WASHINGTON — Fifteen young American religious scholars and 14 teaching assistants from Al Azhar University — one of the oldest and most influential Islamic institutions in the world — spent two weeks together this month at Georgetown University in an attempt to bridge the divide between the Muslim world and the United States.

The potpourri of young religious scholars studied the legal foundations of American democracy and religious diversity in the U.S. and met with political figures, including White House advisor Valerie Jarrett and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim American elected to Congress.

"I met people that I love, and I consider them as my brother, my sister, my mother," said Ibrahim Elbaz, 30, from Mansoura, Egypt.

The American and Egyptian students spent eight to nine hours in class each day and lived together in Georgetown dorms. The Americans included members of the Jewish, Buddhist and Christian faiths.

At the end of the first week, the Americans joined the Egyptians in prayer, deepening the friendships, said Waltrina Middleton, 30, a recent graduate of Chicago Theological Seminary.

"After that I felt like so much had been lifted, it helped us not be afraid," Middleton said, her eyes brimming with tears. "The imam opened the prayer in Arabic, but it didn't matter. They say 'Allah,' I say 'God' — you know when a prayer is being lifted up."

Margaret Cone, a Washington lawyer who conceived of the World Leadership Program in 2004, said she hoped to combat the perception among the world's Muslims that Christianity dictates American foreign policy. But she was unable to get funding in the Muslim world until President Obama delivered a speech titled "A New Beginning" in June 2009 in Cairo.

Two weeks later, Cone landed a meeting with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, who gave her a two-year, $2 million gift to stage the conference and another next year.

"The president really opened the door," Cone said. "People were willing to give things a try."