Weiner Urges Harvard, Georgetown To Return $20M From a Saudi Prince

A congressman from New York City, Anthony Weiner, is urging Harvard and Georgetown universities to return the $20 million donations they received from a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud.

Mr. Weiner, a Democratic candidate for mayor this year, sent a letter yesterday to the presidents of Harvard and Georgetown that chastised them for "accepting gifts from a family that bankrolls terrorist organizations."

It's highly unlikely the universities will return the prince's money, as Mayor Giuliani did when Prince Alwaleed came to New York City after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and offered $10 million to a disaster relief fund. Mr. Giuliani turned down the gift after the prince suggested that the attacks were related to America's foreign policy toward Israel.

A spokesman for Georgetown, Erik Smulson, said the school has no intention of returning the prince's donation, the school's second largest gift ever. "Prince Alwaleed is an international business leader," he said. A Harvard official yesterday afternoon did not respond to a request for comment.

Harvard has previously changed its mind when it comes to controversial donations. In 2004, university officials returned a $2.5 million gift from the now deceased president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Zayed, after the school was faced with complaints about the Arab ruler's association with a think tank that promoted Holocaust denial theories.

The lawmaker's letter did not single out for criticism Prince Alwaleed, an investor who is said to be worth almost $30 billion and whom Time once dubbed, "The Arabian Warren Buffett." Mr. Weiner focused on what he characterized as the royal family's support for Islamic radicalism.

"The duplicity of the Saudi royal family is something that we should be constantly calling attention to," Mr. Weiner told The New York Sun in a telephone interview. "They are trying to cleanse their bloody hands by taking contributions to institutions like Georgetown and Harvard."

The government of Saudi Arabia has strongly defended its record against terrorism. The kingdom said in a report it released in September that its "opposition to Al Qaeda's hateful ideology sends a clear message to the world that these extremists and their cult do not represent the peaceful Islamic religion."

Mr. Weiner has butted heads with the Ivy League in the past. Last year, he demanded that Columbia University fire an assistant professor, Joseph Massad, after Jewish students complained about the professor's allegedly hostile behavior in the classroom.

Harvard and Georgetown announced the twin $20 million donations on Monday. Harvard said it would use the gift to create a University-wide program on Islamic studies, hire more faculty members focused in the field, and convert rare Islamic texts to digital format. Georgetown said the money would allow it to expand its Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which is part of its Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Prince Alwaleed said he wanted the gifts to help bridge understanding between the East and West, according to statements issued by Harvard and Georgetown.

He has also made donations to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the President George Herbert Walker Bush Scholarship Fund, the American University in Cairo, and the American University of Beirut.