By: Alberto M. Fernandez According to a copy of the Biden-Harris Transition Team workplan for USAGM (the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees all U.S. government broadcasting to international audiences) that I have seen, this is the week that the incoming team is supposed to substantively engage with the incumbents. Among the items scheduled is supposed to be a "virtual meeting" between Transition Team Lead Richard Stengel and current USAGM CEO Michael Pack.
By: Y. Yehoshua In January 2020, Al-Azhar – which is the leading religious institution in Egypt and in the Sunni Muslim world – held an International Conference on the Renewal of Islamic Thought, under the sponsorship of President 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi. The conference dealt, inter alia, with the renewal of religious discourse, an initiative that Al-Sisi's regime has been trying to promote for years as part of its efforts to combat terror and extremism in the country.