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  • Presenting A Friendlier Face For America In Iraq

    PRESENTING A FRIENDLIER FACE FOR AMERICA IN IRAQ
    By Richard H. Humke
    Special to The Courier-Journal

    Louisville Courier-Journal, KY
    July 2 2006

    Iran has been off-limits for most Americans for the last 27 years,
    since the beginning of the Iranian revolution in 1979 and the taking
    of hostages at the American embassy in Tehran shortly thereafter.

    Iranian-Americans and their families have continued to travel there
    to visit, of course, but few other Americans have done so.

    When the opportunity arose to visit Iran for 12 days, seven
    Louisvillians eagerly joined 16 other persons from around the United
    States and Britain to do so; I was pleased to be a part of that
    group. The visit was sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation,
    an international peace-making group now approaching its 100th
    anniversary. The Fellowship is experienced in sending groups of
    visitors to places like Iran, where tensions between the United States
    and that country are particularly great.

    Before we left, we were questioned repeatedly by friends and family
    about our sanity, and the question most often asked us was, "Aren't
    you afraid?" Of course, we weren't afraid, or we probably wouldn't
    have gone. But the question did plant some seeds of apprehension in
    us nonetheless. What we found in Iran was a welcoming hospitality,
    tinged with surprise, everywhere we went. "Thank you for coming." "I
    can't believe you're Americans." "Did they really give you a visa?"

    And most surprising of all: "I've never talked to an American."

    Making a difference Such expressions of surprise helped us to realize
    that we were accomplishing one of our goals: to present a friendly
    face of America without the shrill rhetoric that so often accompanies
    relations between our governments. We had no misapprehensions that we
    could accomplish great things or change the direction of international
    relations, but we did believe that each one of us could make the
    difference that an individual can make.

    We were not blind to the problems that we knew existed in Iran:
    persecution of members of the Baha'i religion; zero tolerance for
    homosexuals that could result in execution; political oppression
    of opposition voices; widespread use of capital punishment and
    restrictions on women. Nor did we think we could affect any of those
    serious matters. We went to see and to listen and to learn.

    We visited some of the many beautiful and ancient sites to be found
    in Iran. Iran is not a country whose boundaries have been cobbled
    together by Western powers, as Iraq was 75 years ago. It is an ancient
    nation with a rich culture and history of which its people are rightly
    very proud. Persepolis, Isfahan, Shiraz, Qom -- these places are not
    very familiar to most Americans, but like Florence or Delphi, they
    are rich in architectural and historical interest. I considered our
    visiting them as more than going to tourist destinations. Our visits
    were also acts of affirmation for our Iranian hosts.

    There are religious minorities in Iran, which is 98 percent Muslim.

    Twenty-five thousand Jews still call Iran home, a remnant of what was
    once a large and thriving ancient community. We visited a synagogue in
    Tehran and listened to its president talk about Jewish life in Iran
    today. We would have liked to ask him about Israel, and particularly
    about the Iranian president's inflammatory remarks about Israel,
    but we knew that to do so would place him and our Iranian hosts in
    a very difficult position.

    We also visited an Armenian cathedral and its precincts, the Armenians
    being the largest of a number of Christian groups in Iran totaling
    as many as 250,000. Accepting the reality of living in an Islamic
    republic, Christians, too, seemed to have a freedom to practice
    their faith.

    The Zoroastrians are the ancient, pre-Islamic religion of Iran, and
    a visit to one of their centers and a talk (through an interpreter)
    by one of their priests gave us further understanding of this very old
    religion. They, too, appeared to be free to exercise their religious
    faith within their own community.

    It was only by accident that we were in Iran at a particularly tense
    time, shortly after Seymour Hersh alleged in The New Yorker that our
    government was considering the use of nuclear weapons against Iran's
    underground uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz. We visited the
    village of Natanz and on the way passed that nuclear facility.

    Our destination in Natanz, however, was a home for girls who for
    various reasons were no longer able to live with their parents. The
    home had been begun by a gentle-faced mullah who joined us and the
    girls for a sumptuous Iranian lunch which they served us as we sat
    on lovely carpets spread on the floor. As these beautiful and very
    intelligent young women, enveloped in their chadors, spoke to us
    about their hopes and dreams for their lives, I could not get out of
    my mind the specter of those nuclear weapons which the United States
    might possibly use. Because, of course, there would be no need for
    those beautiful girls to have plans for the future. There would be
    no future for them.

    War 'cannot be the answer' I came back more convinced than I had
    ever been that war cannot be the answer to our difficulties with
    Iran. We must learn to talk together and to negotiate in good faith
    -- and so must they, of course -- without the threat of destroying
    one another. This great country of ours surely can take the lead in
    doing that.

    The Rev. Richard H. Humke is a retired Episcopal priest who lives in
    Louisville. For many years, he was rector of St. Matthews Episcopal
    Church.
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