THE IMPORTANCE OF MEETING FACE-TO-FACE
By Susan Kennel Harrison
Payvand, Iran
Sept 25 2007
Toronto – Does it matter if we meet face-to-face?
In 2004 I went to Qom, Iran to participate in a conference called
"Revelation and Authority", a dialogue between North American Christian
Mennonite scholars and local Muslim Shiite scholars. A few months ago,
we met again – this time in Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
It was a joyful, collegial reunion, and in addition, a nonverbal
connection seemed to occur when we looked at each other again,
face-to-face. Each time we gather for dialogue there is a kind of
audible relief in realizing that we both really exist, that we are
dedicated to making this dialogue happen.
Face-to-face meetings are the moment when the research and
media-informed opinions we hold are measured against the experience
of the encounter with the other. There is something profound about
meeting face-to-face: noticing that someone limps or has a hard time
staying awake in a long lecture, seeing the way someone’s eyes light
up when they hear a new idea or watching the quizzical looks on a
Muslim’s face when a Mennonite explains the worship of a triune God
(a God in 3 forms).
People are like "living books", but unlike a published paperback,
our plots are constantly changing. And, as living books, our stories
interact with each other when we meet, they take account of the new
characters who in turn affect the plot line and the ensuing chapters.
However, these kinds of meetings are becoming increasingly more
difficult to arrange these days because travel visas are regularly
denied on both sides. Tense political relations in past months and
tighter borders in the wake of 9/11 have resulted in stringent travel
restrictions.
The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a religiously-based non-profit
development organization, first became involved in Iran following
the 1990 earthquake. A friendship formed between Ed Martin, the then
director of MCC’s Asia desk, and the Director General of International
Affairs in Iran, Sadreddin Sadr. Working together in disaster relief,
they shared a vision to build relationships that would undemonize
Iranians for North Americans and vice versa. A student exchange program
was proposed and Toronto, Canada, where a sizeable Mennonite graduate
student community could be found, became the venue. The Imam Khomeini
Education and Research Institute (IKERI) volunteered to host Christian
Mennonite students in Qom.
In addition to the student exchange program, which began in 1998,
the MCC developed "learning tours" that brought groups to Iran on
itinerated programs. Two tours of 10 days each allowed Mennonites
and Muslims to meet and learn about each other first hand.
An example of the power of first hand meetings is captured in the
remark of an Iranian Muslim, attending a Canadian school: "Meeting
face-to-face works as a source of miraculous mutual understanding. I
can say that people who are afraid of you, as a Muslim, or as an
Iranian, after 10 to 30 minutes of conversation begin to recognise
you as a human being."
As I write this, I am aware that I had been planning on attending a
conference, "One God of Abraham, Different Traditions", at Eastern
Mennonite University from the 9th to the 11th of September 2007. The
participants were Mennonite scholars and a guest delegation from
the Islamic Republic of Iran lead by Ayatollah Araqi, head of
the Organization of Culture and Islamic Relations. The delegation
included Iranian religious leaders and scholars, Morris Motamed,
a Jewish member of Iran’s Parliament and Archbishop Sarkissian of
the Armenian Church in Iran.
One week before the guests were due to arrive, 4 out of 15 visas were
refused for "security reasons" though the US State Department did not
send this message in writing. Since Ayatollah Araqi was among those
refused entry, the visit was unfortunately called off.
This is not only a US-specific problem. In May 2007, 15 North American
Mennonites were denied entry into Iran for a fully itinerated learning
tour. During this same time, the Western media accused the institute
of having a direct line to President Ahmadinejad’s government, and
critics accused the MCC of supporting Iran’s government by association
with IKERI.
The notion that dialogue between people of different faiths poses a
security risk to their home countries continues to be the underlying
theme of this ongoing problem of blocked encounters. N. Gerald Shenk,
a professor at Eastern Mennonite University wonders "whether the
freedom protected by ‘security’ overrides the freedom to build better
understanding across these dangerous divides."
Face-to-face encounters, according to contact theories, will break
down stereotypes and build understanding and trust that is greatly
needed between the West and Iran. Yet as Martin remarked when the
visas were refused, "It is back to ‘square one’ to figure out how to
develop relationships of understanding, trust, and friendship between
Iranians and Americans that will prevent war between our countries."
While people can critique the MCC for engaging with IKERI as Muslim
dialogue partners, the fact remains that a constructive relationship
has developed between the two communities, and if allowed to grow it
could influence the stories of those individuals who are touched by it.
About the author: Susan Kennel Harrison is a PhD candidate at the
Toronto School of Theology and has been coordinating the Toronto side
of the Mennonite Central Committee student exchange with Iran since
1998.