Saudi prince gives Harvard, Georgetown $40 million

[FreedomAngel82]

I haven't seen this on here so if it has been posted I apologize to the mods. I haven't seen it. I found it very interesting...

Link: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2005-12-13T145558Z_01_DIT353264_RTRUKOC_0_US-RELIGION-UNIVERSITIES-ISLAM.xml

Snip: <BOSTON (Reuters) - A billionaire Saudi prince, ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world's fifth richest person and wealthiest Muslim businessman, has donated $40 million to Harvard and Georgetown to expand their Islamic studies programs.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of the late Saudi King Fahd and a prominent figure both inside the Saudi kingdom and internationally, gave $20 million to each university, according to both schools' Web sites.

"Bridging the understanding between East and West is important for peace and tolerance," Alwaleed, a global investor with a net worth estimated by Forbes of more than $20 billion, said in a statement released by the schools.

The gift to Harvard -- one of the 25 largest in the its history -- will fund four new faculty positions in a new Islamic studies program and make rare Islamic textual sources available in digital format, Harvard said.

Georgetown, the country's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, said it would expand its Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.>

More at the link...

[benny05]

1. Well, well

Easier to donate to private universities than to public which need the money more, but few questions asked about the donor other than the wealth for real and when the checks are coming.

Mind you, I respect both institutions. But the general state citizens would be suspicious of these donations.

[lpbk2713]

2. He might have done better at bridging the understanding

if he had looked for Australian institutuions to donate those petrodollars to.


:eyes:

[BuyingThyme]

3. Islamic studies my ass.

He's buying another generation of fascists.