PHILADELPHIA – September 8, 2025 – A Middle East Forum investigation released today reveals that Northwestern University employs a professor who co-founded an organization that laundered money for Hamas to teach mandatory courses to American exchange students at the university’s Qatar campus. The report documents how Qatar’s $737 million investment in Northwestern since 2007 has led to systematic violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.
The report follows last week’s resignation of Northwestern President Michael Schill amid a $790 million federal research funding freeze and congressional investigations into campus antisemitism.
Ibrahim Abusharif, who teaches the required “Doha Seminar” for all American students studying at Northwestern’s Qatar campus, served as co-founder and treasurer of the Quranic Literacy Institute from 1990 to 1998. A federal jury found the organization liable for laundering over $1 million to Hamas, resulting in a $156 million judgment in the landmark Boim terrorism financing case.
“Northwestern University has allowed Qatar to transform one of America’s leading institutions into a platform for extremist ideology and terror apologism,” said Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum. “The university’s contractual obligation to respect Qatari laws while employing faculty with documented ties to terrorist organizations represents a fundamental betrayal of American academic values and poses a direct threat to campus safety for Jewish students.”
The Middle East Forum’s report comes amid a House Education and Workforce Committee probe that revealed how Northwestern’s contract with the Qatar Foundation legally prohibits all university personnel from criticizing the Qatari regime. The contract states that Northwestern employees, students, and faculty “shall be subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar, and shall respect the cultural, religious and social customs of the State of Qatar.”
Additional findings include:
- As part of its 2024 agreement to end anti-Israel encampments, Northwestern hired a visiting professor with ties to organizations that praised Hamas leadership.
- Professor Khaled Al-Hroub, who teaches at Northwestern’s Qatar campus and holds an appointment at the Evanston campus, called for a “third intifada” and urged Muslims to “bring America to its knees through an economic boycott” following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
- Northwestern’s mandatory antisemitism training, implemented after federal investigations began, was not required at the Qatar campus.
- Despite receiving $737 million from Qatar, Northwestern’s Qatar campus serves only 473 students and offers two undergraduate majors.
“This investigation reveals that Northwestern’s partnership with Qatar extends far beyond financial support into ideological capture,” said Benjamin Baird, the report’s author and Middle East Forum public affairs specialist. “The university cannot credibly claim to combat antisemitism while maintaining faculty who have laundered money for Hamas and contractual obligations that forbid criticism of a regime harboring terrorist leadership. Northwestern must choose between Qatari funding and its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect Jewish students.”
The report recommends federal action, including Title VI enforcement, investigations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and congressional oversight of the university’s foreign funding arrangements.
The full report is available at: https://www.meforum.org/mef-reports/how-qatar-fuels-campus-extremism-in-the-united-states
The Middle East Forum, a non-profit organization, promotes American interests in the Middle East and protects the West from Middle Eastern threats. MEF accomplishes its mission through intellectual and activist efforts. For more information, visit www.meforum.org.
For immediate release
For more information, contact:
Gregg Roman
roman@meforum.org
+1 (215) 546 5406
