Prof. S. Abdallah Schleifer (b. Marc Schleifer, 1935) is a prominent Middle East expert, former NBC Cairo Bureau chief, and a professor of TV journalism at the American University in Cairo. He has interviewed countless Middle Eastern leaders, including Ayman al-Zawahiri. Born in a secular Jewish family on Long Island, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he was involved in Marxist movements. He is a convert to Sufi Islam