Sinkford and Ahmadinejad, Paul Newman, UU podcasts, and more

Reactions to Sinkford's meeting with Iran's president

UUA President William G. Sinkford's participation in a meeting of American peace activists with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, provoked angry reactions in the UU blogosphere.

The Rev. Kit Ketcham defended Sinkford's participation. She wrote at "Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show": "I think what he did was incredibly courageous. . . The greatest danger Sinkford faced, in this situation, was (IMHO, at least) the displeasure of his fellow UUs. . . He stuck his neck out, trying to get to know and understand the other side. It might look foolish to some but I think it was worth trying" (October 1).

But the Rev. Victoria Weinstein at "PeaceBang" called Sinkford's participation "so monumentally naive as to be deeply humiliating." She added: "What this group did was give Ahmadinejad a chance to dress up and play nice-nice World Leader at the very same moment our Secretary of State is condemning him for his hostilities toward Israel. That they chose to do so on the eve of the Jewish high holy days brings this debacle to an even lower level of insensitivity and hubris."

Weinstein also objected to Sinkford's statement after the meeting that "I could not imagine the current U.S. president taking the time to honor questions about his actions the way Ahmadinejad did today." She wrote:

Sure he would, on a foreign photo-op goodwill tour where he could evade questions and get away with it with an audience of people whose invitation to him was merely symbolic, and who don’t have to suffer under his regime. I don’t think that Ahmadinejad takes a whole lot of time to honor questions about his actions when he’s in Iran, if you know what I mean. (October 1)

Chalicechick at "The Chaliceblog" also responded indignantly to Sinkford's comments about President Bush:

And of course, we all hate President Bush so much that Sinkford had to negatively compare him to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad under the apparent theory that President Bush never answers softball questions from fawning religious leaders. (October 1)

Bill Baar at "Pfarrer Streccius" wrote: "I can only think Ahmadinejad honored Sinkford's questions because Sinkford disgracefully failed to speak a word of solidarity for someone like Ayatollah Boroujerdi [Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, an Iranian cleric who has advocated the separation of religion and politics in Iran] . . ., or the Sufis, or Bahais, or all the Iranian people suffering Ahmadinejad's oppressions" (September 25).

The Rev. Scott Wells at "Boy in the Bands" saw the meeting as "propaganda gold" for Ahmadinejad, but speculated that it would only garner criticism of Unitarian Universalists from Bahai'is and Jews, who are persecuted in Iran. "[W]hile diplomats play hardball," Wells wrote, "Sinkford — and by extension, us — just got played" (October 2).

In a post entitled "Simply talking does not make you a prophet; sometimes, it makes you a fool", community organizer and "estranged UU" Benjamin at "Power Before Policy" argued:

Ahmedinejad can “dialogue” precisely because an oppressive political system means that he is never forced to be responsive to anything that may emerge out of the dialogue. This doesn’t hold anyone accountable because it doesn’t force them to be responsive.

The prophetic voice is one that builds organized, strategic power to hold power people accountable for their bad actions. Instead, we put out press releases and pass resolutions. This episode is not a prophetic stand. (October 2)

In a subsequent post at "PeaceBang," Weinstein published a response from the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, which hosted Ahmadinejad, about the lack of Jewish participation in the meeting. She elaborated on her objections, invoking a theme of Sinkford's administration:

If we claim to “Stand On the Side of Love,” then our president should have been among the protesters at the UN, not at the table with the human rights abuser being protested. That is our tradition, and that is our place. We are not Standing On the Side of Photo Ops and Headlines, but standing on the side of those who have no voice, are imprisoned, harassed, mortally threatened and executed in a climate of intolerance and injustice. In this case, to show solidarity with those brothers and sisters, our leader should have been with the anonymous crowd protesting the Iranian president, not inside with him, giving him the opportunity to evade questions and skirt issues with a smile and a clever talking point. (October 2)

The Rev. Fred Hammond at "A Unitarian Universalist Minister in the South" responded to Benjamin and Weinstein, arguing that "there is a place for the fool too as prophetic voice"—only, in a Shakespearian sense (October 3).

Paul Newman, famous UU?

At the religious journalism blog "GetReligion," Douglas LeBlanc tried following up on a suggestion from a UU reader that actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, who died September 26, was a Unitarian Universalist. LeBlanc observed, however: "There’s little in the Web-accessible record to establish that Newman’s interest in Unitarian Universalism was the subject of any reporting" (September 30). Too true! Did Newman ever identify himself as a UU? Not that I've been able to verify. Did he affiliate with or support the Unitarian Church in Westport, Conn., where he lived? Was his rumored UU affiliation nothing more than a UU rumor? Or was Newman one of those celebrities and public figures who has maintained quiet connections with UU congregations but who had no interest in making their religious views or affiliations part of their public persona?

Also noted

• Seminarian Jeff Liebman at "uujeff's muse kennel and pizzatorium" admits he's one of the fabled UUs who reads ahead while singing a hymn to make sure he agrees with the words (October 1).


• Jason Tippitts, who has been monitoring UU podcasts for several years, has launched the "Unitarian Universalist Podcasts+" blog to track them all. Podcasts are organized by state.


• The Rev. José Ballester, minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church and a UUA trustee-at-large, has joined the interdependent Web at "PuertoRicanUU."