J. Nelson Jennings, PhD,
Associate Professor of World Mission,
Covenant Theological Seminary, St.
Louis, Missouri, USA.
E-mail:
Nelson.Jennings@covenantseminary.edu
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(rev. edition posted on 13th of July)
Abstract
Iranian–Shi’a–Muslim and U.S.–Reformed–Christian Interreligious Dialogue
Interaction
between Iran and the United States of America, two countries whose governments
label each other as “The Great Satan” and part of the “Axis of Evil,” has been
both miniscule and nothing short of hostile for the past quarter-century.
Iranians generally assume blanket U.S. support of Israel, as well as U.S.
ambitions for Middle-East domination; U.S. views of Iran are permeated with
images of blindfolded American hostages and secret creation of nuclear weapons.
All Americans are of course morally bankrupt Christians; all Iranians are of
course fanatical Islamic fundamentalists, if not terrorists. So the stereotypes
go, and they are regularly reinforced by media caricatures.
Within this minefield of mutual suspicion, however, are a few small seedlings of
trust and cooperation. One such sprout of hope has been planted by a Christian
Iranian pastor, who currently lives outside Iran but travels there regularly to
conduct PhD research in Islamic studies. During a trip in early 2003 he
encountered a desire on the part of several Iranian Muslim clerics and academics
to pursue more direct contact with Christian leaders and academics outside of
Iran—including the U.S. The pastor soon approached the faculty of Covenant
Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., about contacting some of
these Iranian scholars. The ensuing communication has resulted in an emerging
set of relationships.
In October, two faculty representatives (one full-time, one retired), a
denominational representative, and the pastor visited both Tehran and Qom while
touring Iran. One result is an interreligious dialogue conference scheduled for
June 8 in Tehran, hosted by the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue (www.iid.org.ir).
The conference theme is “Motivations and Obstacles to Interreligious Dialogue
Within Our Respective Religious Traditions.” Papers are being exchanged between
the participating Iranian and American scholars.
This paper will both chronicle and analyze the ongoing developments.