Al-Arian criticized the peace process led by Palestinian Authority president Yasser Arafat and advocated support for the Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation during the 1980s and early 1990s.[12][13] On October 20, 1988, Al-Arian established the Islamic Concern Project, which included a committee devoted to raising charity for Palestine.[8][14] In 1990–91, his continued involvement in promoting dialogue between the West and Middle East[15] led to the creation of World and Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE), which served as a think tank that promoted public policy initiatives.[6][8] WISE and University of South Florida formally agreed to cooperate on March 11, 1992.[6][16][17] WISE published journals, supported graduate student education, and held seminars between American and Middle Eastern scholars.[18]