Ayman Al-Rasheed
Overview
Ayman Al-Rasheed [Ayman Ali Al Rachid, Ayman Al-Rashid] has whitewashed terrorists, spread incitement and glorified violent protesters. He also demonized Israel and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of November 2021, Al-Rasheed’s LinkedIn page said he was a “Blogger” at Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera), since November 2018 and a translator at Al Jazeera from July 2017 - January 2018. In February 2020, he was affiliated with the Palestine Student Club (PSC) at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q).
Al-Rasheed’s LinkedIn page also said he was “Research Assistant” at the Brookings Institute, from February - June 2018 and a Journalism Contributor at the International Press Institute (IPI) in Vienna, Austria, from February to May 2020.
Also of November 2021, Al-Rasheed’s LinkedIn said that he was “Multimedia Editor” at NU-Q’s student newspaper The Daily Q, from August - December 2019 and a “Multimedia Reporter” with The Daily Q, from August 2018 - June 2019.
As of November 2021, Al-Rasheed’s LinkedIn page said he was a “Blogger” at Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera), since November 2018 and a translator at Al Jazeera from July 2017 - January 2018. In February 2020, he was affiliated with the Palestine Student Club (PSC) at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q).
Al-Rasheed’s LinkedIn page also said he was “Research Assistant” at the Brookings Institute, from February - June 2018 and a Journalism Contributor at the International Press Institute (IPI) in Vienna, Austria, from February to May 2020.
Also of November 2021, Al-Rasheed’s LinkedIn said that he was “Multimedia Editor” at NU-Q’s student newspaper The Daily Q, from August - December 2019 and a “Multimedia Reporter” with The Daily Q, from August 2018 - June 2019.
Al-Rasheed’s LinkedIn page also said he studied for a bachelor’s degree in “Journalism and Strategic Communication” at NU-Q.
The NU-Q listed him as having graduated from NU-Q in May 2021 and he was referred to as “Ayman AlRachid” on the website.
Al-Rasheed also glorified terrorist Sheikh Ahmed Yassin while in high school.
Whitewashing Terrorists
Al-Rasheed retweeted a May 17, 2021 tweet featuring a photo of terrorist Leila Khaled holding an assault rifle. The tweet quoted Khaled as saying: “I have learned that a woman can be a fighter, a freedom fighter, a political activist… be a mother…”Khaled is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and participated in the hijacking of TWA Flight 840 in 1969 and El Al Flight 219 in 1970. As of 2017, Khaled was a member of PFLP's Political Bureau.
Khaled has said that the second intifada failed because it was not violent enough, advocated for the use of children in terror activities and compared Zionists to Nazis.
The PFLP claimed credit for the 2014 Har Nof Massacre where six people were murdered during morning prayers in a Jerusalem synagogue. The PFLP also claimed credit for the 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister.
Al-Rasheed retweeted a June 26, 2020 tweet that defended Ahmad Erakat and claimed he was “... unarmed, confused…”
Ahmad Erekat [Ahmad Moustafa Erekat; Ahmed Erakat] was killed by Israeli security forces after he accelerated and rammed his car into soldiers at a checkpoint. One female soldier was injured. The incident was captured on video.
Spreading Incitement
On May 8, 2021, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “Goosebumps! Jerusalem will always be our moral campus amidst waves of uncertainty in this region.”Al-Rasheed’s tweet included a tweet with a video of Palestinians outside of the Al Aqsa mosque, chanting “ya hamas ya 7abib udrub udrub Tal-Abib ya Qassami ya 7abib udrub udrub Tal-Abib [Oh dear Hamas bomb bomb Tel Aviv, Oh dear Qassam bomb bomb Tel-Aviv]”
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of Hamas.
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.
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state.
Glorifying Violent Protesters
On May 17, 2018, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “#Israel is justifying killing Palestinians by associating normal civil protests with #Hamas, claiming that it’s a terrorist group! I wonder if Israel knows that Hamas is an inclusive organization that has a social service wing, Dawah, and happens to have a military wing too!”Hamas is a designated terrorist organization by the European Union, Canada, Australia, the United States and Israel.
On March 30, 2018, some 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza approached Israel’s border to take part in “Land Day Protests” or the “March of Return.” The violent demonstrations were instigated by Hamas on the Israeli-Gaza border. Participants declared their intention to harm Jews across the border under the pretext of “peaceful resistance.”
March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Rioters also made numerous attempts to breach Israel’s border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
March participants sent scores of kites bearing explosive devices across Israel’s border to burn Israeli crops and homes. Rioters also made numerous attempts to breach Israel’s border fence, which caused the Israeli Defense Forces to respond with live fire.
Agitators also threw Molotov cocktails, firebombs, shot firearms and threw rocks under the cover of smoke from burning tires.
On May 16, 2018, a Hamas senior official, Salah al-Bardawil, stated that 50 out of 62 protesters killed during the May 14 Gaza border protest were Hamas operatives. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also claimed that three of its members were killed at the same protest.
On May 15, 2018, Al-Rasheed referred to “March of Return” protester Saber Al-Ashqar, who was falsely identified as Fadi Abu Saleh, tweeting: “Nobody can stand or tolerate the level of violence Palestinians are facing these days! Abu Saleh stood against Isreal with half his body, while others in Saudi Arabia and UAE are trying their best to initiate normalization with Israel! ...”
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.”
Demonizing Israel
Al-Rasheed retweeted a February 5, 2020 tweet that said: “The bombing of Gaza is so routine, so gratuitous, that it simply doesn’t even register as news any longer. But it’s still an occupying power dropping high explosives on a defenseless population for whose welfare it is legally accountable as ... the occupying power.”
On February 4, 2020, Al-Rasheed appeared in a photo from a series of photos tweeted by former PSC NU-Q president Malek Almanaa. The photos were also tweeted by the Daily Qand embedded in a PSC NU-Q tweet.
PSC NU-Q’s tweet said: “Pictures from different unis today of students wearing Kuffeyas as a form of rejecting the deal of the century.” PSC NU-Q added: “Proud of everyone
”
On February 4, 2020, Al-Rasheed appeared in a photo from a series of photos tweeted by former PSC NU-Q president Malek Almanaa. The photos were also tweeted by the Daily Qand embedded in a PSC NU-Q tweet.
PSC NU-Q’s tweet said: “Pictures from different unis today of students wearing Kuffeyas as a form of rejecting the deal of the century.” PSC NU-Q added: “Proud of everyone
”On January 28, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a peace plan, referred to as the “Deal of the Century,” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that included land concessions by both sides of the conflict.
On January 25, 2020, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “Israel’s 101 tactics is to violently kill Palestinians, destroy their churches and mosques, and then play the victims and say ‘violence is essential when you’re surrounded by Arab terrorists.’”
On November 12, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “So letting Isra*l get away with killing Palestinians is the solution because Arab resistance has been a failure? Btw it’s 71 years.. your apartheid state is younger than what you think! Don’t be delusional.”
On September 27, 2019, Al Rasheed responded to a tweet by climate activist Greta Thunberg that read: “Tel Aviv! #ClimateStrike #FridaysForFuture.”
Al-Rasheed tweeted: “Wow she could have just googled how much Israel contributes to climate change with the huge amount of airstrikes they carry out against Palestinians on a daily basis in PALESTINE!”
On August 28, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “Putting Palestinians under social and economic pressure and getting them exposed to all kinds of violence and hatred is making them not only smoke shisha but also do drugs. Israel’s psychological war on Palestinians who live in the largest open prison in the world is unbearable!”
On June 25, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “F**k whoever participates or agrees to attend the Bahraini workshop for US’s Israeli/Palestinian peace plan. Normalizing relations with this ugly zionist country called Isr*el is at its peak & it’s not okay! Citizens of participating countries should refuse what’s happening!”
On May 26, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “Can @NorthwesternU explain why do they unequivocally reject BDS’ and are siding with Israel’s apartheid state?”
On May 2, 2019, Al-Rasheed responded to a now-deleted Spectator Index tweet of the world’s most generous countries, tweeting: “Also, why the hell is Israel on the list.. lmao! All they do is steal others’ properties.. even Humus!!!”
On April 9, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted about an NU Medill Society of Professional Journalists (Medill SPJ) trip to Israel, writing: “If they didn’t conclude that Israel is an apartheid state that doesn’t have the right to exist on the Palestinian lands, then all their explorations are meaningless!”
Supporting BDS
On May 1, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “@Airbnb You're either for equality or not. You announced a delisting of illegal Israeli settlement rentals and have now backpedaled, allowing rentals on the ruins of Palestinian lives and land. I will #deactivateAirbnb on May 15, Nakba Day.”
The #deactivateAirBnB campaign was co-launched by the BDS Movement, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), SumOfUs and the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD).
In November 2018, Airbnb announced it would remove 200 listings in Israel’s West Bank from the Airbnb platform, due to pressure from BDS activists. In April 2019, Airbnb reversed its decision and allocated profits from the region to non-profit organizations dedicated to humanitarian aid.
On April 17, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “@Madonna Don't let your music cover up injustice. Cancel your @Eurovision performance in Tel Aviv. Stand with us on the right side of history to create a better world for all. #MadonnaDontGo #BoycottEurovision2019.”
The #deactivateAirBnB campaign was co-launched by the BDS Movement, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), SumOfUs and the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD).
In November 2018, Airbnb announced it would remove 200 listings in Israel’s West Bank from the Airbnb platform, due to pressure from BDS activists. In April 2019, Airbnb reversed its decision and allocated profits from the region to non-profit organizations dedicated to humanitarian aid.
On April 17, 2019, Al-Rasheed tweeted: “@Madonna Don't let your music cover up injustice. Cancel your @Eurovision performance in Tel Aviv. Stand with us on the right side of history to create a better world for all. #MadonnaDontGo #BoycottEurovision2019.”
High School Glorification of a Terrorist
On March 21, 2015, Al-Rasheed tweeted a photo of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, with the caption: “ #anniversary_of_sheik_of_palestine.”
Al-Rasheed added: “اليوم هو ذكرى لمعلمنا، وقائدنا، وفخرنا اليوم هو #ذكرى_شيخ_فلسطين. رحلت فتركتنا، رحم الله روحك الطيبة شيخنا [Today is the anniversary of our teacher, our leader, and our pride. Today is #anniversary_of_sheik_of_palestine. You departed and left us, may Allah have mercy on your good soul our sheikh].”
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin has been described as the “mastermind of Palestinian terror” behind many suicide bombings against Israeli civilians on buses and in cafes during the second intifada. In January 2003, Yassin said in an interview: “Suicide attacks and jihad reinforce national unity in the ranks…Our voice is one of struggle, of jihad and of suicide…”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.”
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 Media Network
Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera) is a Qatari-owned multimedia conglomerate broadcasting to 310 million households in more than 100 countries.The network has been accused of slanting news reports to promotethe agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood. A weekly show hosted by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, aired from 1996-2013, where Qaradawi expressed [00:00:47] a personal dream of traveling to Israel to carry out Jihad and glorified suicide bombings by children.
The network has also been accused of affiliating with the terror group Hamas, criticized for providing a platform for the Al-Qaeda terror organization and implicated in the promotion of a wide variety of terrorist propaganda.
Invited guests and speakers have labeled Jews “devils” and “grave-dwellers who...suck the blood of others.” One Al Jazeera children’s program featured a Saudi cleric who labeled Jews “treacherous, disloyal, deceitful” and congratulated a child for hating and cursing Jews.
In September 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly ordered AJ+, Al Jazeera’s online news platform based in the U.S., to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA).
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
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100002467738501 [Deleted]Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ayman_ali99
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayman-al-rasheed-68125a160/
- Status:
- Professional
- University:
- Northwestern-Qatar
- Organizations:
- Al Jazeera,
- BDS
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
Photos & Screenshots
55 images
Infamous Quotes
“Palestine will be free from the river to the sea ”
“Israel’s 101 tactics is to violently kill Palestinians, destroy their churches and mosques, and then play the victims and say ‘violence is essential when you’re surrounded by Arab terrorists.’”
“F**k whoever participates or agrees to attend the Bahraini workshop for US’s Israeli/Palestinian peace plan. Normalizing relations with this ugly zionist country called Isr*el is at its peak & it’s not okay! Citizens of participating countries should refuse what’s happening!”
