Shades Of Gay: Harvard Justified Keeping Millions Donated By Bin Ladens After 9/11 - 'No Evidence Of Ties To Terrorism'

Medicins sans Frontieres- Doctors without Borders - Funded by Anti American - Anti semitic UAE Zayed Center

January 20, 2005

Harvard Bin Laden Funds

Description of the Donations

"The Bin Laden family's endowed fellowships totals $2 million, for use at Harvard's law and design schools" (Luke Smith, "Media, not students, question Harvard-bin Laden link", Harvard Crimson, October 5, 2001)

"The money [at the law school] is used for research fellows, some students and some faculty." (Harvard Law School Spokesman Mike Armini, Interview with JohnDoe, April 2002)

"In 1993 and 1994, the Saudi Binladin Group gave two $1 million gifts to Harvard University for research on Islamic law and architecture, according to a university spokesman." (Michael Dobbs and John Ward Anderson, "A Fugitive's Splintered Family Tree", Washington Post, September 30, 2001)

"Sheik Bakr Mohammed bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's brother, made two gifts to the University in 1993 and 1994 to fund fellowships for advanced study in Islamic culture. One such fellowship, at the Harvard Law School, provides funds for "research on the history of legal institutions in Islamic states past and present, particularly insofar as they uphold or apply the Islamic shari'a." Another, at the Harvard Design School, provides money for "advanced studies in Islamic architecture ... and appropriate building technologies as they pertain to Islamic built environments." ("Harvard U.: Bin Laden ties to Harvard", Harvard Crimson, September 13, 2001)

"That same year the Saudi Bin Laden Group gave $1 million to Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and another $1 million in 1994 to Harvard Law School, for visiting professors to study subjects pegged to Islam, school spokesman Andy Tiedemann said." (David E. Kalish, "Well connected, bin Laden family network spans the globe", Associated Press, October 5, 2001)

"The endowments to Harvard, made in the early 1990s, came from the Saudi Bin Laden Group, a collection of family members in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, university spokesman Joe Wrinn said. The bin Laden family operates Saudi Arabia's largest and richest construction company." (Elizabeth Mehren, "After the Attack Boston a Home for Bin Ladens Several Siblings Have Settled in Area; Family Has Given $2 Million to Harvard", Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2001)

"Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn said the school has received only $2 million in gifts from bin Laden's family [Cambridge City Councilman Kenneth Reeves had estimated the amount to be $5 million] and the money has "no connection whatsoever" to terrorism or to Osama bin Laden. The family gave $1 million to the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1993 to fund visiting fellows in Islamic architecture, Wrinn said. The family later gave $1 million to Harvard Law School to fund visiting professors in Islamic law." (Jay Lindsay, "City of Cambridge Urges Harvard to Donate to Victims", Associated Press, September 25, 2001)

"In 1994, Vogel traveled to Saudi Arabia and negotiated with the family a $1 million donation. It has been used to bring fellows from the Middle East to study at Harvard. The Binladins also made a $1 million donation to the school of design at Harvard, and gave $300,000 to Hess's program at the Fletcher School. They have funded another fellowship program at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies. And every year, the Saudi Binladin Group donates tens of thousands of dollars to the Middle East Policy Council, which helps train educators on how to teach about the Middle East and Islam." (Marcella Bombardieri, and Neil Swidey, "In Cambridge, a Binladin Breaks Family Silence" The Boston Globe, October 7, 2001)

"At Harvard, spokesman Wrinn emphasized that the family has had no oversight - and in fact, no direct involvement - with either grant to the school." (Elizabeth Mehren, "After the Attack Boston a Home for Bin Ladens Several Siblings Have Settled in Area; Family Has Given $2 Million to Harvard", Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2001)

Harvard Insists the Bin Laden Family Has No Connection to Terrorism

"Though the grants to Harvard suddenly have come under scrutiny, "that group is in no way associated with terrorism," Wrinn insisted. In fact, he said, "They have disassociated themselves from Osama bin Laden."" (Elizabeth Mehren, "After the Attack Boston a Home for Bin Ladens Several Siblings Have Settled in Area; Family Has Given $2 Million to Harvard", Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2001)

"Wrinn added that, since the first gift in 1993 "and to this date, we have had no indication whatsoever that the money has had any connection to any form of terrorism." (Elizabeth Mehren, "After the Attack Boston a Home for Bin Ladens Several Siblings Have Settled in Area; Family Has Given $2 Million to Harvard", Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2001)

"Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn said the school has received only $2 million in gifts from bin Laden's family and the money has "no connection whatsoever" to terrorism or to Osama bin Laden." (Jay Lindsay, "City of Cambridge Urges Harvard to Donate to Victims", Associated Press, September 25, 2001)

""There is absolutely no connection, to our knowledge, of that money being tied to any terrorist act or Osama bin Laden in particular," Wrinn said." (Scott Calvert, "Wealth of bin Laden family can be seen in Boston area $2 million donated to Harvard University; relative owns 4 condos", The Baltimore Sun, September 17, 2001)

"It's this perception that Harvard takes blood money," said Wrinn. "We do not."" (Scott Calvert, "Wealth of bin Laden family can be seen in Boston area $2 million donated to Harvard University; relative owns 4 condos", The Baltimore Sun, September 17, 2001)

"Harvard's Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs responded to the order by faxing information about the bin Laden scholarships and the non-terrorist members of the family to City Hall. "What we've done is we're sending around to the city councillors the same background factual material that we sent to the media," said Travis McCready, director of community affairs, just before the meeting." (Lauren R. Dorgan, "City of Cambridge urges Harvard to pay terrorist victims", Harvard Crimson, September 25, 2001)

Research Harvard Completed to Come to Its Conclusion about Bin Laden Family

When asked what "research, news runs, discussions with government officials, etc," the school had done to confirm that the Bin Laden family has no connection to Osama or other terrorist activity, Harvard Law School Spokesman Mike Armini said, "We talked with the family." When asked, "So you basically talked to the family and are relying on their word and your impressions and conclusions after dealing with them," he said, "Yes, Professor Vogel knows them well." (Interview with JohnDoe, April 2002)

Harvard's Commitment to Dissociate from the Gifts and the Bin Laden Family if Ties to Terrorism Are Found

"Since the attacks, Harvard officials have stressed that the University would cease using the endowed funds if they found any explicit link with Osama bin Laden's terrorist organization." (Luke Smith, "Media, not students, question Harvard-bin Laden link", Harvard Crimson, October 5, 2001)

""Our position has been that there's not sort of a guilt through association," [Harvard spokesman Andy] Tiedemann said. "Should the university ever learn of a connection between (the company) and terrorism activities, we would take the appropriate steps related to these gifts," he added, declining to elaborate." (David E. Kalish, "Well connected, bin Laden family network spans the globe", Associated Press, October 5, 2001)

""If we were to find a link (with terrorism), we would immediately disassociate ourselves from the gifts," Wrinn said." (Jay Lindsay, "City of Cambridge Urges Harvard to Donate to Victims", Associated Press, September 25, 2001)

"[Wrinn] added that, since the first gift in 1993 "and to this date, we have had no indication whatsoever that the money has had any connection to any form of terrorism in general, or to Osama bin Laden specifically." Should that change, Wrinn said, "Harvard obviously would take appropriate steps."" (Elizabeth Mehren, "After the Attack Boston a Home for Bin Ladens Several Siblings Have Settled in Area; Family Has Given $2 Million to Harvard", Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2001)

Harvard Insists the Money is Being Put to Good Use

"Harvard spokesman Alex Huppe differentiated between the family and the alleged terrorist, saying, "It's clear the Saudi bin Laden money is being put to good use here."

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/9/13/bin-laden-ties-to-harvard-with/

" (Anne E. Kornblut and Aaron Zitner, "Bin Laden family has U.S. ties, including Harvard", The Boston Globe, August 28, 1998)

Cambridge City Council Calls on Harvard to Donate $5 Million

"The city of Cambridge is urging Harvard University, which has received millions in donations from Osama bin Laden's family, to donate money to victims of the Sept. 11 terror attack. The City Council voted 8-1 Monday night to approve a resolution asking Harvard to donate $5 million. The resolution, which contained no reference to bin Laden or his family, cited the number of survivors who will receive relatively small survivor benefits. The original resolution, submitted by councilor Kenneth Reeves, identified Bin Laden as the prime suspect in the attack and said members of his family had donated about $5 million to Harvard. Bin Laden has been disavowed by members of his family, which built its fortune from a construction business. Reeves suggested that Harvard give an amount "equal to its bin Laden receipts to the survivors of those lost in New York and Washington D.C."" (Jay Lindsay, "City of Cambridge Urges Harvard to Donate to Victims", Associated Press, September 25, 2001)

Harvard Has Given $1 Million to 9/11 Victims

"Wrinn said Harvard already has pledged $1 million to establish a fund to educate the spouses and children of the victims." (Jay Lindsay, "City of Cambridge Urges Harvard to Donate to Victims", Associated Press, September 25, 2001)

As it has done in the past, Harvard University now has an opportunity to set an example for others in society. In doing so, it would honor a public commitment it made in the wake of the September 11th attacks and help to build awareness of the duplicitous financiers of terror, who are often in our midst.

After the attacks, in defending the university's use of $2 million it received from the Saudi Binladin Group, the large international conglomerate owned by the family of Osama Bin Laden, Harvard spokesmen insisted that the company and the family are "in no way associated with terrorism." Harvard uses the money, which was given in two $1 million gifts in 1993 and 1994, to fund visiting fellows at its Law School and Design School.

Harvard committed that "should the university ever learn of a connection between (the company) and terrorism activities, we would take the appropriate steps related to these gifts." The university continues to hold this position, according to spokesman Joe Wrinn, who explained that "we would immediately dissociate ourselves from the gifts" if a connection is found.

However, despite the family's vocal protestations to the contrary, it is becoming increasingly clear that there exists a substantial connection between the Binladin Group and al Qaeda. Harvard, therefore, must decide whether it will keep its commitment.

When presented with the latest evidence, Andy Tiedemann, spokesman for Harvard's development office, amended and clarified the school's earlier position, explaining that, to break ties, Harvard now requires a smoking gun implicating the Binladin Group itself, which could be upheld in court. Until then the school considers the Bin Ladens a "respectable Saudi family."

While a smoking gun is yet to materialize, as family members under investigation are holed up in Switzerland and Saudi Arabia, current evidence clearly implicates the Saudi Binladin Group, its foreign investment arm, the Saudi Investment Company, and numerous members of the family itself.

Specifically, according to the leading French daily Le Monde, the Binladin Group "controls many charitable foundations and organizations linked to Islam and suspected of funding extremists." Indeed, the company is one of the largest contributors to Islamic charities, many of which, like the International Islamic Relief Organization, have long been implicated in terrorist activity.

Additionally, US authorities believe that the Geneva-based Saudi Investment Company (SICO), which handles most of the Binladin Group's international investments, is helping to fund al Queda directly. Recently, partly at the behest of US authorities, the Swiss and French launched investigations into SICO's suspected ties to terrorism and money laundering activities. SICO is an integral part of the Binladin Group and is run by Yeslam Binladin, one of the three most powerful Bin Laden brothers.

More ominously, the Swiss newsweekly l'Hebdo reports that SICO's capital inexplicably fell from several million francs to a few hundred thousand in the months preceding September 11th. Yeslam has excused this as a result of SICO's switch from a financial to a services company, but investigations continue.

Yeslam has also publicly refused to cooperate with US authorities, telling Newsweek he will only "cooperate" with Swiss authorities, who are generally more deferential to Switzerland's banking and financial secrecy laws and have infuriated the US in their dealings with Yeslam.

Other Bin Laden family members are even more nefarious. Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, one of Osama's brothers-in-law, is widely believed to have been instrumental in setting up the brutal Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines and in funding the Army of Aden in Yemen, which claimed responsibility for the bombing of the USS Cole.

A few weeks after September 11th, Pakistan froze the assets of another brother-in-law, Saad al-Sharif. Al-Sharif is believed to be the head of Osama's financial network.

Another brother-in-law, Khalid bin Mahfouz, is reportedly under house arrest in Saudi Arabia. A 1999 Saudi audit showed that Bin Mahfouz had transferred millions of dollars via the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia to al Qaeda through terrorist front groups.

Terrorist ties of other family members have also been scrutinized. The FBI arrested an associate of one of the Bin Laden brothers at New York's JFK airport in mid-September 2001. Another family member played an important role in an attack in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s.

Still others remain in touch with Osama. He called his mother on September 9th, to tell her "something big" was about to happen. "Some of the brothers keep in touch…After all, they're family." Yossef Bodansky, staff director of a congressional task force on terrorism, told the Wall Street Journal.

All of this evidence, circumstantial and direct, seems to meet most reasonable definitions of a "connection" to terrorism, Harvard's original standard for breaking ties. The bottom line is that if our intelligence services believe there is a connection between the family and al Qaeda that should be good enough for Harvard.

$2 million is a small amount for the university, but the symbolism of returning the donation would pay dividends in society. In breaking ties, Harvard would join the likes of the Carlyle Group, Unilever, Multitone Electronics and Cadbury Schweppes in setting an example for others to follow. It is both right and necessary to dissociate from and ostracize terrorist collaborators.