As the schism between the West and the East widened in a post-Sept. 11, 2001 world, American institutions of higher education in the Middle East have had to play a more prominent role, trying to bridge the differences between the two civilizations.
"Perhaps the most essential role we play as an American university in the Middle East is to serve as an educational and cultural bridge, a continuous link between the Arab world and the United States," said David Arnold, president of the American University in Cairo in a speech at Georgetown University last week.
Arnold spoke about the future of U.S. education in the Middle East and shared some of his experience as the president of the American University in Cairo, an institution that has been present in Egypt for nearly a century.
Despite the U.S.'s deteriorating status among many Middle Easterners, the demand for American universities in the region has increased and Arabs still regard the American-style liberal arts education with very high standards.
A record number of students have applied to be admitted to the American University in Cairo and the number of international students has tripled.
"As a New York Times series illustrated, more and more U.S. universities are establishing branch campuses in the Middle East," said Arnold. "They are doing so at the invitation of enlightened Arab leaders who recognize that higher education is the key to the future of a region where the real wealth of nations will ultimately be measured not in barrels of oils, but in the capacity of succeeding generations to meet the economic and social challenges in a changing geo-political environment."
To meet growing demands, the university will open in September a new $400 million campus – almost three times larger than the current one – designed to accommodate 5,500 full-time students and 1,500 faculty and staff. Nearly $100 million came from private donations.
"As we approach AUC's 90th anniversary, we have built for our second century a campus for the education of new leaders who will help to create the future of the entire region," Arnold said.
One of the most important goals of the American University in Cairo has been to create dialogue and exchanges of ideas between American and Arab cultures, said Arnold. Since it was first established in 1919, AUC has contributed greatly to the social, cultural and intellectual development of the region.
And despite the somewhat tarnished image the United States has suffered as a result of the war in Iraq, Egyptians, said Arnold, have been able to distinguish between Americans and the U.S. government.
"AUC stands outside of the conflicts that surround U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East," he said. However, as the university is part of the society it serves, such conflicts are at times discussed and protested by the students.
"There are heated arguments about these issues, but it is always clear that AUC does not have a political agenda. We are an independent, non-profit institution with an academic agenda and I think that this distinction is an extremely important one that most people understand and accept," said to Arnold.
The international reach of American universities is "the most important diplomatic asset we have," said Arnold, quoting David J. Shorton, president of Cornell University. "It is in the academic environment," he said.
Others argue that U.S. universities are in demand in the Middle East because of the skills and technology they offer rather than their liberal-style education. For Mervat Hatem, a professor of political science at Howard University, establishing a cultural bridge between Americans and Arabs is still a challenge to be met.
"The Middle Eastern context is not conducive to this point right now," she said. "Unfortunately, what you see on the ground is a different bridge between the East and the West. It relates more to the exchange of technology, to privatizations, to business deals and the study of sciences, and American universities are offering that, but it is not the kind of bridge he [Arnold] was talking about," Hatem added.
Although Americans are increasingly more interested in Middle Eastern studies, Hatem said it is not necessarily because they want to foster a dialogue between cultures. Instead, she believes they want to study a civilization that today represents a threat to them.
"I was talking with a colleague who teaches Arabic, and of course people are flocking to study the language. But it is not to understand the culture but rather for intelligence and security purposes," she said. "The same thing happened during the Cold War: more people were interested in Russian studies because they wanted to know the enemy."
And knowing your enemy remains the first rule of war.