Harvard Postpones Donation Decision

Harvard will wait another year before deciding whether to accept a donation from the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite an announcement of the closing of a controversial Arab think tank that bears his name.

The question of Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan’s $2.5 million gift, given in the year 2000 for the purpose of establishing a professorship in Islamic studies at Harvard Divinity School (HDS), was raised last spring when students at the school complained to their dean about alleged anti-American and anti-Semitic writings on the think tank’s website.

The Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up said on its website that it promotes the unification of Arab nations through historical and cultural education, but students were disturbed to find that the center also supported speakers and authors whose works celebrated Holocaust denial and accused the U.S. of staging the Sept. 11 attacks.

Harvard spent the summer investigating whether to return the Zayed gift.

The UAE announced last month that the center would be closed, citing activities inconsistent with the values the Sheikh has professed. Zayed “has always been a strong advocate of interfaith tolerance and harmony among religions,” the statement read.

Harvard’s acknowledged the UAE’s move but delayed a final determination about the gift.

“We applaud this decision,” Harvard spokesperson Lucie McNeil said in an Aug. 29 statement. “In view of the evolving situation, Harvard has decided to put the gift on hold during the coming academic year.”

According to a senior administration official, “closure of the center and some time to look at how the situation settles was and is still very important.”

HDS Dean William A. Graham could not be reached for comment.

Critics of the Zayed donation welcomed Harvard’s move, though some called for both the University and Zayed to take further steps.

“By the center closing and Harvard putting the money on hold, they validate the concerns expressed in March,” said Rachel Fish, who spearheaded opposition to the donation and graduated last year from the Divinity School.

“This is a step forward and a good sign that advances the discussion,” said List Professor of Jewish Studies Jon D. Levenson ’71, who signed a petition organized by Fish asking HDS to return the donation.

But Levenson said Zayed should speak out more forcefully against the center founded by the UAE in 1999.

“I hope the Zayed family is out of the business of fomenting hate,” he said, adding “a statement from the Sheikh would go a long way towards clearing things up.”

Fish said she is still looking for a statement from HDS acknowledging what she called insensitivity towards anti-Semitism.

“I still want the Divinity School to say that they will be more sensitive towards Jews and Americans,” she said. “Harvard needs to say the center had major problems.”

According to McNeil, while the gift is on hold, the Divinity School will continue its search for a candidate to fill a professorship in Islamic studies. HDS is in the midst of a curricular review aimed in part at better incorporating world religions.

“There is no question of our commitment to Islamic studies,” McNeil said.

“If we found something we did want, we would pursue it with other funds,” she said, adding that “come end of the year, we’ll see where we are.”

Fish and others said that given the choice, HDS should fill the professorship without relying on the Zayed donation.

“It is extremely important to find an Islamic studies professor, but at what price?” Fish said.

Levenson remained similarly skeptical.

“If they have plans and money to expand in world religions, then that’s all the more reason to substitute that money for the Sheikh’s,” Levenson said.

—Staff writer Wendy D. Widman can be reached at widman@fas.harvard.edu.