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Ellison's Muslim roots may aid future U.S.-Iran relations
Less confrontation and more diplomacy are needed, said the experts at a forum planned by Ellison and sponsored by the Congresssional Progressive Caucus.
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WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, could have the best chance of making headway in a U.S. diplomatic strategy in Iran, noted Middle East experts said Thursday.
During a forum on the future of U.S.-Iranian relations sponsored by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, former Pakistani Ambassador to the United Kingdom Akbar Ahmed pointed to the success of Muslim members of the House of Lords in negotiating the release of a British teacher from a Sudanese jail.
Ellison, D-Minn., could have similar success negotiating with Iran, Ahmed said.
Though he doesn't have much background in international diplomacy, Ellison said he would be happy to work with U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., "to do what I can for my country." Lantos has attempted unsuccessfully for several years to get a visa from the Iranian government to meet with officials in Tehran.
Ellison said he planned the forum months ago, not knowing it would come just days after the release of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iran that said the country had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, reversing the previous belief that Iran was attempting to build an atomic bomb.
"The United States and international community [are] at a unique diplomatic crossroads with Iran," he said. "Though there is widespread agreement that Tehran should be prevented from having a nuclear weapon, how we accomplish this goal is another matter."
President Bush on Wednesday said his administration would not change its policy toward Iran in response to the estimate, saying the country has knowledge that could create weapons in the future.
Ellison and others in the caucus emphasized the need to use diplomacy in the future with Iran rather than resorting to military aggression. Ahmed agreed that conflict would result in the loss of "trillions and trillions of dollars, thousands of lives and in the end no change whatsoever."
"America needs to stop demonizing Iran," said Ahmed.
Reza Aslan, an Iranian-born religious scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said every decision that Iran makes is predicated on the fact it feels under attack.
The U.S. House voted on Sept. 25 to impose economic sanctions on Iran in response to its nuclear program. Ellison was one of 16 to vote against the measure and said he now feels vindicated.
"Iranians need less isolation, not more isolation," Aslan said. "That country has to be pried open. A tyrant stays in power by isolating his people, and we're going to be doing the tyrant's job for him."
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