A Pakistani couple donated $15 million for the University of Notre Dame to create an institute that will aim to deepen knowledge of religion and seek to explain how the traditions and practice of various faiths influence world events, an American paper reported
Rafat and Zoreen Ansari, who moved the US more than four-decades ago, are medical doctors who were born in Pakistan. They spent their lives giving back to the country which gave them their fortune, giving away an estimated $1 million and countless hours to non-profit organisations which focus on children with autism, a condition which affect one of their own children.
After more than a year of deliberation, the Ansari family decided to donate $15 million dollars to develop the Rafat and Zoreen Ansari Institute for Global Engagement With Religion at the University of Notre Dame.
“We came as immigrants, and this country has given us so much,” Zoreen said acoording to newspaper, ahead of the announcement. “We want to give something back to America, but also to humanity. We want to promote the idea of equality.”
The donation itself is sizeable for both the university and the Ansari family, who consulted their longtime advisers Merrill Lynch to sort out the process of managing the funds. The finances are going to be held as appreciated securities and cash, and would be disbursed gradually over the years.
Father Jenkins said the institute would look at religion not through a sociological or political lens, but through one focused on the religions themselves.
