The Qatari leadership says the United States supports its decision to host Hamas' political office in Doha, and the Biden administration has praised its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, facilitating hostage negotiations. During the period of cessation of fighting, with partial Qatari mediation, Hamas released about 100 hostages.
Academics form an important part of Qatari relations with the United States. A number of American universities, including Georgetown and Northwestern, have campuses in Education City Qatar on the outskirts of the capital, Doha.
The Qatari government pays hundreds of millions of dollars in operating costs to universities each year, and in return the branches provide elite higher education to hundreds of Qatari students and others from across the region.
Qatar too It hosts the largest US military facility in the Middle East, Al Udeid Air Base, which can accommodate more than 10,000 US military personnel.
However, Qatar has received a steady stream of criticism over its ties to Hamas in recent months from critics of the Biden administration in the United States and from the Israeli leadership. Most recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the country as “problematic” in a leaked audio recording.
Texas A&M University was attacked over its ties to Qatar in a letter sent by an anti-Semitism watchdog group in January. The letter accused the university of involvement in a secret deal that gave Qatar control over nuclear weapons technology and described Qatar as a country that supports Hamas and other armed groups.
“The misinformation campaign had no impact on Thursday’s decision” to close the campus in Qatar, university spokesman Mike Reilly said in a written statement. The statement added that the discussion about the future of the branch “began before false information was received about Texas A&M University and Qatar.”
University President Mark Welch, a retired Air Force general, issued a response to the accusations at the time, calling them “simply false” and “irresponsible.”
Texas A&M University has had a campus in Qatar for more than two decades, during which time it has graduated more than 1,500 engineering students.
University graduates and faculty members expressed their shock and sadness at this news.
“It was a great community to be a part of, where I always felt excited and hopeful for what was to come and what I could build,” said Omar Barhoumi, 28, who majored in electrical engineering and mathematics and now works as a cybersecurity analyst. He said he had heard rumors that the university would close for years, but was “disappointed” in the way the decision was made.
The closure of Texas A&M at Qatar ultimately means there is less place for students to get a liberal arts education in the country, said Daniel Resch, a research fellow at Georgetown University in Qatar.
“This education, and the presence of these universities, makes students global citizens,” he said. “They learn to think critically and this makes a contribution to Qatar and the region.”
A university council statement this week said the institution had begun reviewing its decision to have a “physical presence in Qatar” in the fall of 2023 “due to increasing instability in the Middle East.”
The statement said that the university branch will be closed by 2028, but a team will be formed to ensure that students are able to complete their studies.
he Shamaa reported from Beirut.
