...with Assad in Syria, April 2010.
Tue, 08/03/2010 - 11:09 — Mark Overmann
As he promised to do back in June, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), introduced legislation yesterday to create a professional exchange program between the U.S. and Muslim-majority countries.
According to an SFRC press release, the International Professional Exchange Act of 2010 (S. 3688) will “establish a two-way professional exchange program between the United States and select Muslim-majority countries to promote career development and cross-cultural understanding for young to mid-career professionals.”
Sen. Kerry’s bill calls for a three-year pilot program, with fellowships of three to six months for participants between 21 and 40 years of age. Both American and foreign participants will be selected from a wide-range of professions and will take part in programs designed to build “relevant professional skill sets.”
While the program is targeted at Muslim-majority countries (four to seven countries will be chosen as partners by the Secretary of State), “the program does not exclude non-Muslims from participating in the exchange.”
The term Muslim "majority" is often a slight misunderestimation.
Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Mauritania, Somalia, Turkey, Algeria, Afghanistan, Morocco and Yemen ~ 99-100% Muslim
Iran, Tunisia, Comoros, Pakistan, Iraq, Tajikistan and Libya - 95-98%
Senegal, Djibouti, Azerbaijan and Oman ~ 93-94%
Egypt, Syria, Niger, Mali, Kosovo, Gambia, Kuwait, Guinea, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh ~ 85-90%
Posted by: Mannie Sherberg | Sunday, 08 August 2010 at 10:21 AM
Posted by: Supra Skytop II | Tuesday, 02 November 2010 at 03:13 AM