Report: Northwestern U Contract With Qatar Forbids School From Criticizing Regime
“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”
Isn’t it strange that there no mobs of leftists on campus protesting this?
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Northwestern’s Contract With Qatar Forbids School From Criticizing Regime
Northwestern University’s contract with Hamas-allied Qatar, where the school operates a satellite campus, includes a clause that effectively forbids students and faculty from criticizing the Qatari regime, a House Committee on Education and Workforce interview with soon-to-be-former Northwestern University president Michael Schill revealed.
The interview, which includes an extensive discussion of Northwestern’s contract with the regime-controlled Qatar Foundation, reveals the speech limitations to which universities submit when they operate in the Gulf state.
In the August 5 interview, committee staffers introduced “a portion from Northwestern’s agreement with the Qatar Foundation,” the nonprofit organization chaired by the emir of Qatar’s mother. The foundation bankrolls the presence of Northwestern and other American universities in the Gulf state. The agreement includes a clause stipulating that “NU, NU-Q, and their respective employees, students, faculty, families, contractors and agents, 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.”
Qatar’s penal code criminalizes criticism of its government and flag and bans the posting of online content that the Qatari regime deems harmful. A Jordanian media manager for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup was sentenced to five years in prison after voicing concern over the regime’s treatment of migrant workers. A Northwestern Qatar student, meanwhile, was “arrested over a tweet,” according to the House interview.
Asked during that interview whether Northwestern Qatar operates “in accordance with all Qatari laws,” Schill responded, “I believe it has to.” Asked whether that “includes Qatari censorship laws,” Schill said, “I don’t know the answer to that as a legal matter.” He also said he had “no idea” whether Qatar “would allow a Northwestern faculty member or student to publicly criticize the regime.”
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Comments
As the old saying goes, “we know what they are, this is just a price negotiation.”
I wonder what any university-China contract looks like . . . .
This is confusing. The university operates an extension in Qatar, and this agreement was written to facilitate that. Does this agreement restrict the conduct of U personnel while in Qatar, or does it restrict all U personnel everywhere?
No, just in Qatar.
This is a huge nothingburger. Of course everyone in Qatar is subject to Qatari law. How else could it be? If NU establishes a campus in NY it will be subject to NY law; if it establishes one in Israel it will be subject to Israeli law; that’s how it works. The contract simply makes it clear that this is not some sort of US enclave, where US law applies and they can violate Qatari law to their heart’s content. It’s not the US embassy. So no public alcohol, no Mohammed cartoons, no gay club; the US constitution does not apply.
wondering if criticizing america or israel will give you special extra good grades