Upcoming forums offered at Goshen College on peacemaking in Iran and Colombia

GOSHEN, Ind. – On Nov. 4 and 13, JustPeace Seminars is hosting opportunities for the Goshen community to learn more about peacemaking in Iran and Colombia.

Iranian expert W. Scott Harrop, who teaches in the University of Virginia Middle East Studies Program, will speak about "The Audacity of Mutual Respect: A Better Path for U.S.-Iran Relations – And Why It Matters" onThursday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in the College Mennonite Church Koinonia Room. The event is free and open to the public. There will be a time for questions and discussion. The event is being sponsored by the JustPeace Seminars, Seniors for Peace, MCC Great Lakes, Goshen College History Department and the Goshen College Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Department.

Harrop, from Charlottesville, Va., has taught and lectured widely on international relations, Iran and Middle East affairs. He began his travels to Iran in 1991, in part as a contributing author to "The Iranians: Persian, Islam and the Soul of a Nation." In addition to teaching at the University of Virginia, he has also taught at Eastern Mennonite University. His interests include how revolutionary movements, from America to Iran, have pursued international legitimacy. His scholarly article topics range from Howard Baskerville to Mohammad Khatami to Thomas Jefferson, and publication venues include The Middle East Institute (Washington), Iranian Studies, the Journal for Iranian Research and Analysis, and The Iranian Journal of International Affairs. The honors he has received include being a "Peace Scholar" with the U.S. Institute of Peace, and most recently, a "Jefferson Fellow" at Monticello's International Center for Jefferson Studies.

In his lecture, Harrop will explore President Obama's "language of mutual respect" towards Iran which "audaciously challenged three decades of mutual satanization, has been undermined by contradictory words and actions, and remains a prerequisite for any engagement process to have a chance."

And on Saturday, Nov. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon, at a forum on "Building Peace in a Country at War," Father Alberto Franco will speak, assisted by Jess Hunter-Bowman in the College Mennonite Church Koinonia Room. This event costs $10 and $5 for students. The sponsors of this include JustPeace Seminars; Goshen College Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Department; Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary Peace and Justice Studies; and Witness for Peace. Light refreshments will be served.

Father Franco is a renowned leader in the Colombian human rights movement. He is a Colombian priest and the executive secretary of Inter-church Justice and Peace Commission, a 22-year-old Colombian human rights and community organizing group. For more than 20 years, Franco has worked for human rights and supported Afro-Colombians, indigenous communities and farmers, crucial work in a country at war. The toll of Colombia's war on civilians is among the worst in the world, with about 30,000 civilians killed and three million people internally displaced just since 2000. Franco has testified before the European Parliament and the European Commission and been a featured speaker for the World Council of Churches at the United Nations.

"Many innocent civilians have been killed and driven off of their land," said Fr. Franco. "In many cases these horrible human rights violations were carried out to make way for economic development projects."

"But these brutal killers did not expect farmers to stand up for their rights and their land," he added. "Today we work with farmers in humanitarian zones, helping them continue their lives despite the war."

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.