Letter from Larry Shapiro, Calgary, to Melissa Lantsman, MP, Regarding Qatari Funding of "Arabic Language Education" in Edmonton Schools
- CAEF
- Jun 26
- 3 min read
June 24, 2026
Melissa Lantsman Deputy Leader Conservative Party 1118 Centre Street Unit 23 Thornhill, Ontario L4J 7R9
Dear Melissa,
Perhaps you are aware of this initiative by Qatar to provide Arab language education to Edmonton's students. Knowing of Qatar's record, I assume that there will be some ideology included that if similar to Qatar's multi-billon dollar investment in American education can't be a positive for our people.
Here is the column from Jihad Watch that provides some details.
Canada: Edmonton to make Arabic courses widely available in public elementary and high schools, with help from Qatar
Jun 21, 2026 11:00 am By Christine Douglass-Williams14 Comments
Qatari influence over American academic institutions and beyond is no secret. The Muslim Brotherhood-supporting country is infamous for buying influence. It doesn't stop at America. It's in Canada, too, affecting kindergarten kids to high schoolers in grade 12. "Edmonton schools renew Arabic course tied to board's Qatari partnership," by Melanie Bennet, Juno News, June 19, 2026:
Edmonton Public Schools has renewed an Arabic Language and Culture course that has been operating in the school board since 2011, while maintaining a longstanding partnership with a Qatari charity-Qatar Foundation International.
The organization recently announced it was winding down its U.S. operations after American researchers alleged it had used language programs, teacher training, and educational partnerships as a vehicle for advancing Qatari soft power in schools and universities.
Edmonton schools told Juno News that the course has operated since 2011 and currently serves 168 students, but did not answer questions about whether QFI has played any role in Arabic programming delivered by the board.....
But a Global News report entitled Bilingual studies programs in Edmonton Public Schools offers more than just second language showed that the Edmonton Public School Board and Muslim Brotherhood-supporting Qatar were in a partnership for over a decade:
In a library packed with teachers, dignitaries and family, dozens of Grade 6 students from Glengarry School performed a traditional Arabic song and dance. It's part of a unique language and culture-based Arabic/English bilingual program offered through Edmonton Public Schools.
"The classroom looks dramatically different than it did 30 years ago," Edmonton Public School Board Chair Michael Janz said Tuesday, after celebrating a new agreement with the Qatar Foundation International.
The memorandum of understanding between the school district and QFI will promote the teaching and learning of Arabic language and culture....
Islam is the state religion of Qatar, and Sharia is its primary source of legislation. The Edmonton Public School Board justifies its Arabic program as "knowledge and appreciation of different cultures," with no previous knowledge of Arabic necessary to participate. The schools even provide some transportation for the younger elementary kids to get to where Arabic courses are offered. Although the Edmonton Public School Board offers a range of language classes, Qatar's ties with the Muslim Brotherhood are a paramount problem, as is Qatar's history of supporting Muslim Brotherhood offshoot Hamas. So what message is the Edmonton Public School Board sending to its students, from kindergarten through grade 12, under the banner of DEI? And where are the parents of the grade school kids? They likely don't even know.
Recall above, in the Global News report, that Edmonton Public School Board celebrated "a new agreement with the Qatar Foundation International." According to the Lawfare Project website:
The Lawfare Project has been examining the nature and extent of Qatar's involvement in the American education system. Qatar's involvement through its agent, Qatar Foundation International (QFI), is substantial and significant. Students are learning about the Middle East in a biased way that emphasizes only the positive aspects of Islam while omitting a balanced discussion of other religions or belief systems, most notably Judaism.
The Lawfare Project's research suggests that the Foreign Agents Registration Act, 22 USC 611-621 (FARA), applies to Qatar's activities, and requires that the institutions and individuals benefiting from its funding register as agents of Qatar. The Lawfare Project has submitted a memorandum on this issue to the Department of State, and is advocating that the government require these pernicious foreign influences to register as foreign agents....
In 2024, under the Liberal Government of Canada, Canada and Qatar signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate "in areas of common interest, as well as in countries where both have active development programming." These areas included "policy dialogue" and "enhancing institutional linkages." The primary focus was on the "Education Above All Foundation," which "will allow both parties to collaborate on education projects."
The Edmonton Public School Board's "language course sequences" are now described as "widely available," and Qatar can be thanked, as the country continues to buy its way into the child and youth education process at American and Canadian educational institutions, from kindergarten right through university level.
Thanks for looking in to this matter.
Respectfully yours,
Larry Shapiro, Calgary, Alberta
Comments