• Report alleges Qatar has invested over $20 billion in US colleges as part of long-term influence campaign
• ISGAP claims Qatari royal family maintains spiritual oath to Muslim Brotherhood through Bay’ah commitment
• Study estimates total undocumented funding to American institutions could reach $100 billion or higher

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — Qatar has allegedly invested more than $20 billion into American colleges and institutions as part of a decades-long strategy by the Muslim Brotherhood to establish influence within the United States educational system, according to a new report from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy.

The Qatar Foundation, bankrolled by the nation’s ruling Al Thani royal family, has reportedly been channeling tens of billions of dollars into educational institutions to help the Sunni Islamist organization establish footholds throughout American academia, according to ISGAP’s comprehensive research findings.

Spiritual oath drives funding strategy

Dr. Charles Asher Small, executive director of ISGAP, stated the Qatari royal family has taken a Bay’ah, described as a spiritual oath, with Muslim Brotherhood leadership. This commitment allegedly obligates the regime to follow all religious edicts and rulings issued by the organization.

The royal family of Qatar has a Bay’ah to the Muslim Brotherhood, so they’re pumping in many, many billions of dollars into our universities, K-12 schools and cultural institutions, using influence and soft power to promote its ideology

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Small emphasized the figure could be substantially higher than documented amounts. ISGAP research suggests undocumented funding to American higher education institutions may reach $100 billion when accounting for unreported donations that violate federal disclosure requirements.

Major universities receive substantial funds

Cornell University ranks as the largest recipient, accepting over $1.95 billion in direct donations between 2001 and 2023 from Qatari sources. The institution also received an additional $7.9 billion for Sidra Hospital operations in Doha, connected to Cornell Weill School of Medicine.

Other prominent institutions receiving significant Qatari contributions include Texas A&M University, Georgetown University, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. These schools operate branch campuses in Doha’s Education City complex, established by the Qatar Foundation.

Transparency concerns and reporting failures

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Federal law requires universities to report foreign donations exceeding $250,000 under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act. However, ISGAP research uncovered widespread non-compliance with these disclosure requirements.

A Department of Education investigation during the first Trump administration revealed at least $6.5 billion in undocumented foreign funding that American colleges failed to report properly. The probe found approximately $19 billion from unreported sources, with over half originating from authoritarian governments.

Qatar previously filed legal action to prevent Texas from disclosing funding records for Texas A&M University. A state judge eventually ordered the documents to be made public, revealing nearly $500 million in Qatari grants and contracts.

Alleged campus influence and ideology

ISGAP research claims a direct correlation exists between foreign funding from Qatar and increased antisemitic discourse on campus. The organization’s 2023 report titled “The Corruption of the American Mind” found institutions receiving undocumented money from foreign regimes demonstrated higher levels of speech intolerance.

Small stated the funding flows through various entities, including officially private organizations like the Qatar Foundation and Qatar National Research Fund, which masks direct government investment. This structure allows institutions to claim they receive no funds from the Qatari state while billions flow through intermediary organizations controlled by the regime.

ISGAP recommends banning direct Qatari government funding to American universities, closing campuses in Education City, and pursuing criminal action against institutions that violated federal reporting requirements. The organization continues researching what Small describes as Qatar’s estimated trillion-dollar influence campaign targeting Western institutions through strategic deployment of financial resources.

Should Congress strengthen enforcement of foreign funding disclosure requirements for American educational institutions?

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