Book
Richard Kauffman. An American in Persia: A Pilgrimage to Iran. Telford, PA: Cascadia, 2010.
Reviewer
Roy Hange, former Mennonite Central Committee worker in Iran, Charlottesville, VA
If you have always wanted to go to Iran and enter into conversations about life, faith, and relations with America, Canada, and the West, then this book is for you. Its pages reveal the core content of conversations you would have had, ranging across cultural, political, religious, and informal themes in a spirit of dialogue and learning. Each encounter maintains a respect for others’ perspectives along with critical reflection that nuances both Western and Iranian perceptions.
Sadly, though, after reading this book without an actual visit, you would miss out on the rich food, hospitality, smiles, and generosity that would hold you graciously while meeting the firm resolution of convictions strongly held and willingly communicated by your Iranian hosts. Kauffman captures well the will to engage and be understood that I experienced in my year in Iran.
The encounters presented in this volume range from conversations with people on the street to meetings at the foreign ministry, from Muslim clerics in Qom to people in Tehran who regret many aspects of clerical rule. At a time when it is even more difficult for westerners to visit Iran, the book opens a window on the interaction of perspectives behind the current conflict and historical tensions, and is a start at building a bridge of perceptions.
Kauffman names his challenge in the introduction: “There is a saying that if you go to Iran for a month you’ll write a book; stay six months and you’ll write an article; but if you stay a year you won’t write anything” (14). He positions himself well as an observer and author.
Although he declares that he is “not an authority on Iran,” he writes with one eye on Iranian interests, another eye on American/Canadian/Western interests, and a third eye that at times is objectively critical of both sides. He takes the reader into the nuances behind the media’s often two-dimensional, polarizing coverage of Iran.
An American in Persia is structured as a narrative travelogue. Chapter themes range across hospitality, human rights, head coverings, interfaith relations, Mennonite Central Committee’s role in the country as “the little NGO that could,” and presentations of context from history to current events, and from religious identity to political challenges.
One of the more gripping images concerns the Iran-Iraq war and arises during a visit to the Red Crescent Society by the delegation Kauffman was on: “In one room remembering the war victims there was a copy of a computer printout that recorded the identities of all the people known to have been killed or injured in this war, a printout that must have been at least six inches thick—a stark reminder of the brutal hostility between Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini” (54). Twenty plus nations, including many Western nations, sold weapons to both sides of this conflict during the 1980s.
There are three helpful appendices, The first, written by David Cortright, outlines eight points about Iran’s nuclear program, while the second is a reflection by Thomas Finger on Jesus and Shi’ite understanding of the Mahdi (Messiah). A third appendix gives a timeline of Iran’s history over the last century.
I offer one serious caution for readers and the author. “Dissidents—activists, journalists and academics who criticize the government—are squelched,” writes Kauffman. “Indeed, they are often imprisoned, and sometimes killed” (96). My caution takes the form of a call to connect such observations (also offered on pages 49, 59, and 60) about the political context in Iran with publishing quotations of negative political content with attributions. This practice can put sources in danger and is a questionable form of reporting on dialogue in sensitive contexts.
Missing from the book are reflections on how the deeply held Iranian sense of honor, dishonor, and saving face functions in international and interfaith relations. (There are also a few errata: page 84 should list Iraq, Iran, and North Korea instead of “Iran, Iran and North Korea.”)
Overall, the author's writing style is crisp, vibrant, and engaging. I finished many chapters feeling I would like to have been part of the conversations reported. This volume could be offered to friends who want to understand the nuances of Iranian-North American relations better. The chapters would make good conversation starters for discussion groups interested in the themes of Christian international engagement, Muslim-Christian encounter, and international relations and peacebuilding.