Institutional Capture: Qatar Foundation International Use of Soft Power to Reshape Education in the United States

Key Findings:

• ISGAP estimates that QFI distributed at least $65.3 million across 220 initiatives in 24 states between 2009 and 2025. The report argues that this activity extended well beyond QFI’s current public emphasis on Arabic-language education.

• The largest program categories were: K–12 Arabic-language programs: 44.1%, approximately $28.8 million. University and academic degree programs: 29.75%, approximately $19.4 million. Academic research: 11.75%, approximately $7.7 million

• The report argues that QFI concentrated funding in major metropolitan, demographically significant, and politically influential locations. California and Washington, D.C., each received more than $7 million, while Michigan had the highest estimated average funding per program—approximately $753,000.

• According to ISGAP, QFI used partnerships with federally funded Title VI Middle East National Resource Centers, including programs associated with Duke–UNC and the University of Texas at Austin, to reach teachers, distribute materials, promote professional development, and expand programs nationally.

• QFI’s Teacher Leadership Program used a “train-the-trainer” structure: participating educators attended workshops and a Doha study trip, produced lesson plans, presented at regional and national conferences, and later mentored other teachers. The report argues that this created a multiplying network of QFI-trained educators.

• ISGAP says QFI used grants, teacher associations, online resources and conference sponsorships to influence both the supply of teaching materials and educators’ demand for those materials. It highlights QFI’s involvement with the Middle East Outreach Council, Arabic Teachers Councils and the Al Masdar educational-resource platform.

• The report alleges that QFI-supported materials and partnerships promoted favorable portrayals of Qatar and one-sided representations of Israel and the Palestinians. Examples include: A map in a QFI-funded Brooklyn classroom that labeled the territory of Israel as “Palestine”, the UNRWA-linked My Voice–My School program, which connected American classrooms with Palestinian students and included advocacy projects, QFI support for Brown University’s Choices Program, whose Middle East materials ISGAP had previously criticized as delegitimizing Israel and minimizing terrorism

• ISGAP argues that QFI created an educational “echo chamber” by funding teacher training, conferences, curriculum distribution, professional networks and follow-up lesson production that repeatedly reinforced similar Middle East narratives.

• The report also raises transparency concerns. QFI changed from a U.S. private foundation to a Delaware LLC, is fully owned and funded by the Qatar Foundation according to earlier QFI materials, and is therefore no longer subject to the same public tax-disclosure requirements. ISGAP characterizes later claims that QFI operates independently as inconsistent with its earlier descriptions.

• The report recommends suspending direct and indirect Qatari or QFI funding of U.S. primary and secondary education until federal compliance reviews are completed.

• It calls for federal investigations into QFI’s ownership, governance, grants, curricular materials and institutional relationships, as well as the Title VI National Resource Centers through which it operated.

• It recommends requiring QFI to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and reforming FARA’s educational exemption.

• Universities should disclose all QFI-linked gifts, contracts, grants, in-kind support and sponsored programs, including historical relationships dating back to 2014. The report also supports stronger Section 117 disclosure rules consistent with the proposed DETERRENT Act.

• Title VI National Resource Centers should face stronger disclosure and oversight requirements, including transparency about foreign funding, program content and curriculum-development processes.

• Schools and educational organizations should disclose who funds teacher workshops, conference sessions, travel, curricula and professional-development programs. Parents should have access to materials used in their children’s classrooms, and schools should periodically audit externally funded curricula and partnerships.