At the moment, I am the only member of the Georgetown Jesuit community serving full time at the Qatar campus of the School of Foreign Service.
I am the only Jesuit here in Qatar, but not the first. Years ago, when SFS-Q was just getting started, Fr. Ryan Maher, S.J., was here, and more recently Fr. Jim Walsh, S.J., taught theology. But for the past year and a half, I have served as the only Jesuit in Doha.
Before I arrived here, I wasn’t sure how I would be received in this small country on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. I knew that Qatar is an almost 100 percent Muslim country, and that encouraged me; having studied in Lebanon and Egypt and having taught in Indonesia, Turkey and the Philippines, I’ve lived among Muslims for a long time and found them to be both welcoming hosts and challenging partners in the dialogue of life.
I can honestly say that in the almost 50 years since I went to Indonesia in the 1960s to teach English, I’ve never encountered any serious prejudice or rejection when people learn that I am a Catholic priest and a Jesuit. In fact, the opposite is true; I find the people I’ve known to be easy to love and easy to live with.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the family-like atmosphere. Visitors from Washington always note what a close living-learning community SFS-Q is. By the second semester, we basically all know each other; we eat lunch together, rub shoulders in the library and see one another at the student clubs, Lunch & Learns, basketball games, lectures, movie nights and debate competitions.
There is a strong student organization aimed at raising consciousness about the problems faced by disabled persons; there’s a video dialogue with students in Gaza and there are projects designed to promote an understanding of the situations of life and work of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in Qatar. There is plenty to do together, all of which helps us get to know one another better. SFS-Q has little of the anonymity and loneliness about which students sometimes complain in huge American universities.
What about the sensitive subject of religion? Can we talk about that? Is it divisive, a cause of tension? I’ve had an interesting experience in this area.On main campus, I taught a course in “Muslim-Christian Relations Since Vatican II.” There, all the students were Christian, except for two Muslims. In Qatar, I teach the same course, same material, except here all the students but two are Muslim.
We take up the same material we studied in Washington, some of it positive, some negative, which we discuss and debate animatedly, and in both places I sense an underlying current that this generation really does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. They live in a global culture where national, racial and religious prejudices are simply not acceptable.
Last week, we had midterms, so this week I am correcting and grading. In one midterm question I asked: “What are the first steps to be taken to improve relations between Muslims and Christians?” As I read the papers, I found that I had tears in my eyes at the depth of insight and commitment expressed in those exam papers. I wanted to collect and publish those papers so others could read them.What teacher would not find teaching in this situation to be a personally fulfilling, rewarding experience?
It’s not all sweetness and light here. A month ago, a very popular and in many ways remarkable Qatari student died in a motorbike accident. He lived in the dorm and had many friends who were devastated by his sudden death. For many students, it was the first time in their lives they had lost someone who was a close friend, someone their own age, with whom they had lived and eaten and spent time. They faced these feelings of loss in memorial services where they shared memories of their friend and reflected on the significance of his life.
Shortly after that, the newborn child of a young American couple, who only shortly before had arrived at SFS-Q, died tragically at birth. As is the custom in the Catholic Church on such occasions, we held a Mass of the Angels to commend the child to God and pray for the parents in their time of loss. I was gratified to see not only the Christian staff and faculty turn out for the Mass, but most of the Muslims as well.
These tragedies give unspoken but nevertheless tangible evidence that we form one united family engaged in a common effort of education, working together for God’s greater glory.
Fr. Thomas Michel, S.J., is a visiting professor at the School of Foreign Service in Qatar. He is a guest author of As This Jesuit Sees It … which appears every other Friday.
Zia • Oct 16, 2014 at 4:31 am
Professor Mitchell, you were truly an inspiring individual and I feel quite fortunate to have taken a class with you recently. I admire your life’s work and can only say the most wonderful things about you. It is an inspiration to many and should be to more.
Zia • Oct 16, 2014 at 4:29 am
As for you, Mr. Arafat, I will not even pretend to call you intelligent, not even by your standards. I should preface my comment by saying this isn’t a debate I am drawing myself into, just the understandably comedic hope that a bigoted individual as yourself would stop hate mongering, that too so devoid of facts. In your first comments you cite statements (and a very out-of-context hadith: https://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/islam-and-the-world/worldview/462074-hatred.html) while in the second you prefer not to entertain statements but talk about practical realities.
Well, here are a couple. In Qatar, more than 30% of the people do not identify as Muslims (that’s PEW 2010, if you know what PEW is, you won’t hopefully challenge its credibility). These individuals reside in the state, have centers for their religious practices (including churches and mass groups as well as missionary groups). These individuals are not persecuted or discriminated on the basis of their religion. Discrimination is a problem in Qatar, unfortunately (and I speak having experienced it on numerous occasions living there) but it is a social problem. The very same applies to UAE. Other countries I can’t speak for. But really, it highlights the fallacious nature of your unfounded criticism. Bigotry and hyperbole.
As for the very foul mouthed rant on Sharia law and the professor who has dedicated his life to promote inter-religious dialogue throughout the world (and a Jesuit, whose values you are so nobly here to defend), well, Pakistan does not have Sharia law. In fact, the legal system is based on the common law of Britain and Wales, with jirga systems placed with very little authority to settle religious disputes, authority which can be challenged in the secular legal systems. Some extremist factions do attempt to enforce Sharia law, often threatening to do so by force. Guess what, even in Pakistan they are labeled as terrorists. Not very long ago, the Pakistan army completed a successful campaign against such terrorists who, under the false pretenses of Islam to further their political aspirations, had taken over a city in the Northern parts of the country and imposed Sharia law. A similar campaign is underway now too.
Just plain facts from the practical side. Not defending the vile misuse of religion in Pakistan or any of these countries, but really sir, you are just the same as those extremists. If you really want to make a difference, take a leaf out of this professor’s book and start reflecting. This world is too violent and your life too short to live with such acrimonious grudges.
Being so willfully hateful against an entire religion of almost 1.8 billion people because of gross misrepresentation of a small percentage speaks volumes about you as a person. Something you might want to consider and reflect upon.
Bless you.
Bill O'Rights • Oct 16, 2014 at 8:30 pm
The only thing worse than an ignoramus is an arrogant one.
Georgetown can vet Qatar or it will likely wind up getting its name dragged through the mud:
https://www.constitutionalright.net/2014/03/the-jihadi-threat-report-on-islamist.html
You can attack our credibility if you like, but I encourage you to check our sources. If you still require more evidence, I can provide you with additional sources.
Zia • Oct 17, 2014 at 2:52 am
Bill, thanks for the link, it was insightful indeed. The meanderings of the article are often incoherent, but I can see what you are trying to allude to. Also, the sources, few and far in between borrow from the same few individuals for the most part, but again, I digress.
Call me arrogant, call me ignorant, I tend to find the idea of such macro-level new world order stories akin to rife conspiracy theories. Next, for all I know, another individual in passionate defense will paste links to a 9/11 conspiracy theory and we’ll all be at each others’ throats again.
My point was and is – the personal is not the political. For me and vast number of Muslims I know, religion is a personal choice, not a Marxist tool for oppression or means for world domination. I denounce the work of terrorist organizations, I refuse to be represented by those fools and I refuse to be associated with them too. I’m not in a minority either. Instead of blatantly brushing us all in broad strokes, I say be moderate and use moderation to ameliorate the evils on both extremes. If you really need to, that is. Georgetown Qatar is a place that allows for such facilitation of ideas, it breeds a culture of tolerance and acceptance. It bridges gaps that you and I have been countering. If anything, it is a soft medium to eliminate the evils you and I see around us. Access to quality education is fundamental in making positive improvements, take that away, you only enable further extremism. I hope that isn’t the ultimate goal you and I aspire towards. Certainly not me.
Zia • Oct 16, 2014 at 4:07 am
Interesting how Mr. JoeHoyaSaxa has nothing better to do than just keep pasting three idiotic website links on most of these pages. I can understand your objective opinion on the matter, that the university should not be affiliated with a state which has apparent ties with terrorist activities. Well based on that logic, the US has been a consistent supporter of Israel, pledging billions of dollars in aid to a state that continues to carry on activities quite akin to state terrorism in the region. Not my opinion but that of a quite a few states of this world and the United Nations, all of which possess more credibility than some individual hiding behind a pseudonym. Not just that, but the US has also funded numerous groups in the past which turned out to have terrorist tendencies. I’m sure we all remember how Bin Laden, Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein were all poster boys for the American campaign at one point. So if you must parade these idiotic ambitions of yours sir, I sincerely hope, being the supposedly objective and disputably intelligent individual (surely in only your understanding), you must also on the same basis dispute Georgetown’s continued existence in Washington D.C. I mean, they go against the values of the university the same way, correct? And use the money of the citizens of the same state. Simply unacceptable, by your own standards of course.
Arafat • Oct 13, 2014 at 9:22 am
What is Sharia law?
Hmmm…
Well instead of entertaining a theoretical debate on the topic why don’t we open our eyes to see how it is practiced in the real world. You pick: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Algeria, Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan. Seems to me these purveyors of Sharia law know more about it than any tenured, BS professor does.
But, hell, what do I know, I’m just Mr. Joe 6-pack looking at the world without tenured glasses and all the politicking and *ss kissing it takes to get a tenured position. Tenured professors = politicians in sheep’s clothing.
Haqeeqa • Oct 16, 2014 at 6:31 am
It is true that there are some countries that utilize Sharia law to persecute others or bring deleterious effects on its citizens. However, some countries that you have picked are rather extreme. If someone said Christianity is evil and give examples of the Crusades and the Ku Klux Klan, would you view the argument as valid? Not all countries in the Middle East is oppressive. Just like you expect other people to respect your own diversity, I hope you respect the diversity of other people, despite the fact that they have same religion, similar basis of law, and share similar geographic location.
Joehoyasaxa • Oct 12, 2014 at 7:33 pm
Georgetown is taking money from the very folks bent on the destruction of everything Georgetown stands for – or used to.
Joehoyasaxa • Oct 12, 2014 at 7:30 pm
Islam is evil. Wake up! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QxzOVSMUrGM
joehoyasaxa • Oct 12, 2014 at 3:01 pm
https://pamelageller.com/2014/10/qatar-awareness-campaign-qatar-pledges-1-billion-to-the-jihad-in-gaza.html/
Haqeeqa • Oct 16, 2014 at 6:37 am
Another website influenced by Qatar Awareness Campaign..
At this point, Qatar Awareness Campaign reminds me of “Kony 2013” campaign. I hope we all recall how that campaign ended, and how it was proved to be rather false.
fedup • Oct 16, 2014 at 8:11 am
try not to be a complete republican ignoramas. the money is not to fund “jihad in gaza” its to rebuild the country after it was decimated by the massacring of its people by the Israeli’s.
bill orights • Oct 16, 2014 at 8:21 pm
When Qatar’s U.N. envoy was caught trying to smuggle $20 million to Hamas, the fighting had not yet begun.
: )
Nice try, though.
joehoyasaxa • Oct 12, 2014 at 2:59 pm
https://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/10/05/The-Idiocy-of-Islams-Great-Defenders/
Haqeeqa • Oct 16, 2014 at 6:35 am
I believe this is a website that is heavily influenced by “Qatar Awareness Campaign”. Hence, the credibility of the website may be doubted. Also, the website’s information cannot be deemed unbiased.
Bill O'Rights • Oct 16, 2014 at 6:31 pm
Why?
You haven’t disproven the credibility of the Qatar Awareness campaign.
We have very well respected and high ranking retired members of the military in our coalition, and others not listed on our site with extensive intelligence backgrounds.
AmusedAndBemused • Oct 11, 2014 at 4:23 pm
To the person who posted the letter addressed to Dr. Faust at Harvard, I believe you’re @JoeHoyaSaxa:
Are you aware that the principles of Islamic Law are taught at Harvard already? Have you heard of the Islamic Legal Studies programme at the HLS, or are you completely ignorant of this fact? Law is also taught by various faculty at HDS, and CMES at the university as well; Baber Johansen and Intisar Rabb are two notable members of the faculty who specialise in the subject. The reason they hope to establish a law school is actually to train local talent to be able to deal with issues relating to international law, contracts, and commercial law in an attempt to be more self- sufficient, and relying less on foreign firms as part of the Qatarisation initiative, in addition to be able to gain an understanding of legal history. Oh, and if you would take a couple of seconds to study Qatar’s laws (which are openly available online, with the English translation in the process of completion), you may not that what you would consider to be “Islamic”, actually predominantly apply to personal status laws (but the validity of the claim that they are, in fact, Islamic is highly contestable, but that’s another topic for a different time)
Also, please define what you mean by Sharia law, as it would be interesting to read how you reduce a debate that has been a subject of debate and contention for centuries! If you succeed, you have incredibly managed to resolve a question that has been such a (plaguing) topic of scholarly study and interpretation! From your statement, you seem to have one very specific meaning, which is composed of very particular, and determined components. This should be utterly fascinating!
Additionally, where on earth do you get the information that Boko Haram was founded by Qatar as, in your words, a “money- making venture”? Whatever you’re on, please pass it around!
Oh, and regarding the Muslim Brotherhood, many were welcomed into the States (for God’s sake Morsi who was openly brotherhood, and was imprisoned for being so, studied and taught here!) The US has never recognised them as a terrorist organisation, and also as an FYI, the State never took issue with the party winning the Egyptian elections, and the ambassador was constantly over at the presidential residence in private conference.
Also, what are you attempting to imply when you state that the brother of the country’s Emir is an alumnus? Are you trying to say that he did not get in on his own merit, as if you are then I would ask if you had access to his personal records, transcripts, application etc…? How utterly absurd.
The World Arab Alumni conference (or whatever it’s called) was held this year in Dubai, which is structurally similar. Is that also problematic for you, I wonder? So if a conference is to be held in any place that has its problems (which is every single country), that is to be utterly condemned? I truly am interested in what you have to say regarding this?
Also please clarify as to whom your accusing in support of terrorist organisations, and has committed these alleged heinous acts: Qatar, Qatar Foundation, the State, members of the population, Doha (whatever you mean by that), the Althani family (all, certain members, or what as you know the family literally comprises of thousands of people)? Please be specific.
And, Arafat, there is a Church in Qatar, so please stop with your diatribe of falsehoods: all I can do is roll my eyes. You make a statement about Qatar, then talk of KSA. Seriously, man, please be more coherent in your arguments.
bill orights • Oct 16, 2014 at 11:38 am
None of that makes a hill of beans worth of difference.
The fact is…
Qatar CREATED Boko Haram and the Islamic State. They are al Qaeda’s and Ansar al-Sharia’s biggest benefactors.
And Georgetown is planted solidly in Doha in Education City…BOUGHT AND PAID FOR WITH human trafficking and drug trafficking revenues.
I suggest that you take the time to read my group’s report on Qatar:
https://www.constitutionalright.net/2014/03/the-jihadi-threat-report-on-islamist.html
And this recent article ALSO sheds light:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/qatar/11141419/Qatars-moneymen-behind-the-kidnappers.html
With knowledge of Qatar’s profound involvement in terrorism, Georgetown becomes a complicit actor, if it chooses to turn a blind eye and feed off the ‘generosity’ of Qatar.
Face it, Georgetown made an honest mistake.
Now, do the mature and responsible thing and take a stand against terrorism.
For the love of God, honor Georgetown’s own mission statement!
Private (@JoeHoyaSaxa) • Oct 10, 2014 at 4:19 pm
Qatar awareness Campaign – Letter to Harvard University
Posted on October 10, 2014
Drew Gilpin Faust
Office of the President
Harvard University
Massachusetts Hall
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Dear Dr. Faust:
This letter is being sent to you on behalf of the Qatar Awareness Campaign Coalition. The purpose is to inform you and the public of the activities of Qatar. Harvard University is assisting the Qatar Foundation to establish a law school in Doha, in order to “revitalize legal education in the Middle East, and represent Islamic and Arabic legal traditions in the global dialogue on legal and governance issues.” These traditions include Sharia law.
Harvard University is arguably the greatest institution of higher learning in the world today. The university’s endowment fund, which invests in hedge funds and private equity funds, is valued at $36.4 billion (June 2014). An institution with global influence of the first order, Harvard scholars help to shape policy on the domestic and international stage.
President Barack Obama himself is a graduate of Harvard Law School, and served as the president of the Harvard Law Review. His alma mater is now partnered with Doha to found a law school focused, at least in part, on Sharia law.
Although it is not surprising that Harvard would be found in Qatar, its activities there are distinctly alarming. Why would Harvard want to help establish an Islamic law school in Qatar, a state sponsor of terrorist groups like Hamas? “Islamic and Arabic legal traditions” includes Sharia law, which has been the basis for the barbaric and inhuman rule of the Taliban and ISIS, both to whom Doha is financially entwined.
In light of your partnership with the Qatar Foundation to establish a law school, consider that Qatar is arguably the preeminent sponsor of terror in the world today. It is a benefactor of the genocidal armies of ISIS, al Qaeda, and Boko Haram; it is involved in Taliban narcotics trafficking through a relationship with the Pakistani National Logistics Cell; and profits from operating a virtual slave state. Qatar has leveraged its relationships with violent jihadi groups to its own benefit, and to the detriment of the United States and her allies.
Here are additional facts around Harvard’s various interactions with Qatar and the al-Thani family:
◾The Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School is in a multi-year partnership with the Qatar Foundation. 2015 will mark the sixth annual IGLP Workshop; in 2013, the workshop welcomed 140 participants to Doha.
◾IGLP and Harvard Law School are also assisting the Qatar Foundation to establish a law school in Doha, which has as a goal the increased globalization of Sharia law.
◾The John F. Kennedy School of Government operates a fellowship fund, established out of a $2 million gift from the Al-Thani family.
◾In 2010, the Harvard Arab Alumni Association hosted the Fifth Annual Arab World Conference in Doha. The conference is one of “the most significant efforts to bring Harvard to the Arab world.” The conference thanked “her highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Consort of his highness the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, for graciously offering her patronage to our conference; it is indeed an honor and a privilege.”
◾Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad al-Thani, a brother of the Emir of Qatar, completed a Masters degree at Harvard University. He previously attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Doha.
The QAC Coalition and petitioners ask that you consider the attached sourced report on Qatar’s activities. The links cited are vetted and credible sources. We hope you take the time to verify the truth of the statements for yourself.
After doing so, the Coalition of the Qatar Awareness Campaign calls on you to exert due influence on the Qatari government to cease any type of involvement in all forms of Islamic terrorism, slavery, and drug trafficking!
Sincerely,
Lt. Col. Allen B. West (US Army, Ret) – AllenBWest.com
Charles Ortel – Washington Times
Frank Gaffney, Jr. – Center for Security Policy
Pamela Geller – Atlas Shrugs
Paul E Vallely, US Army (Ret) – Chairman, Stand Up America
Robert Spencer – Jihad Watch
Walid Shoebat – Shoebat.com
& the entire Qatar Awareness Campaign Coalition.
Qatar Research Report: https://www.stopqatarnow.com/p/research-report.html
Sign the Petition! Visit http://www.stopqatarnow.com
Facebook: Stop Qatar Now
Twitter: @stopqatarnow
Select signatures as of 9/27. The Qatar Awareness Campaign Coalition is comprised of more than 25 journalists, national security experts, publishers, and independent researchers. To view all Coalition participants, please visit the Campaign’s website.
CC: David Kennedy, Faculty Director Institute for Global Law and Policy. Media Relations, Harvard University.
Arafat • Oct 10, 2014 at 9:04 am
Qatar is more extremist than Saudi Arabia which helps put the following in perspective. One wonders whether the good father isn’t part of Qatar’s Islamist campaign in the sense that having “one” Jesuit helps ameliorate the perception that Qatar is really as bad as it is.
===
Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia: there should be no churches in Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE
This is on Muhammad’s orders: “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.” (Sahih Muslim 19.4366)
And that doesn’t mean just Saudi Arabia. That means Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Islamic Tolerance Alert: “Saudi Arabia Declares Destruction of All Churches in Region,” from Charisma News, April 1 (thanks to Rene):
Earlier this month, news reports surfaced out of Saudi Arabia that raised the red flag for Christians.
Todd Nettleton, a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs USA, says, “The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia—the top Islamic official in the country of Saudi Arabia—has declared that it is ‘necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.'” Nettleton goes on to note that the report hasn’t surfaced anywhere except on the Council on Foreign Relations Web site, which was then picked up by The Atlantic.
Haqeeqa • Oct 16, 2014 at 6:25 am
Just because Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia said there should be no churches in Qatar, it does not mean that Qatar thinks that way, too. As a student studying here in Qatar, Qatar Foundation provides us with buses to religious complexes including a church. There are quite a number of churches here, and they are not persecuted in any way. If they were, I would already have been arrested.
Giving examples of what Saudi Arabia is doing does not reflect on what Qatar is doing. You cannot simply argue that Qatar is worse than Saudi Arabia, and use Saudi Arabia to distort the image of Qatar. If the logic you are using has to be true, anyone can simply say that security issues in the United States is worse than that in Mexico, and give statistics about Mexico.
Please do find any evidence that there is persecution of Christianity in Qatar. As Father Tom has said, it is a very welcoming community. It is true that people will be completely willing to convert to Christianity, but I believe that is the same in any other country. If a Muslim comes up to anyone in the United States and ask to convert to Islam, the chance of such happening is rather minor.
I am not saying that your opinion should be completely unbiased, because no opinion is neutral. However, I am concerned if you actually have the facts accurate.