American and Egyptian scholars strive to bridge religion gap Fifteen young American religious scholars and 14 teaching assistants from Al Azhar University - one of the oldest and most influential Islamic institutions in the world - spent two weeks together this month at Georgetown University in an attempt to bridge the divide between the Muslim world and the United States. The potpourri of young religious scholars studied the legal foundations of American democracy and religious diversity in the U.S. and met with political figures, including White House advisor Valerie Jarrett and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim American elected to Congress. The American and Egyptian students spent eight to nine hours in class each day and lived together in Georgetown dorms. The Americans included members of the Jewish, Buddhist and Christian faiths. Though Al Azhar has a long history of global engagement, the university, under the direction of a new leader, the French-educated Ahmed T
"Thoughts are the greatest wealth of any nation."