The website of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, has announced that is has made a “substantial contribution” to the effort to establish an Islamic Studies Chair at the University of Central Florida (UCF). This effort was first reported by IIIT in 2005:
The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) will match donations to an endowment for a chair in Islamic studies at the University of Central Florida. The idea of an islamic studies chair is the initiative of a small group of community and university members under the auspices of Al-Ghazali Educational Foundation, LLC. This endowment seeks to bring a distinguished Islamic scholar to the University of Central Florida in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Middle Eastern Studies Program. Led by Imam Tariq Rasheed, Sr. Safia Ansari and Professor Husain Kassim, Al-Ghazali Educational Foundation’s effort seeks to help establish chairs for Islamic studies at selected university campuses. University of Central Florida is their first initiative, and has received enthusiastic support from Dean Kathryn Seidel of the College of Arts and Humanities at UCF.
The latest report says that IIIT has made a partial matching contribute to funds raised by Al Ghazali which “spearheaded” the Orlando fund-rasing campaign. According to Florida state records, the Al-Ghazali Educational Foundation has been listed as an inactive Florida corporation since September 2007.