Mennonite Weekly Review

On my desk is An American in Persia: A Pilgrimage to Iran by Richard A. Kauffman, published by Cascadia, 2010, 128 pages, $12.95.

James C. Juhnke, of Wichita, Kan., is professor emeritus of history at Bethel College.

For two weeks in January 2008, Richard Kauffman was a Mennonite in Iran — or, as the title of his learning tour report says, an American in Persia. Kauffman was part of a Mennonite Central Committee delegation whose mission ran against the United States government’s policy of rejecting diplomatic relations with Iran’s government.

Since 1990 MCC has engaged in people-to-people diplomacy in Iran. For those inclined to demonize Iranian leaders, this has been a controversial program. Many Americans are more eager to engage Iran in violent warfare than in dialogue.

Kauffman is a senior editor at The Christian Century magazine. This short and delightfully written book includes one map and 17 photos and brief appendices about Iran’s nuclear program, the Shi’a Muslim teaching about the coming end times, and a short timeline of events in Iran’s history.

Kauffman says his book is the report of a transformative “spiritual pilgrimage,” rather than an authoritative account of Iran’s history and relations with the West. As he tells about people he met and information gleaned along the way, however, he shares a great deal of knowledge in small doses. Iran, he says, is as “complex as a Persian rug.” Part of his goal is to break down our stereotypes.

A chance encounter with an Afghan refugee shepherd enabled the author to introduce the fact that Iran serves as host to millions of non-Iranian immigrants. The preaching of an ayatollah led Kauffman to reflect on the differences between Muslim and Christian views of material and spiritual realities. An articulate American convert to Islam helped the visitors understand the Iranian reaction to President Bush’s labeling them as part of an “axis of evil.”

One critical moment in Iran’s history was in 1953 when the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency acted in behalf of the interests of oil corporations that later became British Petroleum. The CIA helped overthrew the popularly elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadeq, and reinstalled the Shah Pahlavi, a man more responsive to the West’s need for oil. Kauffman wonders if the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks would have happened without the 1953 American-backed coup.

Although Kauffman did not accept at face value everything that officials in Iran said, he returned home with one firm conviction: “War with Iran is not necessary and would be a great tragedy.”

If the witness of MCC delegations can communicate that message persuasively, this long-term exercise in people-to-people diplomacy will have been eminently worthwhile.

James Juhnke, of Wichita, Kan., is professor emeritus of history at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan.