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“Skate Parks and Nose Jobs:
October 27, 2006: Laurie and Matt gave a fascinating look at their three years in Qom at the Khomeini Institute as exchange scholars. They were sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), an organization of the Mennonite Church of the US and Canada, that has been involved in relief and reconciliation work since 1990. The MCC's student and scholar exchanges with Iran, aimed at building people-to-people contacts and encouraging dialogue between American and Iranian citizens, began in 1998 and was modeled after a similar program that existed in Eastern European countries during the cold war. The Pierces presented observations on Shi’ite religious education in today’s Iran. They also discussed the experiences and events that led them to work in Iran to build better Muslim-Christian relationships. They gave a description of the academic and religious life of Iranians, especially those in Qom. While they were there they were invited by the Khomeini Institute to conduct seminars on Christianity and Comparative Religions. During their stay in Qom, Laurie kept a blog which can be accessed at http://30dayexperiment.blogspot.com. Her entries give an excellent description of their life in Qom and she lists several other relevant web sites. |
