In 2001, Cornell University announced a bold new project. With $750 million dollars in funds pledged by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the University declared its intention to build a new medical school campus in Qatar.

The Qatar Foundation, while private, was set up by Qatar's Emir (read "dictator"), Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and is currently chaired by the Emir's wife. And, while Qatar is considered one of the most "moderate" countries in the Middle East, moderate is a relative term in that region of the world. Certainly, its citizens do not have all the rights that are taken for granted in Western countries. The latest Freedom House rankings still rate the country as "not free." Nonetheless, we should look optimistically upon the reforms the country has instituted and urge them to continue along that path.

Yet the controversy engendered by this project is not without merit. At the time of its announcement and thereafter, many concerned students and alumni protested the University's decision to open a campus in Qatar. In doing so, some recounted the story of Louay Abdulla.

Louay Abdulla, a naturalized American citizen who was born in Qatar, was a professor of political science at Kent State University before moving back to the nation of his birth to take a job at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1995. In March of 2000, he was arrested by Qatari authorities. His crime? Allegedly creating an internet site which asked visitors to vote on who was more attractive: the Emir's wife or a prominent female Qatari professor.

According to Qatari law, it is a crime to insult the Emir and this internet site supposedly violated this illiberal law. And for this grievous offense - of which Abdulla reportedly insisted that he was wrongly accused - the American citizen was sentenced to two years in jail (he was ultimately pardoned). Besides the obvious troubling human rights aspects of this case, the question must be raised whether a top notch University supposedly dedicated to freedom of thought and expression can exist in a country with such restrictive laws?

This, of course, was just part of the criticism leveled against Cornell's decision. Gay rights activists questioned whether Cornell should open a satellite campus in a country with discriminatory laws against them while a conservative columnist chided the University in The Sun for allying itself with a country which, at the time, was vocally opposed to America's War on Terrorism. These all remain valid points.

In recent days, a new concern has emerged. While the civilized world has pledged to withhold aid from the newly formed Palestinian government headed by the terrorist organization Hamas, Qatar has joined the terrorist state of Iran in pledging millions of dollars to the government. To put it bluntly: The Emir has committed his country to supporting a Palestinian regime with genocidal intentions.

I don't use the term genocide lightly. Hamas' charter not only calls for the destruction of Israel, but the killing of Jews. This is a genocidal goal. And Qatar has signed on as a financial backer.

Can Cornell maintain its silence? I think not, unless it wants to remain neutral on the question of murdering Jews.

Just this week, a suicide bomber killed eight innocent Israelis. The bomber targeted them for death for being Israelis, for being Jews. The Hamas controlled Palestinian Authority praised the attack. In dong so, the newly installed Palestinian government went on record to endorse wanton and intentional slaughter. Any decent society would find that the only option in dealing with such a government would be to cut off ties with it. But not Qatar. No no. They are helping to finance this government.

I don't want to overstate this. I believe that, in general, it is good for Cornell to help bring liberal education to the largely totalitarian Middle East. I think it is good that Qatar has begun to enact some liberal reforms. I think it is admirable and praiseworthy that Qatar has allowed America to use its soil as a base for Operation Iraqi Freedom. On the other hand, I find it reprehensible that the Qatari government may be giving, as some reports suggest, millions of dollars to al-Qaeda in order to thwart an attack on the country - this money, mind you, could very well be used by al-Qaeda to attack America.

I will say that there is something to the idea that the mere presence of the West in these societies will help open them up. So I think I am being eminently fair. There are some positive aspects of the Qatari government. However, there are also grave concerns. And funding a terrorist regime which has sweet dreams about genocide is one of them. Is this something that Cornell should tolerate being associated with? We must have some standards, shouldn't we?

It is not as if Cornell has built a satellite campus in Qatar that is independent of the Qatari government. It is the Emir's very own foundation that is funding its construction. And his government has made the dastardly decision to fund terrorism by supporting Hamas and possibly paying off al-Qaeda.

So, Cornell, the ball is in your court. Will you make a statement of outrage and distance yourself from Qatar's hideous policy? Will you return the Emir's money? Will you shut down the University until the Qatari government repudiates its position and changes its ways? Or will you do nothing?

Make no mistake: Cornell's reputation is on the line. We already have taken one big blow in recent weeks with Professor pugilist Cynthia McKinney, herself an apologist of terrorism, attacking a Capitol Hill police officer. Now is the time for Cornell to take control of its reputation. It must take tangible steps to distance itself from its partner in Qatar. It must repudiate Qatar's Emir who, while lavishing funds upon Cornell, also acts as the sugar daddy of one of the most heinous regimes that exists today.

Jamie Weinstein is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be contacted at jsw46@cornell.edu. Time Out appears Fridays.

Archived article by Jamie Weinstein