Calling Iran a “threat not only to our own nation, but to world peace itself,” the bishops of Northern Indiana, Rhode Island and Southwest Florida have written a letter of protest to the Bishop of Washington and the Dean of Washington National Cathedral over the speech to be given there on Sept. 7 by Muhammad Khatami, the former president of Iran.

“Mr. Khatami’s actions do not support the goal of reconciliation for which our Church has so fervently prayed and worked,” wrote the three on Sept. 5. “During Mr. Khatami’s term of office, women continued to be marginalized, and homosexual persons were executed (two gay youths were hanged on July 19, 2005). Mr. Khatami has not renounced either Iran’s nuclear ambitions or the virulent anti-Semitism of the current regime, known for its Holocaust denial and call for the destruction of the State of Israel."

The Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little, II, Bishop of Northern Indiana, and the Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island, were raised in Jewish households before joining The Episcopal Church. The Rt. Rev. John B. Lipscomb, Bishop of Southwest Florida, has spoken out previously against genocide as well as several Episcopal Church resolutions which he believes placed a disproportionate share of blame for Middle East violence on Israel. In their statement, the three bishops said that the presence of Mr. Khatami is likely to further compromise the church’s relationship with the Jewish community and pleaded with the Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd, III, dean of the cathedral, to cancel “this ill-conceived and inappropriate expression of the aspirations of our Church” while there is still time.

In a news release published Aug. 22 on the Washington National Cathedral website, the Rev. Canon John L. Peterson, director of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation at the cathedral, noted that Mr. Khatami’s visit was wholly appropriate at this time of increasing global tensions, since the former president intends to speak on the role the three Abrahamic faiths can play in shaping peace throughout the world.

“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. In the same release, Dean Lloyd commended President Khatami as a man of peace and moderation. “[His] commitment to a dialogue between civilizations and cultures is an important component in the peace process. This is much needed in the world today,” he said.

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