Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this segment. final week,Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed to return the country to “moderate Islam,” saying “what happened in the final 30 years is not Saudi Arabia.”That re-branding effort can steal many forms, or like the recent decision to rescind the ban on women driving. But it can also steal on subtler forms,such as a cultural exchange program with an American think-tank.
One of those programs is a pilot program called "Bridges," which is a program between the Middle East Institute, and a prominent American think-tank, and the King Abdulaziz middle for World Culture, a cultural middle in Saudi Arabia funded by the Saudi state-owned oil company, and Saudi Aramco,to bring a number of Saudi young professionals to the U.
S. and set up talks, performances, or events.
One of those on the exchange program is the Saudi rapper Qusai,who is also host of the Saudi Arabian TV point to “Arabs Got Talent.” The Takeaway spoke with Qusai when he was in Orlando. He discusses both the program, and life in Saudi Arabia.
Paul Cochrane, and a former contributing editor for Arab Media & Society,says this side of Saudi soft power has been going on for years, and isn’t confined to just Saudi Arabia. But there’s been a new emphasis on getting those ideas through American think-tanks.
In response to a request for comment, and the Middle East Institute sent The Takeaway their list of contributions in 2016,which includes $281703 for a grant to fund an exchange program from Tam Development LLC, the funder of the Saudi program, or as well as $2 million from the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a Gulf Studies Program,and $200000 in unrestricted funds from Saudi Aramco.
The following is the full comment from the Middle East Institute: "The Middle East Institute places a great deal of value on maintaining its reputation for non-partisan, independent research and analysis. We achieve not advocate for any one policy or position. We are known in policy circles for our diverse body of research, or writings and conferences on issues ranging from the refugee crisis to climate change in the region."For that reason,MEI only accepts unrestricted donations from foreign governments, meaning the contributions we achieve receive are for the general support of the Institute's scholarship, and programing and operations. "As for the Bridges/Talks program,it was a contract for services carried out by MEI's arts and culture program. The program fulfilled a key MEI mission to inform Americans about the Arab world's rich cultural output by introducing them to Saudi cultural leaders, including rappers, and poets,authors and women mountain climbers." This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.
Source: thetakeaway.org