ISLAMABAD, April 26: The United States government gives great importance to the cause of higher education in Pakistan and in this connection, the USAID plans to provide up to $90 million during the next five years. The Fulbright Foundation is also awarding 112 scholarships to the Pakistani students for higher studies in American universities, said the US embassy deputy chief of mission, Patricia Butenis.

She expressed these views while inaugurating the 9th American Studies Conference at a local hotel on Tuesday. More than 20 delegates from America, South Asian countries and Pakistan presented their papers.

Area Study Centre Acting Director Dr Islam highlighted the academic programme of the centre and the objective of the conference.

Dr Frank Koram, while presenting his paper titled “the politics of teaching religion in American universities”, said the study of religion called for a multi-disciplinary approach.

In his paper titled “religion and public policy issues in the USA”, Dr Grace Clark spoke about the evolution of religious tolerance in the US. He talked about the role of religion in settlement of American colonies.

Dr Emdadul Haq, in his paper titled “the beginning of the anti-narcotics crusade in the US: the role of the ex-China missionaries at the turn of the 20th century”, focused on the role of the Christian missionaries in forcing the US State Department to get involved in the anti-narcotics crusade.

Nirmali Wijegoonawardana from Sri Lanka read out a paper on “American politics: A Buddhist perspective”, and said building bridges was important in diverse cultures.

The speaker focused on such measures in America which could increase harmony among the believers of different religions.

In the afternoon session, Dr Iffat Idress presented her paper on “the rise of religious rights in US politics”. She highlighted the role of Christian rights in the policies of the Bush administration, saying it had blurred the lines separating the church and the state.

Dr Ted Jelen read out his paper on “religious politics in the US and the prophet voice”. He also spoke about the role of religion in American politics, but said the role was limited due to individualism and particularism.

Dr Marcia Hermanson spoke on the shaping of American Muslim identity and highlighted the ethnic dimension of this reality. Sushil Pandey from Nepal recorded his observation on the topic of secularization of religion and politics in America.