Qatar Foundation

The U.S. Department of Education targeted QF in a 2019 investigation into foreign influence in American universities. ⁷ Since 2012, QF has spent at least $1.5 billion to fund educational initiatives at 28 universities in the U.S. QF also spends approximately $405 million a year to cover expenses for Doha-based branch campuses of Northwestern University, Texas A&M University, Georgetown University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Cornell University, and Carnegie Mellon University. ^{8 9}

Through QF’s U.S.-based arm Qatar Foundation International, QF has also given at least $30.6 million to public schools to fund Arabic language programs across the U.S. ¹⁰

In 2009, QF opened an academic center named after Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, ¹¹ a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure who lives in exile in Doha. ¹² Al-Qaradawi has justified suicide bombings, called for Allah to kill Jews “down to the very last one,” ¹³ and praised Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust his regime perpetrated against Jews. ¹⁴

History and Leadership

Qatar Foundation (QF) was founded in Doha, Qatar, 1995 by then-Ruling Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani (later named the state’s Father Emir after his 2013 abdication) and Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Misned, one of his three consorts, to support the State of Qatar and grow the country’s knowledge economy. ^{15 16 17 18}

Sheikha Moza is QF’s chairperson, while her daughter, Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, is the organization’s vice chair and executive director. ¹⁹

Activities and Funding

The Qatar Foundation (QF) is registered with the U.S. Department of Justice as a foreign agent. ^{5 6} QF is frequently partnered with the Qatari government ²⁰ and has millions of dollars of grants and agreements with universities in the U.S. ³ QF also broadly promotes the teaching and learning of Arabic and Arab culture. ⁴

Higher Education

QF’s Education City located in the Education City section of Doha consists of more than 50 entities working in education, research, and community development. ^{21 19} QF has spent billions of dollars to develop Education City as its the foundation’s flagship initiative and hosts branch campuses from several global universities on ten-year agreements as a part of the initiative. ^{22 23}

These universities include Hamad Bin Khalifa University, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Texas A&M University, Cornell University’s Weill School of Medicine, Northwestern University, HEC Paris, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Arts. ^{23 21 21}

QF has spent at least $1.5 billion since 2012 to fund initiatives at 28 universities in the U.S. Qatar also spends approximately $405 million a year to cover expenses for Northwestern, Texas A&M, Georgetown, VCU, Cornell, and Carnegie Mellon campuses in the country. ^{8 9} From 2012 through 2019, Georgetown University reportedly received $340 million from QF. Texas A&M also reportedly received $202 million from QF in the same timeframe. ^{24 22}

In 2019, QF was the target of a U.S. Department of Education investigation looking into records on China and Qatar to crack down on foreign influence in universities. ⁷

In 1999, QF and the University of Virginia were unable to reach an agreement for a campus in Doha due to concerns that UVA was “selling the school to a petrodollar country.” ²²

As of January 2026, a dashboard released by the U.S Department of Education alleged that Cornell College received $2.3 billion in foreign funding from the country of Qatar out of the $3 billion it has received in total from foreign funding. According to the same dashboard, Qatar has donated over $6.6 billion towards American universities in total. ²⁵

World Innovation Summits

QF has also established the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) and the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). ¹⁵ In 2021, Bill Gates visited QF headquarters to discuss opportunities for the Gates Foundation to work with QF on health and sustainability projects. ²⁶ In 2020, U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Jim Hines (D-CT), and Seth Moulton (D-MA) also visited the campus to tour medical facilities. ^{27 28}

Qatar Academy

QF also runs Qatar Academy, a high school with five campuses across Qatar offering international bilingual education and the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. The organization also runs three specialized schools: Awsaj Academy, an institute for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities; Academic Bridge Program, a two-semester general education program that seeks to prepare students for degree programs in English; and, Qatar Leadership Academy, a cadet school. ²⁹

Other Activities

QF is also a major stakeholder of Vodafone Qatar, Qatar’s second largest telecommunications network and British telecommunications company Vodafone’s local subsidiary. ³⁰

In 2009, QF established the Qatar Science and Technology Park, a business incubator, technology park, and free zone, which allows foreign nationals to set up local entities with 100 percent ownership and no taxes or duties. ³¹

Controversy

Qatar Foundation is frequently partnered with the Qatari government, ²⁰ is registered with the U.S. Department of Justice as a foreign agent, ⁶ and is known to silence viewpoints Qatar opposes. ³²

Islamist Radicalism

In 2009, the Foundation opened an academic center named after Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. ¹¹ He is a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure who lives in exile in Doha, ¹² has justified suicide bombings, called for Allah to kill all Jews “down to the very last one,” ¹³ and praised Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust his regime perpetrated against Jews. ¹⁴

The QF mosque in Education City has hosted Ramadan programming that invited a Muslim cleric who called the massacre of staff at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris a “sequel to the comedy film of 9/11.” It has invited another cleric who said, “Jews and their helpers must be destroyed.” ³³ Education City also “amplifies Palestinian voices” ³⁴ and embraces the spirit of Ramadan to channel spiritual energy into the critical theory-influenced concept of social justice. ³⁵

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has alleged that QF is “renowned for hosting virulently extremist preachers at its flashy mosque in in Education City.” ³⁶

American Higher Education

In 2019, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) ranked Georgetown University Qatar as one of the top-ten worst U.S. colleges for free speech. ³⁷

The Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System voted February 8, 2024, to initiate a closure of Texas A&M’s satellite campus in Education City by 2028, ending a 21-year-old partnership between the public university and Qatar Foundation. The Board of Regents cited “heightened instability” in the region and shifts in organizational priorities as a reason for their decision. ³⁸

The decision came approximately two months after The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy published a report in November 27, 2023, accusing Texas A&M of working with Qatar on “weapons development” and nuclear technology as part of its partnership with Qatar Foundation. ³⁹

Qatar Foundation criticized the decision by the Board of Regents as “misguided” and influenced by a “disinformation campaign” aimed at hurting QF interests. ⁴⁰

On May 23, 2024, Northwestern University’s relationship with Qatar, including the Qatar Foundation, came under scrutiny during a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Education and The Workforce hearing on on-campus antisemitism in light of the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests across U.S. college campuses. In the hearing, U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) questioned Northwestern University President Michael Schill over the over $600 million that Rep. Owens claimed Northwestern University had received from Qatari entities. ⁴¹

Associated Organizations

The Washington, D.C.-based Qatar Foundation International (QFI) is a constituent of the Qatar Foundation and supports programs in Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. ⁴² QFI has been accused of supporting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content in various U.S. schools with which QFI has ties. ^{43 44}

From 2009 through 2017, QFI gave at least $30.6 million to public schools to fund Arabic-language programs across the U.S. ¹⁰ QFI made its first contributions to U.S. schools in the 2009-2010 school year, totaling $525,000. Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. was one of the first schools to receive money and has received at least $1 million from QFI since its inception. QFI has also spent at least $5.5 million in the 2014-2015 school year; $3.8 million in the 2017-2018 school year; and $3.2 million in the 2016-2017 school year for its U.S.-based activities. ⁴⁵

QFI has entered into agreements with U.S. public schools that require these schools to give access to QFI. For example, a $465,000 contract between QFI and the Tucson Unified School district allowed QFI staff to observe classrooms, monitor progress, administer Arabic proficiency tests, and receive enrollment information. ⁴⁶