The institutions that develop America’s collective intelligence as a free and prosperous democracy are being eroded. Harvard’s moral decay continues…

From the Harvard Crimson:

Islamic Studies Gets $20M Gift

Mayor Giuliani once spurned Saudi prince’s altruism, but Harvard embraces billionaire

Published On Tuesday, December 13, 2005 2:14 AM

By SAMUEL P. JACOBS
Contributing Writer

The world’s fifth wealthiest man, Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, is donating $20 million to Harvard to expand Islamic studies, the University announced yesterday.

The donation will be used to launch a University-wide Islamic studies program and to endow four senior professorships, according to a press release….

Alwaleed, who is the nephew of the late King Fahd, became the center of controversy shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, when he pledged $10 million to the Twin Towers Fund. The mayor of New York City at the time, Rudolph W. Giuliani, rejected the donation because of the politically-charged pro-Palestinian message that Alwaleed attached to his gift….

Alwaleed’s donation follows the University’s return of a controversial $2.5 million gift from United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan in 2004. Harvard gave the money, which was originally earmarked for an endowed professorship at the Divinity School, back to the UAE after the Abu Dhabi-based Zayed Center came under fire for promoting an anti-Semitic agenda.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Alwaleed said he hopes the donation to Harvard and a second $20 million gift to Georgetown also announced yesterday will help connect the Middle East with the West. “As you know,” the prince told the Post, “since the 9/11 events, the image of Islam has been tarnished in the West.”

In addition to the $40 million he is giving to Harvard and Georgetown, Alwaleed also pledged yesterday to donate an additional $15 million to create and expand American studies programs at American University campuses in Beirut and Cairo….

You may want to read the entire article.