Mark Johnson's blog

As a part of last Wednesday's meeting with the President of Iran, our group presented him with a gift. It was a framed work of calligraphy, seen at right. The risks of a direct translation by a non-Arabic speaker are high. Above is a photo of me presenting the gift to President Ahmadinejad.

The work of art by Mamoun Sakkal illustrates, in classical Kufi script, a verse from the Koran. A paraphrase of the Sura might be understood to remind us that “it is good to begin each day with a reflection on how we will personally advance the cause of peace and justice in our lives and work."

In preparing for the conversation between political leadership from the Islamic Republic of Iran and representatives of the U.S. peace movement, the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) invited over 300 individuals and groups to attend and asked each to submit, first, a description of the work done by their group and successes in using active nonviolent means to effect social change, and second, to raise a concern or ask a question about relationship between the United States and Iran.

The motivation for the Fellowship of Reconciliation to facilitate a conversation between the political leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran and representatives of the peace movement in the United States grew out of our long history with the practice of civilian diplomacy and our recent experience leading delegations of citizens to Iran.

Our work fits snuggly into the current political debate of the relative merits of dialogue and nonviolence versus belligerent rhetoric and warfare as methods of resolving differences between peoples. We, by principle and history, captured in our name, come down firmly on the side of reconciliation of differences through active nonviolence.

As we approach the Fourth Annual Fellowship of Peace this weekend, we are reminded that our Movement has long been blessed by strong voices for nonviolence and is also renewed as new voices are raised as here from last year’s FOR Martin Luther King, Jr. Award recipient, Samina Faheem Sundas of American Muslim Voice.

September, 11th 2008

We extend our deepest condolences and prayers to those who have been affected by 9/11. Tomorrow will mark the 7th anniversary of that senseless act of violence. It has been a difficult time for all of us. We stand divided as a nation and that tragedy has created a culture of fear, anger and hatred. We need to replace it with a culture of hope, love and peace. We need to come together to comfort, love and care for each other so we could heal.

As we approach the Fourth Annual Festival of Peace this weekend, we are reminded that our Movement has long been blessed by strong voices for nonviolence and is also renewed as new voices are raised and previously delivered prophecy is revoiced as in this piece from Sojourners by Joan Chittister.

9/11. SEVEN YEARS ON
We are seven years away now from the incineration of the Twin Towers when, in one blow, 19 radical religious zealots with a memory for Crusades and hatred for the United States turned the world upside down. Or we did. It’s very hard to tell seven years later who really did more of the turning.

What specific concerns drove these men to the point where they would give up their own lives just to injure ours is hard to tell. Few asked, and fewer still seemed to care. In the midst of national grief—and for many, anger — all that mattered, apparently, was who to strike in retaliation. Anybody would do it, it seemed. And so we did.