Faculy Dialogue with Iran's Head

Photo by Gerald Shenk

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (right) along with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Representative of Iran to the United Nations (left) at the conference on the Islamic doctrine of the Mahdi.

With the growing popularity of Iran in the national media and the Iranian president's recent visit to the U.S., it is interesting to know that several EMU faculty members are on the frontlines of dialogue with Iran.

On Thursday, Oct. 5, Nancy Heisey and Gerald Shenk spoke about their experiences in relating to Iran at the Anabaptist Center for Religion and Society Forum. Shenk recently returned from a visit to Iran to attend a conference on the Islamic doctrine of the Mahdi, a personage that parallels the doctrine of Christ's return in Christianity. According to Islamic doctrine, the Mahdi will return alongside the Jesus to usher in an era of justice and righteousness. The conference was initiated by the Bright Future Institute, and brought together dozens of scholars from around the world to discuss a scientific approach to the return of the Mahdi. Shenk was one of four Christian scholars, three were from the United States, who were invited to speak. The 4,000 participants present at the conference included scholars, Islamic believers, Ayatollahs, and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Shenk was very positive about his experiences at the conference saying it was valuable "to be welcomed as a Christian in my own right, not as a potential convert."

After Shenk's presentation of his trip to Iran, Heisey spoke briefly about the meeting she and Shenk attended between a group of Christian leaders and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which took place Sept. 20 in New York City. The meeting sought to bring American religious leaders together with Ahmadinejad in the hopes of establishing a constructive dialogue between religious peoples. The Christian group included representatives from Mennonite Central Committee, the larger Mennonite church, the American Friend's Society, the Methodists, Presbyterians, Sojourners, and the National Association of Evangelicals, among others. They faced several obstacles, including U.S. restrictions on Ahmadinejad's movements, reluctance from the broader church to sponsor such a meeting, and very short notice in preparing questions for the dialogue. After meeting briefly before the session with Ahmadinejad they decided upon three questions to broach which would cover the holocaust, nuclear proliferation, and the status of minority religious groups in Iran. The dialogue lasted approximately 70 minutes and was moderated by Rob Davis, executive director of MCC. During the session the group had time to ask two of their three agreed upon questions. According to Shenk, the greatest difference between this dialogue and a standard media interview was the atmosphere. "It was not an atmosphere of hostility," commented Shenk, but rather one of openness. At the conclusion of the meeting Ahmadinejad extended an invitation to the participants, saying, "Come in the winter when the nights are long and we can spend many hours discussing things."

After Shenk and Heisey's presentations, there was time for questions from the audience. Many people noted the very similar apocalyptic beliefs of both the president of Iran and the United States, and commented on the irony that despite these almost identical religious beliefs, the framing of the issues makes dialogue between the two parties impossible. One audience member asked Shenk and Heisey how we can become a link between our administration and that of Iran after this dialogue. Shenk commented that it is important to "keep the channels open in a time of [hostility]". Another audience member asked what EMU can do to prepare its students to engage Islam in useful and constructive ways. Shenk briefly mentioned that there are talks of beginning an Islamic Studies Center, but they are still very early in development.