Georgetown Academic John Esposito Spoke At Launch Of New Qatar Islamic Center

The Qatar Foundation has identified Georgetown academic John Esposito among the list of speakers at recent the launch for the new Islamic center in Qatar to be headed by Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Tariq Ramadan. According to the Qatar Foundation report, the following individuals of note spoke at the event:

• Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development;

• Dr Tariq Ramadan, Director of Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics

• Dr Jasser Auda, Deputy Director of Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics

• Sheikh Yusuf Al Karadawi, President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars

• H.E. Sheikh Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina

• Mr. Yusuf Islam, Yusuf Islam Foundation

• Prof. John Esposito, Director of Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, USA

Dr. Esposito, a former U.S. State Department advisor,  has espoused views consistent with Brotherhood doctrine and during the 1990’s was known for his claims that Islamic fundamentalism was, in fact, democratic and posed no threat to the U.S. Dr. Esposito has at least a dozen past or present affiliations with global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas organizations including having served on the advisory board of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in the U.K. headed by Azzam Tamimi, a leader in the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood and often described as a Hamas spokesman. Dr. Esposito has also served with global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi on the Steering Committee of the Circle of Tradition and Progress and enjoyed a close relationship with the United Association For Studies and Research (USAR), part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee and part of the Hamas support infrastructure. In 2005, Saudi prince Alaweed bin Talal, a financial supporter of the global Muslim Brotherhood, donated $20 million to the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown, headed by Dr. Esposito.

An earlier post reported on the formation of the Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CLIE) which appears to be a highly significant coming together of Global Muslim Brotherhood leaders Tariq Ramadan and Youssef Qaradawi, noting that the Deputy Director is a close associate of Qaradawi’s at the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS).The new center appears to be the latest in the series of research centers being established by the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS). A subsequent post reported that the launch ceremony for Center was co-organized by a group that included five U.S. universities, among them Georgetown University, together with representatives of two organizations headed by Youssef Qaradawi and an organization tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas fundraising, and support for Al Qaeda.