We were discussing how Iran is a country whose culture and governance is not easily reduced to simple statements or characterizations. What we read in the corporate media is much different from our growing understanding, gained through the experience of friends who are Iranian expatriates and from narratives of friends and neighbors who visit Iran. The discussion was prompted by an event at the Englert Theatre last Tuesday, featuring Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, titled, “Though the Lens of Cultural Diplomacy: A Global Snapshot.” (The talk was recorded and after editing will be available at the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council web site).

As the Iowa City Press Citizen pointed out in their June 15th editorial on cultural diplomacy, “the most local and long-lasting example of cultural diplomacy has been the University of Iowa's International Writing Program.” Since Paul and Hualing Engle established the IWP in 1967, more than a thousand writers from 120 countries have traveled to Iowa for an introduction to American university life and to write. Funded partly by the United States Department of State, when Merrill travels around the globe, he seeks to establish relationships in countries that recognize and respect the culture of host countries and promote the exchange of different aspects of culture, primarily through creative literary expression. These efforts could result in a writer coming to Iowa, or in projects outside the US. During his talk, one of his topics was a narrative based on his trip to Tehran in late 2009.

The cultural diplomacy practiced by people like Christopher Merrill adds another layer to our understanding of Iran and this was the discussion of our group at the library. Iran’s diversity starts with what goes on in the capital of Tehran and if we pay attention, we can catch glimpses of the divergence of opinion between the head of government, Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hoseyni Khamenei. We often neglect to notice that Amhadinejad serves at the pleasure of the Supreme Leader, who has the power to remove the president from office. This divergence was noticeable during negotiations last year to export uranium from Iran’s nuclear power program for enrichment and then re-importation. At first, the Iranians agreed to export the uranium and then they rescinded that statement after further consultation within their government. It was evidence that Iran does not always speak with one voice.

The government of Ahmadinejad has been criticized by Iranians for its disregard of human rights, introducing a third layer to the portrait of Iran. A return to fundamentalism and undoing the social aspect of the westernization of Iran has been a goal of Ahmadinejad and has been difficult at best. During a 2006 election for Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the Ahmadinejad slate was defeated, indicating support for more moderate figures in Iran. The impulse of some Iranians towards modernization has been in conflict with the wants of the Ahmadinejad's government. 

What goes on in Tehran is important, but the truth is that the roughly 8 million people who live there is a small but significant part of the population of 77 million Iranians. While one of our group was dismissive of the important of people living outside Tehran, their story would add another layer of understanding to Iran. A couple from Des Moines recently returned from his family’s region outside Tehran and the narrative is much different. It speaks of a more tribal society where the rhetoric of Tehran is replaced with a real concern for drone aircraft piloted by the United States government in neighboring countries. As an expatriate, the couple was welcomed among family members and the video footage they shot was unlike most of what one sees on television.

There is a lot of rhetoric directed at Iran by our corporate media. Iowans would be better served if they took the approach of cultural diplomacy, as practiced by people like Christopher Merrill, and begin with a recognition and respect of Iranian culture and the idea that in a country of 77 million people, the vast majority of people may show similar respect to our culture. That’s a story we don’t often hear in the corporate media.