VZCZCXRO2359
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #3558/01 3651400
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 311400Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7813
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 003558 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/PPD, ECA, IIP, R/PPR Gretchen Welch, ECA/A/L John 
Connerley 
 
E.O.12958:N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO KIRF KDEM SCUL SOCI EG
SUBJECT:  CONTROVERSY OVER AL-AZHAR ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESEARCH CENTER 
PLAYS OUT IN MEDIA 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The recent opening of the English Language 
Research Center (ELRC) at the premier Islamic studies university in 
the Middle East (Al-Azhar University in Cairo) was a key milestone 
in U.S. public diplomacy efforts in Egypt.  There have been ten 
articles on the new center, three of them wholly negative.  While 
media coverage of the ELRC inauguration itself on November 19 was 
straightforward, some professors and students have recently aired 
their grievances in the media.  Those who oppose the ELRC are openly 
skeptical of the center's purpose and see it as an American Trojan 
horse, which will be used to spread American culture and values at 
the expense of the university's Islamic tradition.  Al-Azhar 
administrators have so far defended the ELRC in the press, providing 
much needed balance in the overall media coverage and indicating 
their desire to make the center a success.  End summary. 
 
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OPENING GOES OFF WITHOUT A HITCH 
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¶2. (U) On November 19, 2007 the Ambassador inaugurated the new ELRC 
at Al-Azhar University in Cairo.  The ELRC is a collaborative effort 
between the Embassy and Al-Azhar to improve the English language 
skills of lecturers in Al-Azhar University's Islamic and Arabic 
Studies faculties.  The Center's faculty includes seven Egyptian 
professors and two American English Language Fellows (ELFs).  While 
the center is administered by Al-Azhar, costs are shared equally by 
the University and the Embassy, using funds from R and ECA. 
 
¶3.  (U) The Ambassador's speech inaugurating the center was 
well-received and coverage was straightforward in the pro-government 
dailies of Al Ahram, Al Gomhouriya and Rose al Youssef.  Only the 
independent daily Nahdet Masr hinted that the center could raise "a 
major controversy in the near future." 
 
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ENTER THE CRITICS 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) During the past month, sporadic articles in the press have 
revealed an undercurrent of discontent about the ELRC among some in 
Egyptian academic circles.  On November 28, in the sensationalist 
daily Al-Dostur, the former President of Al-Azhar University, Dr. 
Abdel-Fattah Al-Sheikh, asked rhetorically "what does it mean to 
have an American center where Americans are teaching and running it? 
 What a catastrophe!"  A few days later in an article in Al Osboa 
dated December 1, the ELRC conspiracy theory was spelled out in more 
detail: "The aim is clear to all: such a center is the 'hidden eye' 
for those who write reports from the Embassy to the U.S. 
administration, and are told to 'Americanize' a generation of 
Al-Azhar scholars with brainwashing." 
 
¶5.  (U) The December 20-26 edition of the English language Al Ahram 
weekly carried a more balanced article entitled "American English," 
which cited several ELRC critics.  One anonymous Al-Azhar professor 
was quoted: "we view this American centre as a gradual cultural 
occupation which will eventually lead to American hegemony over 
Al-Azhar curricula."  Ahmed Thabet, professor of political science 
at Cairo University, declared that "one can easily see that the ELRC 
aspires to more than teaching the English language. The Egyptian 
government's hesitation to modernize Al-Azhar's curricula and its 
entrenched ways of thinking and structural body paved the way for 
the American Embassy to violate the sacredness of Al-Azhar 
University."  A criticism of a different sort appeared in Rose Al 
Youssef on December 16.  "Al-Azhar University is witnessing 
dissatisfaction among the teachers who are currently receiving 
training at the U.S. Embassy language lab. Some of them... confirmed 
that the times of the training impede them from teaching, which 
deprives them of many financial benefits."  In fact, this is not 
true as Al-Azhar administrators have guaranteed that those 
participating in the English language training will receive the same 
financial benefits as before. 
 
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AL-AZHAR UNIVERSITY WEIGHS IN 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Despite the complaints, Al-Azhar university administrators 
have defended the ELRC in the press.  In the evening daily Al Messa 
on December 14, AL-Azhar University Vice President Dr. Ezz Eddin El 
Sawy "confirmed that the talk about implementing an American plot to 
penetrate Al-Azhar and its university... is a lie and ready-made 
accusation by those who seek to spread chaos.  The mission of the 
Center is to teach English to non-speakers from the teaching corps 
and students, so they can have dialogue with the West."  In the same 
Al Ahram weekly article "American English," Al-Azhar spokesman Omar 
El-Deeb defends the ELRC by stating that "we made an English 
 
CAIRO 00003558  002 OF 002 
 
 
assessment of the lecturers... The result was not satisfactory at 
all.  The Al-Azhar administration believes that it is essential that 
Islamic lecturers and professors be in full command of the English 
language for many reasons, including being able to prepare their 
thesis if they study abroad." 
 
¶7. (SBU). To date overall media coverage of the Al-Azhar ELRC has 
generated approximately ten articles written on the topic.  Three 
have been wholly negative.  Given the climate of suspicion against 
the United States, especially regarding Islam, Al-Azhar's firm stand 
underlines their desire for expanded academic linkages.  This week 
their President signed a student exchange agreement with Claremont 
College, and he is eager for scholarships enabling dozens of 
Al-Azhar graduate students to earn higher degrees in the US.  Al 
Azhar's actions have been a welcome sign and a powerful shield 
against domestic Egyptian criticism. 
RICCIARDONE