American Crosses, Persian Crescents: Religion and the Diplomacy of US–Iranian Relations, 1834–1911

In: Iranian studies, Band 44, Heft 5, S. 607-625

Abstract

The American public came to know Iran through its missionaries who had lived among the Persians. For their part, Iranians grew familiar with Americans through interactions with these missionary pioneers as well. While American Presbyterians quickly established and expanded their institutional presence in the country, it became abundantly clear to them that Muslim converts to Protestantism remained few and far between. Missionary perceptions of Iranian Muslims, however, left an indelible imprint on American public understanding of Iran and its people. The paper argues that religious ideology frequently colored perceptions and influenced policy-making. Even after more than a hundred years of interaction, cultural representations were refracted through religious difference and similarity. Despite the increasingly secular cultures of Iran and America in the early twentieth century, religion remained a salient ideology for the public in both societies—one that has had a profound impact on the nature of US–Iranian relations. Thus, it is important to analyze the origins and impact of this contact beginning in the nineteenth century.