Jesuit University Raking in Arab Cash Builds Mosque

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WASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) - A prestigious Jesuit university, which receives millions in funding from the Islamic regimes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has built what it calls "the first-of-its-kind mosque" on an American college campus.  

Georgetown University, which promotes itself as the oldest Catholic Jesuit university in the United States, says it erected the mosque to continue its mission of finding "new ways to foster its values of interreligious understanding and cura personalis."

"We're trying to form students to be people for others," says Fr. Mark Bosco, SJ, vice president for Mission & Ministry. "And in doing that, it means we need to embrace interreligious dialogue." 

"Coming to these different places, being invited by another student to come to the masjid, for example, whether you're Muslim or not, invites us to explore the richness of Georgetown's heritage and its deep commitment to our faith traditions," the Jesuit noted.

"The Yarrow Mamout Masjid is the first mosque with ablution stations, a spirituality and formation hall and a halal kitchen on a U.S. college campus," a press statement from the university trumpeted. 

"Georgetown was also the first U.S. university to hire a full-time Muslim chaplain, Imam Yahya Hendi, 24 years ago," it boasted. 

Washington D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser, a pro-abortion and pro-LGBT activist, officially opened the mosque on March 18, issuing a mayoral proclamation recognizing the Yarrow Mamout Masjid. The D.C. Council unanimously approved a ceremonial resolution honoring Yarrow Mamout and recognizing the dedication of the mosque.

The mosque, named after a Muslim slave from the 18th century, will offer five daily prayer services, Islamic education and spiritual discussions. 

Georgetown University has been criticized for being co-opted by Islamic nations who seek to proselytize the West by pumping massive funding to create Muslim centers within Christian or secular institutions. 

In 2019, the Department of Education launched an investigation into the Jesuit university for receiving $333 million from Qatar from 2011 to 2019. Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 requires institutions of higher education to transparently report foreign gifts and contracts, which Georgetown reportedly failed to do. 

Georgetown is the biggest recipient of Qatar's funding and has received far more from foreign nations than any other American university. Qatar's Arab monarchy is run under Sharia law and has been accused of links to terrorism, antisemitism and failing to uphold human rights.

The Daily Caller revealed that the dean of Georgetown University's Qatar campus, Ahmad Dallal, is a longtime and enthusiastic supporter of the terrorist group Hezbollah. 

Dallal, who chaired Georgetown's Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies from 2003 to 2009, is also pro-Hamas, supports the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement against Israel, coauthored an Arabic textbook with maps omitting Israel and is a signatory of a letter warning that Israel would "engage in 'ethnic cleansing' at the start of the Iraq war," the media reported.

In 2005, the Jesuit school received a $20 million gift from a Saudi prince, following which it renamed its Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding as the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding.

Jonathan A. Brown, a convert to Islam and director of the Talal Center, openly defended slavery, concubinage and nonconsensual sex in a 2017 lecture, citing the "prophet" Muhammad's example, an audio recording of the lecture revealed.

"The prophet of God had slaves. He had slaves. There's no denying that," Brown said in the lecture, which was given at the International Institute of Islamic Thought. "Are you more morally mature than the prophet of God? No, you're not. I'll answer your question for you."

Despite the university's emphasis on diversity and equality, the mosque's Facebook page encourages female students to pray at home rather than join in the community prayer. A recent post reads: "It is best for women to offer salah at home."  

The Department of Education report also claims that Georgetown "derived $2,369,807" through "significant intermingling with the People's Republic of China." This information was later redacted from the report.

"Beyond nominal affiliation, Georgetown isn't a Christian campus — but I am increasingly convinced that it knows it is lost," Elijah Martin, a student at Georgetown, writes on the website of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.

Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox ministries exist on campus, but they are largely weak on theology. Evangelical groups that preach the uniqueness of Christ and seek to convert non-Christians have been targeted by the university. 

The university also officially permits and offers prayer space to ministries run by Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish religious groups.

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