From Presidents and Professors of American Universities

Dear President Khatami,

In light of your invitation for a dialogue among civilizations, a dialogue informed by a spirit of good will and mutual respect between the People of the United States and the People of Iran, we would like to express our deep appreciation for the academic, intellectual, scientific and literary achievements of the Iranian people, both inside Iran and at universities, corporations, and institutions in the United States.

As university presidents, professors, and educators, we recognize and celebrate the depth of the historic bonds of friendship between our peoples, bonds formed out of the Iranian and American peoples' passion for the advancement of knowledge, dedication to the service of humankind, and devotion to the celebration of the divine gift of life. The deeper principles that have made education central to the development and progress of our nations reflect the genius and generosity of our peoples. Such qualities of the mind and the heart are not only evident in the classics of our civilizations, but they are also indicative of the creative potential and promise of all of our students.

Although our mission is far from complete, the university is where we seek to translate our ideals into conduct and practices that reflect our noblest aspirations and intentions. We strive to create a learning environment where students can benefit from the wealth of ideas, resources, challenges, and opportunities generated by our civilization, as well as other great civilizations.

All our students, including young men and women of Iranian origin, are encouraged to explore, express, and exchange ideas about themselves and the world without fear of discrimination, retaliation or persecution based on their racial and ethnic origins, political or religious beliefs, economic status, sexual orientation, or physical limitations. Our success as a civilization depends on our ability to protect and promote the welfare of students and faculty in the classrooms, laboratories, dormitories, and playing fields of the university.

It is in this light that we wish to express our deep concern over the storming of a student dormitory at Tehran University on the night of Thursday July 8th, 1999 and the subsequent arrest and detention of hundreds of students on charges of violating public order and national security. We are alarmed about reports of imprisonment, torture, secret trials, televised confessions, and calls for the execution of student leaders, all in violation of the legal and ethical principles enshrined in the Iranian Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Extra-legal and unilateral acts of violence and transgression undermine respect for religion, civil society, and the rule of law. We believe that such assaults upon Iranian students and universities imperil Iranian civilization--its past as well as its future--and urge you and the Iranian people to take every reasonable step to condemn and punish any person or party, including members of the security forces and judiciary, who threatens the life, liberty, and property of students and faculty inside or around any university campus.

We believe that threats of violence and the use of force against students and scholars constitute a grave hazard to a remarkable civilization that has produced some of the world's finest poets, theologians, scientists and artists and urge our friends inside Iran and in the international community to protect the spiritual and intellectual reservoirs of faith and freedom that have been the sources of your civilization's flowering.

No matter what the political interests, religious differences, and cultural tensions separating our governments, the good will and friendly relations between the people of Iran and of the United States allow us to transcend and transform the politics of hatred and violence.

We wish to express our solidarity and support for the students and faculty of Iranian universities, and we look forward to opportunities for greater academic cooperation, further dialogue, and new friendships between Iranian and American educators, scholars, and students.

Poets:

Robert Pinsky (Boston University)

Nobel Laureates:

David Baltimore (California Institute of Technology); Saul Bellow (Boston University); Hans Bethe (Cornell University); Paul Berg (Stanford University) ; G¸nter Blobel (The Rockefeller University); Val L. Fitch (Princeton University); Jerome Friedman (MIT); Douglas D. Osheroff (Stanford University); Daniel Tsui (Princeton University); Steven Weinberg(University of Texas at Austin); Elie Wiesel (Boston University); Torsten Wiesel (Rockefeller University)

University Presidents (Current and Former):

Robert M. Berdahl (University of California, Berkeley); David Baltimore (California Institute of Technology); Henry S. Bienen (Northwestern University); Derek Bok (Harvard University); William Chace (Emory University); Tom Gerety (Amherst College); Hanna Gray (University of Chicago); Thomas Kean (Drew University); Nannerl O. Keohane (Duke University); Neil Rudenstine (Harvard University); George Rupp (Columbia University);John Silber (Chancellor, Boston University); Charles Vest (MIT); Jon Westling (Boston University); Torsten Wiesel (The Rockefeller University); James Wright (Dartmouth College)

Deans (Current/Former/Acting):

Tom Farer (Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver); Brian Hehir (Acting Dean, Divinity School, Harvard University); Joseph Nye (Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University); Orville Schell (Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley); Daniel Tosteson (Dean Emeritus, Harvard Medical School)

Legal Scholars/Directors of Human Rights Programs:

Kenneth Anderson (Washington College of Law); Carolyn Blum (Director, Intíl Human Rights Program, Boalt Hall, Berkeley); Jack Donnelly (University of Denver); Hurst Hannum (Law Professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy); Louis Henkin (University Professor Emeritus, Columbia University); J. Paul Martin (Director, Center for Study of Human Rights, Columbia University); Makao Mutua (Director, Human Rights Center, SUNY Buffalo Law School); Alfred Rubin (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy); Jeswald Salacuse (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy); Oscar Schacter (Columbia University); James Silk (Director, Schell Center for International Human Rights, Yale); Henry Steiner (Director, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School); Laurence Tribe (Harvard Law School)

Other Scholars, Scientists, Psychiatrists, Journalists and Writers:

K. Anthony Appiah (PEN), Noam Chomsky, Juan Cole, David Dapice, Robert Darnton, Natalie Davis, Jack Donnelly, Daniel Dennett, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Michael Geyer, Sol Gittleman, Gilbert Harman, Judith Herman, Stanley Hoffmann, Paul Kennedy, Robert Kirschner, Robert Jay Lifton, Charles Lindholm, Kanan Makiya, David Martin, Herbert Mason, Everett Mendelsohn, William Miller, Timothy Mitchell, Daniel Mulholland, Victor Navasky, Mitchell Resnick, Edward Said, Stephen Schlesinger, Eugene Skolnikoff, Tony Smith, Martin Sherwin, Ervin Staub, Mitchell Resnick, Sherman Teichman, Seymour Topping, Daniel Tosteson, Joseph Turow, Richard Ullman, Cornell West, E. O. Wilson, Morton Winston, and Philip Zelikow.

Women:

Leila Ahmed, Carolyn Patty Blum, Angela Y. Davis, Natalie Zemon Davis, Hanna H. Gray, Judith Herman, Nannerl O. Keohane,Beatrice F. Manz,Carolyn Marvin, Julie Stone Peters, Naomi Roht-Arriaza

Middle Eastern Origin:

Leila Ahmed,Rashid Khalidi,Kanan Makiya,Edward Said

Letter and list of signatories available on www.blueinitative.com and in the New York Review of Books Edition of March 23 Issue, p. 49