Donor Cancels Islamic Chair for Temple

January 5, 2008

Author: Kathy Boccell

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20080105_Donor_cancels_Islamic_chair_for_Temple.html

Last spring, an Islamic group came to Temple University with an extremely generous offer: $1.5 million for an endowed chair in Islamic studies to honor religion professor Mahmoud Ayoub.

But after months of talks, the deal fell apart when trustees and others raised concerns about the donor, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a nonprofit research organization that was included in a government probe into funding of suspected terrorists.