Northwestern's Contract With Qatar Forbids School From Criticizing Regime

Northwestern University's contract with Hamas-allied Qatar, where the school operates a satellite campus, includes a clause that effectively forbids students and faculty from criticizing the Qatari regime, a House Committee on Education and Workforce interview with soon-to-be-former Northwestern University president Michael Schill revealed.

The interview, which includes an extensive discussion of Northwestern's contract with the regime-controlled Qatar Foundation, reveals the speech limitations to which universities submit when they operate in the Gulf state.

In the August 5 interview, committee staffers introduced "a portion from Northwestern's agreement with the Qatar Foundation," the nonprofit organization chaired by the emir of Qatar's mother. The foundation bankrolls the presence of Northwestern and other American universities in the Gulf state. The agreement includes a clause stipulating that "NU, NU-Q, and their respective employees, students, faculty, families, contractors and agents, shall be subject to the applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar, and shall respect the cultural, religious and social customs of the State of Qatar."

Qatar's penal code criminalizes criticism of its government and flag and bans the posting of online content that the Qatari regime deems harmful. A Jordanian media manager for Qatar's 2022 World Cup was sentenced to five years in prison after voicing concern over the regime's treatment of migrant workers. A Northwestern Qatar student, meanwhile, was "arrested over a tweet," according to the House interview.