2008 Woodie Awards
Discussion on modern Iran turns prickly
Roxana Hadadi
Issue date: 4/18/07 Section: News
Two leading experts on Iranian affairs laid out sharply diverging analyses of the country's future under the current regime and its controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a panel discussion on the campus yesterday.
Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, director of the center for Persian studies here, clashed over what the American response should be to Iran's nuclear ambitions and the recent crises ignited when Iranian forces captured 15 British sailors March 23.
They spoke before about 30 students gathered in Van Munching Hall as part of Iran Awareness Week, five days of programs brought to the campus by the Iranian Students' Foundation and the Pro-Israel Terrapin Alliance.
Previous events during the week have included a Holocaust remembrance commemoration on Hornbake Mall on Sunday and an Iranian-Jewish coffee chat Monday. But last night's discussion between Clawson and Karimi-Hakkak - which became heated at times - was especially topical, students said, touching on events that continue to make headlines.
Both Karimi-Hakkak, a leading scholar and influential member in the world of Persian academia, and Clawson, the author or editor of 24 books and more than 70 articles about Iran and the Middle East, fielded questions about the Iranian people, their views on Ahmadinejad and the future of the nation regarding its relationship with the rest of the region, especially Israel.
But while Karimi-Hakkak displayed a hopeful attitude about the future of Iran, pointing out the distance between the Iranian people and the current regime, Clawson stressed the continued need for outside pressure to keep Iran from threatening its neighbors.
"The bad news is that Ahmadinejad does represent a layer of people who ... believe they have a right to rule the country" because of their involvement in the war between Iran and Iraq from 1980 to 1988, Clawson said. "And they are prepared to kill to stay in power. ... The revolutionary elite feel like they are on top of the world."
Karimi-Hakkak disagreed with such a troubled outlook, choosing to focus instead on explaining the evolving population of Iran and the growing reform movement within the country.
"The situation there is not very different from the situation here - a president has been elected and has become very unpopular," Karimi-Hakkak said. "What do you do? You let him serve his term.
"We talk like Iran as a nation and every person in the country are on the same page," Karimi-Hakkak added. "And that is not true."
The discussion between the two men became testy after an audience member asked a question about the recent "hostage crisis" involving British sailors and the Iranian government. As Karimi-Hakkak was explaining why the Iranian government thought it was justified in taking the soldiers, Clawson interrupted, leading to an impassioned debate concerning whether it was reasonable for Iran to have thought the British were violating their territory.
Despite that uncomfortable turn, both Iranian and Jewish students said they were enlightened by the discussion, as it - in Karimi-Hakkak's words - "established a dialogue to accept our differences and our similarities."
"I'm in the Jewish community, where some people compare Ahmadinejad to Hitler, but my Persian roommates tell me about how Iranian people hate him," said Rachel Bergstein, a sophomore peace and justice studies major. "But it makes me feel better that I attended this event. ... It's clear that the Iranian people are not defined by Ahmadinejad or his regime."
Freshman Ari Gore, a government and politics and Jewish studies major and a vice president in PITA, echoed Bergstein's views.
"This week is not about propaganda. It's about discussion and learning," Gore said. "We're trying to encourage discussion on campus because most people stay within their own groups and don't branch out and learn about other people. But that's something we want to do."
Although the ISF has held Iran Awareness Week for a few years, previous incarnations of the program have been purely cultural, said Behrad Behbahani, a senior finance and Persian Studies major and co-president of the ISF. But this year, members of PITA contacted the ISF and proposed the idea that the two groups come together to plan the week under the banner of "Coming Together in Celebration of a Nation and Against Hatred and Extremism."
"It's such a great thing because it allows us to show that our two groups can get along and co-exist," Behbahani said. "The second I bring [the week] up to anyone, they immediately say, 'What could you guys possibly be doing together?' But we created this week to show people, 'Why can't we?'"
Other Iran Awareness Week events include a visit to Capitol Hill tomorrow, organized by PITA and the campus chapters of the Union of Progressive Zionists and the Zionist Organization of America; a viewing of the documentary Jews of Iran tomorrow night in St. Mary's Hall; and a Tour of Persia, an all-day event on Hornbake Mall Friday featuring the signs, sounds and tastes of Iran.
Contact reporter Roxana Hadadi at roxanadbk@gmail.com.
Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, director of the center for Persian studies here, clashed over what the American response should be to Iran's nuclear ambitions and the recent crises ignited when Iranian forces captured 15 British sailors March 23.
They spoke before about 30 students gathered in Van Munching Hall as part of Iran Awareness Week, five days of programs brought to the campus by the Iranian Students' Foundation and the Pro-Israel Terrapin Alliance.
Previous events during the week have included a Holocaust remembrance commemoration on Hornbake Mall on Sunday and an Iranian-Jewish coffee chat Monday. But last night's discussion between Clawson and Karimi-Hakkak - which became heated at times - was especially topical, students said, touching on events that continue to make headlines.
Both Karimi-Hakkak, a leading scholar and influential member in the world of Persian academia, and Clawson, the author or editor of 24 books and more than 70 articles about Iran and the Middle East, fielded questions about the Iranian people, their views on Ahmadinejad and the future of the nation regarding its relationship with the rest of the region, especially Israel.
But while Karimi-Hakkak displayed a hopeful attitude about the future of Iran, pointing out the distance between the Iranian people and the current regime, Clawson stressed the continued need for outside pressure to keep Iran from threatening its neighbors.
"The bad news is that Ahmadinejad does represent a layer of people who ... believe they have a right to rule the country" because of their involvement in the war between Iran and Iraq from 1980 to 1988, Clawson said. "And they are prepared to kill to stay in power. ... The revolutionary elite feel like they are on top of the world."
Karimi-Hakkak disagreed with such a troubled outlook, choosing to focus instead on explaining the evolving population of Iran and the growing reform movement within the country.
"The situation there is not very different from the situation here - a president has been elected and has become very unpopular," Karimi-Hakkak said. "What do you do? You let him serve his term.
"We talk like Iran as a nation and every person in the country are on the same page," Karimi-Hakkak added. "And that is not true."
The discussion between the two men became testy after an audience member asked a question about the recent "hostage crisis" involving British sailors and the Iranian government. As Karimi-Hakkak was explaining why the Iranian government thought it was justified in taking the soldiers, Clawson interrupted, leading to an impassioned debate concerning whether it was reasonable for Iran to have thought the British were violating their territory.
Despite that uncomfortable turn, both Iranian and Jewish students said they were enlightened by the discussion, as it - in Karimi-Hakkak's words - "established a dialogue to accept our differences and our similarities."
"I'm in the Jewish community, where some people compare Ahmadinejad to Hitler, but my Persian roommates tell me about how Iranian people hate him," said Rachel Bergstein, a sophomore peace and justice studies major. "But it makes me feel better that I attended this event. ... It's clear that the Iranian people are not defined by Ahmadinejad or his regime."
Freshman Ari Gore, a government and politics and Jewish studies major and a vice president in PITA, echoed Bergstein's views.
"This week is not about propaganda. It's about discussion and learning," Gore said. "We're trying to encourage discussion on campus because most people stay within their own groups and don't branch out and learn about other people. But that's something we want to do."
Although the ISF has held Iran Awareness Week for a few years, previous incarnations of the program have been purely cultural, said Behrad Behbahani, a senior finance and Persian Studies major and co-president of the ISF. But this year, members of PITA contacted the ISF and proposed the idea that the two groups come together to plan the week under the banner of "Coming Together in Celebration of a Nation and Against Hatred and Extremism."
"It's such a great thing because it allows us to show that our two groups can get along and co-exist," Behbahani said. "The second I bring [the week] up to anyone, they immediately say, 'What could you guys possibly be doing together?' But we created this week to show people, 'Why can't we?'"
Other Iran Awareness Week events include a visit to Capitol Hill tomorrow, organized by PITA and the campus chapters of the Union of Progressive Zionists and the Zionist Organization of America; a viewing of the documentary Jews of Iran tomorrow night in St. Mary's Hall; and a Tour of Persia, an all-day event on Hornbake Mall Friday featuring the signs, sounds and tastes of Iran.
Contact reporter Roxana Hadadi at roxanadbk@gmail.com.
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