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In an effort to promote dialogue as an alternative to a possible military confrontation between Iran and the United States, the World Council of Churches (WCC) co-sponsored a discussion between Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and nearly 140 people of faith from across the United States.
The 27 September meeting, which was held in the Tillman Inter-Faith Chapel of the Church Center at the United Nations in New York, was organized by the Mennonite Central Committee, a relief, development and peace agency of the North American Mennonites. It came one day after Ahmadinejad had addressed the UN assembly.
Rev. Christopher Ferguson, the WCC representative to the United Nations, served on the panel which posed a series of questions to Ahmadinejad including queries about his controversial remarks around the Holocaust, Iran's nuclear development and human rights issues.
"We hear in the gospels the defense of the poor, the widows, the prisoner, the oppressed as urgent concerns," Rev. Ferguson stated in his question to Ahmadinejad. "In your speech to the General Assembly, you raised concerns about those nations who claim to defend human rights are actually the chief violators."
He continued: "We extend this challenge to you, keeping in mind that all governments and all nations fall short of what God would have us do. This is also true for Iran. As an agenda of faith in God and with respect for all human rights, can we find a mechanism to talk about where Iran is seriously falling short in these human rights?"
Ahmadinejad replied, "the spirit of my concerns is the same as yours; I am very sad that the world is entangled with enmity, occupation, massacre, wars and discrimination."
"I am also seriously concerned about the broad violation of human rights," he continued, adding that "some violators of human rights try to solve the world problems merely at gunpoint. We still do not have a solid standard for human rights in the world, as there are various interpretations. It is possible to work together to assist in reaching a solid human rights standard."
He ended his response saying that in Iran, "we have the highest possible standards regarding observing human rights." The moderator raised the point about the violation of religious minorities' rights in Iran, but it was not addressed due to time constraints.
This was the third in a series of conversations with Ahmadinejad organized by the Mennonites. The first meeting took place exactly one year ago in New York and the second in Teheran during February, 2007 when a religious delegation visited Iran.
Indeed, the "walls of silence and avoidance must come down," said Fr. Drew Christiansen, editor of the Catholic magazine America, reiterating that "it is wrong to not engage in dialogue with those we disagree, as this only spreads prejudice and ill-will."
