Mennonite
Central
Committee

American students build interfaith relations in Iran

Tim Shenk
July 13, 2006

As tensions continue over Iran's nuclear program, two American graduate students are working to increase understanding between Iran and the West.

Matthew and Laurie Pierce, of Hermitage, Tenn., spent the last three years studying Islam at the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom, Iran, through an exchange program sponsored by MCC.

The couple says that while Iran's official religion, Shia Islam, is often viewed with suspicion in the United States, interreligious dialogue offers many opportunities for improved relations between Americans and Iranians.

"There's a lot of room in Islam for building good relations with Christians," says Laurie Pierce. "... And a lot of Iranians see America as a Christian nation."

"Iranians are very curious about Americans, about Christianity," Matthew Pierce says. "In general, Iranians are very open to hearing other people's points of view."

The Pierces, who are Presbyterians, were warmly welcomed by Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, an Iranian cleric who leads the Imam Khomeini Institute and is influential in Iranian politics.

Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi told the Pierces that, as Christians studying Islam, they should not feel pressure to convert.

"He said we should always be very free to say, 'No, we're happy with our religion, and we're not here to convert, we're here to learn about your religion,'" Matthew Pierce says.

Iranians approach politics and international relations from a religious perspective, the Pierces say, and this was evident in a recent letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President Bush.

In the letter, President Ahmadinejad criticized President Bush on many issues and argued that he has disregarded the teachings of Jesus Christ, whom Muslims regard as a prophet.

"I think it's easier for Iranians to understand the mind-set of a religious person, as opposed to a secular person or an atheist or an agnostic, because it's closer to their own experience," Laurie Pierce says.

The Pierces studied Shia Islam and the Farsi language during their three years at the Imam Khomeini Institute. Additionally, MCC sponsored two Iranian Muslim clerics who studied at the Toronto School of Theology.

The Pierces are currently moving to Boston, where Matthew will pursue a doctorate in Islamic studies at Boston University. Laurie plans to continue academic work in the field of Persian literature.