Sept. 7, 2007
with photo
Muslim students in Iran eager to study Mennonite history
by Gladys Terichow
The Martyrs’ Mirror
, a book first published in 1660 that documents stories of Christian martyrdom, generates lively theological discussions at a Shiite Muslim college in Iran.
“Wow, we thought it was only the Shiite who had so many martyrs,” is the first response of many students who read the book, said Hajj Muhammad Legenhausen, a professor at the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom, Iran.
This interest in Christianity, he said, stems from an unusual student exchange program initiated in 1998 by MCC that makes it possible for North American students to study at the university in Qom and Iranian students to study at the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre, a part of the Toronto School of Theology.
This exchange program, along with three interfaith dialogue conferences between Muslim and Mennonite theologians, helps Iranians see “another view of Christianity” that is often not portrayed by the media, said Legenhausen in a telephone interview when he visited the MCC offices in Akron, Pennsylvania in August.
Legenhausen said he had met Mennonite author and theologian Arnold C. Snyder at an interfaith peace building conference held in May in Waterloo, Ontario and returned to Iran with a signed copy of Snyder’s book,
Following in the Footsteps of Christ: The Anabaptist Spirituality
.
Although students can read English language books, Legenhausen said he translated this book “sentence by sentence” during classroom instruction so that students could fully understand the author’s reflections on the Anabaptist-Mennonite faith.
Another book
, The Dogmatic Imagination: The Dynamics of Christian Belief,
written by Mennonite theologian, A. James Reimer also inspires lively classroom discussions in Iran.
One of the “most striking similarities” between the Mennonite faith and Islam, he said, is the belief in
Gelassenheit
—a German word that describes the idea of complete self-surrender and submission to God’s will. This includes the readiness to suffer for the sake of God.
Legenhausen said professors in other universities in Iran have heard about the lively theological discussions generated by this exchange program and have told him they would like to be involved in a similar exchange program.
“They have approached me and asked—Why are you keeping the Mennonites to yourself—we want to have interaction with them too,” said Legenhausen, adding, “If all Mennonites are like the ones we have met, they are a great bunch of people.”
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PHOTO BY SUSAN KENNEL HARRISON
Ed Martin, MCC Iran consultant, and Hajj Muhammad Legenhausen at an interfaith peace building conference in Waterloo, Ontario.
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