Qatar Foundation rejects U.S. university's reason for scrapping event
after anti-gay backlash
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[February 05, 2020]
By Alexander Cornwell
DOHA (Reuters) - An American university's
partner in Qatar has rejected the university's explanation for
cancelling an event in Doha that would have featured a prominent Middle
East band whose singer is openly gay.
Members of Lebanese indie rock band Mashrou' Leila had been scheduled to
take part in a discussion at Northwestern University’s Qatar campus on
Tuesday, but the university moved the event to its U.S. campus after
hostile online comments against Mashrou’ Leila’s appearance.
Northwestern cited "safety concerns" for the band and its community,
among other, unspecified factors.
But Qatar Foundation, a state-linked non-profit body in the conservative
Gulf Arab state, challenged the reasons given by Northwestern.
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Asked about Northwestern's comments, a Qatar Foundation spokesman told
Reuters: "We place the utmost importance on the safety of our community
and currently do not have any safety or security concerns."
"We also place the very highest value on academic freedom and the open
exchange of knowledge, ideas and points of view in the context of Qatari
laws as well as the country’s cultural and social customs. This
particular event was canceled due to the fact that it patently did not
correlate with this context.”
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![](../images/020520pics/news_e11.jpg)
Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila performs in Washington, DC, U.S. June
13, 2016. REUTERS/Yeganeh Torbati/File Photo
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Northwestern has not detailed its safety concerns.
Critics of the event demanded on social media that it be canceled.
Some accused Mashrou' Leila and the university of spreading views
that are against Qatari and Islamic values. Others said they opposed
same-sex relationships.
Gay sex is punishable by jail in Qatar, as in many Muslim-majority
countries.
Mashrou' Leila has garnered international acclaim with lyrics
tackling issues of sectarianism, gender equality and homophobia.
A vocal supporter of equal rights for marginalized groups, the band
has also had other events canceled in the Middle East following
pressure by conservative groups.
(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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