderate thought” and the research center’s “main theorist.” 

In January 2012, QF opened the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE), “under the guidance of Director Dr. Tariq Ramadan.” In October 2015, Ramadan was listed as the CILE Director. 

Tariq Ramadan is the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) founder Hassan al-Banna and son of senior Brotherhood operative Said Ramadan. Tariq Ramadanis also alleged to be a serial-rapist, as well asa terrorist supporter. 

In 2015, Ramadan gave a “Principles of Leadership in Islam” seminar series, open to all EC students.As of May 2020, CILE listed Ramadan as part of “Our Team” on their website.  

NU-Q - Qatar Foundation  

In 2008, QF invited Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois to set up a Qatari satellite campus in EC, Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), focusing on journalism and communications. 

The degree that NU-Q awards students upon graduation would be identical to that earned at NU’s Evanston, IL campus.

On July 10, 2009, the Chronicle of Higher Education released an article critical of the academic standards of EC, noting that: "Administrators at several branch campuses of American universities in Qatar acknowledge that they accept students with admissions standards that fall below those expected on their home campuses…"

On April 5, 2014, Everett Dennis, NU-Q’s then-Dean and CEO said [00:12:25] in an interview with Richard Heffner, a former professor of Communications and Public policy at Rutgers University (Rutgers), that QF was “paying the bill” for NU-Q’s building, faculty, research and housing.

In March 2015, Stephen F. Eisenman, President of the Northwestern Faculty Senate, reported to the NU Faculty Senate that Qatari students receive full scholarships from the QF, while non-Qatari students, with some exceptions, must pay full costs. Eisenman also reported that “that five new endowed professorships at NU were recently funded out of QF money.”

In 2016, NU signed a 10-year extension to its agreement with QF, enabling NU-Q to operate through the 2027-2028 school year.

As of November 2019, the United States Department of Education (DoE) reported that Qatar gave NU $323.4 million in contract revenue since January 2013, averaging $49.6 million per year.

As of April 2020, Qatar Foundation’s contract with NU-Q was not available to the public. 

As of May 2020, EC hosted six American university satellite campuses, in addition to NU-Q, including Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Texas A&M University.

QF lawyers, according to a January 2016 Washington Post article, petitioned the Texas attorney general in an attempt to keep the operational and financial details confidential.

However, the Washington Post was able to publish the 2012 10-year contract between VCU and QF because it was “disclosed as a matter of public record.” The projected budget included a VCU management fee of $3.6 million dollars for 2013, to rise to $4.1 in 2015.

The Washington Post article added: “The other four U.S. schools involved are private: Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern and Georgetown universities. They all declined Post requests for their Qatar contracts.”

The Washington Post later published the 2014 contract between Texas A&M and QF in a March 2016 article. The contract stated: “Texas A&M is eligible for a management fee for running the branch — an amount set at $8.2 million in fiscal 2014.” 

In 2019, the U.S. DoE was reportedly “quietly investigating Georgetown and three other universities — Texas A&M, Cornell and Rutgers — over their funding from Qatar.” 

Qatar Foundation - Anti-Israel Campaign  

In 2009, the Qatar Foundation hired the U.S. public relations firm, Fenton Communications, to develop “a communications action plan for an 18-month campaign,” using Al Fakhoora, a Qatari-based pro-Palestine initiative.

The Fenton plan aimed to delegitimize Israel and generate international support for the Hamas-run Gaza strip, with a reported budget of $120,000.

Al Fakhoora was reportedly launched in 2009, following “the Israeli aggression on Gaza,” in support of promoting and facilitating access to higher education.  

Israel commenced Operation Cast Lead (OCL)in 2008-09 in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians. In 2010, Hamas admitted that nearly 700 of the Palestinian casualties in OCL were combatants.

In May 2010, Farook Burney, director of Al Fakhoora, reportedly participated in the Mavi Marmara attempt to “break the siege in Gaza.”  

The Mavi Marmara was the lead ship in a “Freedom Flotilla” of six ships that attempted to sail to Gaza in May 2010 to “break the siege.” A 2011 United Nations’ report found that the flotilla activists initiated a violent confrontation with Israeli forces. Following the incident there was no humanitarian aid found onboard the ship, only crude weaponry.  

In June 2010, Burney reportedly told students at QFIS that "Al Fakhoora has launched an advocacy campaign to file legal charges against Israel and change the public perception in the West about its actions."

As of 2020, Fakhoora was located in Education City (EC), Qatar.  

Qatar Foundation -EC Mosque Hosting Anti-Semitic Preachers  

In April 2015, QF opened the Education City (EC) Mosque, located in Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) campus, adjacent to NU-Q.

Since the opening of the mosque, QF’s newspaper has encouraged readers to “join the QF community for prayer” at the EC Mosque, which has hosted 18 preachers and clerics who have variously spread anti-Semitism, expressed support for terror, spread [00:00:20] a conspiracy theory that radicalized Muslims played no part in 9/11 or the Charlie Hebdo attacks and declared that the Jews use pornographic movies to “destroy the world and control it.” 

One preacher, Salman al-Audah, claimed [00:02:48] in a sermon broadcast on a major Gulf media channel in August 2012, that Jews use “human blood” for Passover matzah

A cleric, Tareq al-Hawas, stated [00:04:11] about Jews "If only Hitler had finished them off, thus relieving humanity of them." Hawas was reportedly a member of Yusuf al-Qaradawi's International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in 2013.
 
Another cleric, Mohammed al-Arifi, proclaimed in 2012, that “one’s devotion to jihad for the sake of Allah and one’s will to shed blood, smash skulls, and chop off body parts...constitute an honor.”

On March 18, 2016, preacher Mudassir Ahmed spoke at the EC mosque, urging attendees to [00:37:47]: “Kill the infidels... Count them in number and do not spare one.”

On April 1, 2016, preacher Khalid Al-Bakr, who has expressed support for Hamas, spoke at EC’s Mosque, calling [00:36:47] for Allah to “render victorious our brothers the mujahideen...in every place” and to “guide their shooting.”

On October 30, 2015, during the “Knife Intifada,” al-Hawas used his pulpit at the EC mosque to condemn [00:30:18] “the aggressor Zionists,” adding: “Allah, Help out Islam and Muslims, humiliate the heathens; destroy the foes of the religion.” al Hawas also said: "Protect your house, Al-Aqsa mosque from the hands of the Zionist aggressors."  

October 2015 saw a wave of stabbings, known as the “Knife Intifada,” where young Palestinians throughout Israel were stabbing and attempting to stab Israeli civilians. The upsurge in violence across Israel was incited by Palestinian political and religious leaders. The attacks were sparked and fueled by Palestinian leaders propagating the libel that Israel intended to desecrate the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.  

NU-Q - Al Jazeera  

Since 2008, NU-Q has worked closely with the Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera). In 2013, NU-Q signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) with Al Jazeera “which deepens ties between the two organizations.”
  
Al Jazeera is a multinational multimedia conglomerate and parent company of the Qatari state-funded Al Jazeera. AJMN comprises an entirely state-owned network, chaired by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.

AJMN has been repeatedly accused of slanting news reports to promote and advance the agenda of theMuslim Brotherhood (MB), as well as MB’s offshoot, the Hamas terrorist organization.

On March 13, 2013, Qatari-based news site Marhaba reported that NU-Q’s MoU with Al Jazeera aimed to “further facilitate collaboration and knowledge transfer between the two media organisations.” NU-Q’s announcement of the MoU referred to itself and Al Jazeera as “two of Qatar’s foremost media organisations.”

The MoU was created, in part, so NU faculty would provide consultations to launch Al Jazeera America (AJAM), based on NU’s “expertise in the American Media Industry.”Al Jazeera, for its part, expressed “willingness to support NU-Q students with scholarships as well as training opportunities.” 

Al Jazeera launched AJAM, an American news channel, 2013. However, the channel closed in April 2016 due to low viewership and following a crisis in 2015 when CEO Ehab Al Shihabi reportedly stepped down after accusations of sexism and anti-Semitism.

NU-Q’s MoU with Al Jazeera was signed by Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al-Thani, Qatari Minister of Economy and Commerce and Director General of Al Jazeera, as well as Everette Dennis, the Dean and CEO of NU-Q.

Since the MoU, Al Jazeera has maintained a close partnership with NU-Q, including funding NU-Q’s professorial research.  

NU-Q Joint Advisory Board  

Since NU-Q and Al Jazeera signed their initial MoU in 2013, NU-Q has a Joint Advisory Board (JAB), which consists of ten to eleven people; five or six positions filled by Qatari-connected members and five positions filled by Western members. 

All eleven of the current or previous Qatari-connected JAB members were directly affiliated with QF, Al Jazeera or the Qatari government.

There is little information available about the role of NU-Q’s JAB. The role of the Texas A&M University, Qatar (TAMUQ) JAB was exposed by the Washington Post in a 2016 article, to include general oversight and close monitoring and review of every aspect of TAMUQ, with QF paying the JAB TAMUQ expenses.

Multiple people associated with the NU-Q’s JAB have whitewashed al-Qaradawi, including the QF CEO and JAB Co-Chair from 2008-2019, Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, JAB 2019-2020 member and president of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Ahmad Hasnah, as well as JAB 2012 - 2014 member and QF Vice President of education Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani.

Qatari State Minister, NU-Q JAB 2019-2020 member and AJ Vice Chairman Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, reportedly recommended a book that spread anti-semitism and authored an introduction praising the book. Yaser Bishr, 2017-2020 JAB member and Executive Director of digital media at Al Jazeera has demonized Israel.

Professor Rami Khouri was a Western NU-Q JAB member from 2012-2020 and a senior fellow at American University of Beirut (AUB). As of January 2020, Khouri was also an Al Jazeera contributor.

Khouri has legitimized terrorism, defended the “Knife Intifada,” has glorified violent protesters and spread anti-Israel conspiracy theories.  

NU-Q - Hosting Annual Al Jazeera Speaker Series  

Since the signing of the MoU in 2013, NU-Q has hosted an annual Al Jazeera Speakers Series. Thirteen of the 17 speakers who participated in the series at NU-Q from 2013-2019 have whitewashed terrorism, demonized Israel or expressed supportfor the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Dima Khatib, managing director of AJ+, spoke at NU-Q as part of the series on November 8, 2016. Khatib has spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, defended Hamas terror and whitewashed Hezbollah. She has also glorified a terrorist, demonized Israel and is a supporter of the BDS movement.

Elia Ghorbiah, a journalist at AJ’s immersive storytelling studio Contrast VR [Virtual Reality], spoke at NU-Q on November 8, 2018, as part of the series, helping to launch the NU-Q’s new Media Innovations Lab (MIL). 

Ghorbiah has compared Israel to Nazi Germany, exressed support for terrorists, as well as the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and urged the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. She is also a supporter of the BDS movement.  

NU-Q - Anti-Israel Middle East Studies Minor  

In 2017, NU-Q launched a Middle East Studies minor in their Liberal Arts program. From 2017-2019, four of the seven members of the NU-Q’s Middle East Studies committee included anti-Israel NU-Q professors Justin Martin, Ibraham Abusharif, Khaled Hroub and Sami Hermez.

Khaled Hroub, a Professor at NU-Q who taught the 2018 and 2019 course “Islamism & Politics in the Middle East,” has reportedly whitewashed the terror group Hamas.

Sami Hermez, an NU-Q Professor who taught the 2018-2019 NU-Q courses “Anthropology of Palestine” and “Advanced Topics: Violence/Power/Resistance,” has promoted a terrorist and demonized Israel.

All of the required reading for Hermez’s “Anthropology of Palestine” course was authored by anti-Israel professors, eight of whom were activists in or supporters of the BDS movement. One of the authors, Edward Said, has advocated for the “right of return,” a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel.

Justin Martin, an Associate Professor at NU-Q, has mocked America’s suffering following the 9-11 terror bombings and demonized Israel. Martin has also broadcast his desire for Qatari funding to boost the BDS movement on U.S college campuses.

Ibrahim Abusharif was an editor and Treasurer of the Quranic Literacy Institute (QLI) from 1990 to 1998. The QLI “was allegedly part of a large web of organizations and individuals that were funding terrorist groups.”

QLI, along with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), and the Islamic Association of Palestine, was found to have funded Hamas militant activities and therefore liable for the death of David Boim, an American citizen killed by Hamas in the West Bank. This was later reversed as it could not be proven the funds were intended to be used to kill Boim.

The minor also required students to attend two guest lectures a year, chosen by the Middle East Studies Committee.  

NU-Q - Student Internships in International Media  

As of January 2020, third-year NU-Q Journalism and Strategic Communication students were required to intern for ten weeks at media or public relations firms, off-campus.

In 2019, students reportedly interned at international communication firms and news outlets in Washington D.C., New York City, London, Berlin, Stockholm and Doha.

As of February 2020, news outlets where NU-Q students have interned included: BBC News, TIME Magazine, Forbes, the Washington Post, National Geographic, the Guardian, National Public Radio (NPR), the Boston Globe, USA Today, Vox, the Financial Times, the Huffington Post and VICE
.
Students also interned at sports outlets, including: Sports Illustrated and ESPN, as well as fashion outlets Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire.

NU-Q reported in 2012 that they were able to offer students residencies at prestigious media organizations “because of the high-level contacts that NU-Q faculty and staff have in the international media.” 

Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English (AJ English) is a Qatari-owned news channel, part of the Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera), headquartered in Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera and AJ English are owned by the Qatari government and are financed by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
 
AJ English has come under scrutiny by the U.S. State Department for Qatari “editorial and programmatic control” of AJ English, as Qatar is also the principal financial backer of the terror groups Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
 
AJ English has a significant social media following and has used its platforms to spread anti-Semitism, whitewash terrorists and promote anti-Israel propaganda. 
 
AJ English is geared to a Western audience and has been careful to distance itself from controversy involving AJ’s Arabic news channels. When caught minimizing the murder of Jewish Israelis or publishing falsehoods that demonize Israel, AJ English has usually been quick to retract its statements.  

BDS

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true. 

One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”  

Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”

In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.

Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.


BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.



Social Media and Weblinks

Twitter:https://twitter.com/Ameera369_
Ameera AlSaid
Status:
Unknown
University:
Northwestern-Qatar
Organizations:
Al Jazeera,
BDS

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Last Modified:
05/04/2026

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Infamous Quotes

“Take photos, paint, sing, and post about Palestine. It pisses those who are pro Israel and anyone who supports the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”
“We will continue to resist against the Zionist Israeli state until Palestine is free and Jerusalem is restored as its eternal capital.”
“Hack into his computer and put a Palestinian flag as his background” 😏