The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) is an interfaith institution based at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Overview

The institution was founded at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, 1993 as the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. It is housed within the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.Caryle Murphy
Saudi Gives $20 Million to Georgetown
''Washington Post'' (December 13, 2005). In 2005, a wealthy Saudi prince and businessman,

Al-Waleed bin Talal Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud (; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, and a House of Saud royal. In 2008, he was listed on ''Time'' magazine's ''Time 100'', an annual list of the hundred most influential people ...

in 2005, gave $20 million to the Center to promote interfaith understanding and the study of Islam and the

Muslim world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

. The center was renamed in his honor. The $20 million gift was the second-largest ever given to the Georgetown at that point. Bin Talal simultaneously gave $20 million to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

's interdisciplinary Islamic studies program and $15 million to establish

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

programs at the American University in Beirut and

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

. The founding director of the center was

John Esposito John Louis Esposito (born May 19, 1940) is an American academic, professor of Middle Eastern studies, Middle Eastern and religious studies, and scholar of Islamic studies, who serves as Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic S ...

. Esposito was succeeded by John O. Voll. The Center is co-publisher (with the UK's

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations) of the journal ''Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations''. In 2008, Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Frank Wolf questioned the prince's gift, and whether the center had ever been critical of the Saudi government.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding 1993 establishments in Washington, D.C. Middle Eastern studies in the United States Middle Eastern studies organizations Christian and Islamic interfaith dialogue Georgetown University programs Interfaith organizations Religious pluralism