As an undergraduate at the University of Texas, I was tasked with investigating the funding sources of Hamas, the terrorist group that murdered 1,200 people, including 46 Americans, on Oct. 7, 2023. A truth became apparent: Qatar was not only one of Hamas’s biggest funders, having contributed billions of dollars, but also one of the largest foreign financiers of American universities. Texas A&M alone received $1 billion from its state-sponsored Qatar Foundation.
Qatar and its affiliates’ extensive financial investments in Texas universities, political institutions, and public programs represent a coordinated influence campaign that poses serious risks to American security, academic integrity, and democratic values.
Qatar’s ties to extremist figures and organizations highlight the national security risks underlying its global influence efforts. The Qatar Foundation not only presented an award to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, but also hosts Education City, a complex of international satellite campuses, including Texas A&M Qatar. A research center in Education City was reportedly named after Yusuf Qaradawi, a spiritual leader for the Muslim Brotherhood, whose chapters are designated as terrorist groups. Qaradawi endorsed suicide bombings against U.S. troops and hosted a show on Qatar’s Al Jazeera network, whose journalists have participated in terrorist groups.
Similarly, Qatar hosted Al Qaeda’s Khaled Sheikh Mohammed. When the FBI tried arresting him, Qatari officials enabled his escape. Later on, he masterminded the 9/11 attacks, killing roughly 3,000 Americans.
Despite this troubling history, Qatar has embedded itself in our country through political, educational, and institutional influence. Deep in the heart of Texas, a Qatari royal serves on a university board, Qatar trains our emergency responders, and Qatar-affiliated lobbyists court elected officials. It’s time to tackle the Qatar threat by the horns, demand statewide foreign lobby registration laws, purge Qatari funding from our schools, and reject Doha’s anti-American agenda.
Qatar’s long-term strategy relies on soft power investments designed to shape Western perception and secure regime stability. For decades, Qatar has invested billions of dollars in businesses, education, sports, and other efforts to win hearts and minds in the West. These efforts are largely motivated by Qatar’s desire for political survival in a region that has long protested its leadership and terrorism financing (see Operation Abu Ali and Quartet Blockade).
The foundation of Qatar’s influence campaign was deliberately constructed through state-backed institutions beginning in the 1990s. Upon seizing power in 1995, Emir Hamad Al Thani began launching initiatives to promote influence and state interests. By 1996, he founded the Qatar Foundation, which funds Western universities; the Al Jazeera Network; and began construction on the Al Udeid Military Base, hoping that U.S. forces would relocate and offer deterrence. Separately, the US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) emerged in 1996.
Texas universities have become a central target of Qatar’s influence strategy, raising concerns about academic independence and national security. A study by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) found that Qatari funding has a “direct effect on increasing antisemitism and anti-democratic views/activity” on college campuses. According to ISGAP, at Texas A&M, the Qatar Foundation has “gained control over more than 500 research projects” and has “significant influence over nuclear research and sensitive weapon development rights.”
Qatar has also cultivated close relationships with influential academic institutions in Houston. Qatar’s Royal Family enjoys strong ties to Houston’s educational institutions. Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, an advisor for the State of Qatar’s Amiri Diwan, holds “permanent membership in the Board of Advisors” at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Qatari diplomat, Sheikha Tamador Abdulrahman Al Thani, received her education from Rice University. Historically, the Qatari emir has funded research at the Baker Institute. Some Rice professors have received awards from senior Qatari officials. Its students have visited Doha for programming.
Partnerships between Qatari entities and Texas schools extend beyond universities into broader educational infrastructure. In 2020, the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) partnered with Qatar to establish the Diplomacy Institute to provide “educational services and training” for diplomats throughout Houston.” The Diplomacy Institute and University of Houston system have partnered with the Qatar Charity, which is headed by a Qatari royal, banned in multiple countries, and reportedly a “member” of the Hamas-affiliated, “U.S.-sanctioned Union of Good charity network.”
Qatar’s influence reaches into K-12 education and curriculum development in Texas. In 2010, Qatar partnered with Houston Community College to establish the country’s first ever community college. In 2015, Houston ISD unveiled the nation’s first K-12 Arabic immersion school, an initiative sponsored by the Qatar Foundation, which has subsidized Arabic programming throughout Houston ISD.
Academic programs across Texas further reinforce Qatar’s cultural and institutional presence. In Austin, the founding director of the University of Texas’s Arabic Flagship Program (AFP) simultaneously served as a “Member of the Advisory Council for Qatar Foundation International Arabic High School Initiative.” He and another professor received grants from the Qatar Foundation during their time at the university to support Arabic learning initiatives. The AFP assisted Pflugerville ISD in establishing its Arabic program.
Students at Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and the University of Texas at Dallas have participated in the Qatar Foundation’s Universities Arabic Debate Championship. Students from SMU’s Cox School of Business have attended programming in Qatar. The UT Health Science Center San Antonio has established a clinical research program in Qatar.
Qatar’s outreach extends beyond students to include training and engagement with public safety officials. In 2025, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior hosted Montgomery County Emergency Personnel for training in light of the upcoming World Cup. In 2025, Qatar sponsored Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux to visit and learn about “public safety.” Arlington PD is expected to follow suit. Qatar’s Police College has trained Hamas officers.
Economic partnerships and political engagement further deepen Qatar’s foothold in Texas. Qatar’s energy enterprises conduct deals worth billions with Texas-based energy companies—ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron Phillips. The US-Qatar Business Council frequently sponsors politicians to visit Qatar and meet senior Qatari state officials. While a private entity, the USQBC’s membership includes state enterprises. In 2022, the USQBC convened Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Qatar’s Commercial Attaché to discuss partnerships. In 2023, Rep. Lance Gooden and Rep. Jasmine Crockett met Qatar’s Emir on a USQBC trip to Qatar, which Arlington Mayor Jim Ross has also undertaken. With these elbows brushing, it is unsurprising that the Mayor of Houston’s Office issued a proclamation recognizing Qatar National Day.
As Qatar targets Texan youth, emergency responders, and elected officials, Aggies, Longhorns and other Texans must unite to expose the Qatar threat and pass legislation to protect our institutions from an authoritarian regime with American blood on one hand and dollars in the other. The eyes of Qatar are upon us. The eyes of Texas must awaken before it’s too late.
