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2008-11-04 issue:

Mennonite Central Committee’s Sept. 25 meeting with Iranian president Mahmoud

Fresno Pacific University hosts West Coast MCC group to discuss decision.

by Kathy Heinrichs Wiest

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Ahmadinejad in New York was the topic of discussion at a constituency forum hosted by West Coast MCC Oct. 1. Some 80 people attended.

Former MCC executive director Robb Davis served as a resource person for the dialogue, opening the time of discussion with an impassioned explanation of why MCC felt called to engage with the Iranian leaders.

Davis reflected on the time in 2006 when an invitation for the first such meeting came to MCC from Iran. MCC saw the invitation as an opportunity to witness, he said. “We wanted to give [President Ahmadinejad] a glimpse of God’s kingdom.”

By meeting with Ahmadinejad, said Davis, MCC was taking a stand against the dehumanization of the enemy. In a meal together with the Iranian leader, MCC would create a sense that “what we saw across from us was a human being not beyond the touch of God.”

Davis recalled MCC conversations with U.S. congressional representatives who had expressed fear of meeting the Iranians.

“We are afraid to be the first to meet with this man,” the representatives told MCC. By meeting with Ahmadinejad, MCC could open the way for other conversations and witness to the reality that “Jesus’ way is not the way of fear.”

The dialogue that followed Davis’ remarks was moderated by former Fresno Pacific University’s president Richard Kriegbaum. Several people who stepped to the microphone expressed support for MCC’s engagement with Iran. A few raised cautions about what they viewed as “political activity.”

In conversation after the forum, many participants who had come with reservations about MCC’s involvement with the Iranian leader expressed satisfaction that their questions had been answered.

Leon Thiessen, who chairs the board for the West Coast Mennonite Men’s Chorus, was one such participant. He came away reassured that MCC was doing the right thing and reminded that the purpose of the event was peacemaking dialogue, not to honor any person.

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