Khatami at the University of Virginia?!

Well, it's about 9:35pm in London and I just logged on to the internet for a quick email check and news update. Not that I have really responded to my emails recently, as I am spending an average of 9-12 hours at my school's editing suites in a last minute push to finish my final film... but I digress.

Anyway, I checked my 3rd Gmail account (yes, I have 3 - but they all serve different purposes. John taught me about separating my virtual lives and I have never looked back!). Lo and behold, as I am still on the University of Virginia's Persian Club mailing list (again, another story for another time), I learned that Iran's former president Khatami is visiting the University of Virginia today! In fact, he was due to deliver a speech there a few hours ago, in Mr. Jefferson's Rotunda and will return to C'vlle on Sunday to visit Monticello!!!!!

This article is taken from the Daily Progress, C'vlle's local paper (and was all I could find at the moment), but I'm sure the NY Times and Washington Post will cover it tomorrow.

Of note, according to the article, one of the main people responsible for bringing Khatami to U.Va. was Professor Abdulaziz Sachedina, a man I had the pleasure of taking a class with in 2003 and absolutely adore. He was one of the most engaging and enlightened individuals I have ever studied under and he made "Classical Islam" at 9:30 am Tuesdays and Thursdays a joy. Ok, at least it wasn't excruciating. In fact, I might look for my study flashcards, review my Quranic terms and/or pull an all-nighter in his honor (where's Ellie, my RELG study partner when I need her?).

In my superficial Google searches on this topic, I was also fairly stunned to hear of the backlash against Khatami's visit, especially on university campuses around the country. Regardless of the current political tensions that exist in the international sphere regarding Iran (and I'm not going to get too specific now), it occurs to me that sometimes it's a case of lesser evils... And as I recall, institutions of higher education were supposed to encourage and promote open dialogue, not stifle it...

But, again, I digress and ramble, as my eyelids get heavier and heavier. Must save energy to leave the office and go home now. Tomorrow is another day of editing, beginning at 8am.

xx