The former president of Iran has been invited to speak at the Washington National Cathedral on Sept. 7 on the role Judaism, Christianity and Islam can play in forging world peace.

In a statement released on Aug. 22, the Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd, III, dean of the cathedral, called the former president a man of peace and moderation.

“President Khatami’s commitment to a dialogue between civilizations and cultures is an important component in the peace process. This is much needed in the world today,” Dean Lloyd said.

The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson, the cathedral’s director of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation welcomed President Khatami’s visit during a period of heightened global tensions.

“The cathedral is a place of reconciliation that opens its doors to people of all faiths, and we have a special commitment to embracing the children of Abraham,” he said. “We have found that the cathedral is an important platform for dialogue and open discussion.”

While the granting of a visa by the State Department to a former president of Iran would mark a significant opening in U.S. policy toward one of the three nations termed the “Axis of Evil” by President George W. Bush, the invitation by the National Cathedral for President Khatami to speak on religious dialogue and tolerance has been questioned by human rights activists and Jewish groups.

While he entered office with the reputation of a reformer, President Khatami has backed the recent call by Iranian President Ahmadinejad for the annihilation of Israel, and as president in 2000 told Iranian television that God commanded the faithful to kill the wicked. “We should mobilize the whole Islamic world for a sharp confrontation with the Zionist regime,” he said.

Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, an expert on Iran, commented at the National Review Online that “to invite Khatami to the National Cathedral to talk about tolerance is equivalent to inviting David Duke to talk about race relations.”

Security at the cathedral from the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security is expected to be tight, with demonstrations from pro- and anti-Iranian activists expected.

President Khatami will attend meetings at the United Nations before his speech at the cathedral. He also will address a dinner hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Sept. 8, speaking on the theme of "The Dialogue of Civilizations: Five Years After 9/11," and is expected to speak at a number of universities.

A State Department spokesman told the Washington Post a visa application had been received for President Khatami on Tuesday. However, the spokesman would not comment as to whether it would be issued saying, “We will not speculate in advance about the outcome of any visa application."

(The Rev.) George Conger

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