A recent editorial published on TribLive brought into question whether the words and actions of AU Professor Emeritus Hamid Mowlana were treasonous.
Mowlana holds dual citizenship in the United States and Iran and is currently an adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was the founder of the School of International Service’s International Communications program in 1967, according to the AU Web site.
TribLive is a Web site affiliated with Trib Total Media, a multimedia network of daily and weekly newspapers and other publications for the area of Pittsburgh, Pa.
The editorial, less than 200 words in length and entitled “Mowlana’s treason,” relies on an article published in March on Iran’s Press TV Web site to form the basis of its question.
On its Web site, Press TV is described as “the first Iranian international news network” based in Tehran with bureaus around the world.
Mowlana reportedly encouraged Iran to “improve its ‘soft warfare’ capabilities against the United States.”
Press TV reported that Mowlana is an adviser to Ahmadinejad and that he spoke at a “conference on ‘soft warfare’” in Tehran, where he “advised Iranian officials to take ‘clear’ measures to counter Western tactics against Iran,” according to Press TV.
The Claim
The TribLive editorial says, “Iran remains one of the most active sponsors of terrorism in the world. An American citizen [Mowlana] not only is advising its president but urging steps to blunt U.S. efforts to counter Iran. Why is this not treason?”
Dean of SIS Louis Goodman said he has not had contact with Mowlana for two years and does not know the degree of accuracy of the things that were reported by either news organization.
“What is reported is certainly not views that the school or the university supports, but I don’t know what actually was done or said,” Goodman said. “I have not had contact with [Mowlana] for some time.”
On Press TV, Mowlana is reported as saying, “Iranian officials and organizations do not have enough knowledge about the soft warfare tactics used by the West and especially the United States.”
The TribLive editorial defines “soft warfare” as “efforts to influence clerics, professors, students, journalists, businessmen and managers of big companies.”
The Press TV Web site to which it refers has an almost identical line, reading, “The US has been trying to ‘infiltrate’ into Iran by influencing clerics, professors, students, journalists, businessmen, managers of big companies and others, [Mowlana] said.”
Akbar Ahmed, an SIS professor and AU’s Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies said he does not fully know the facts of the situation reported in Press TV and editorialized on in TribLive. He said he had not seen Mowlana on campus for years.
“This accusation of treason is a very serious charge,” Ahmed said. “And if it is true, then obviously the authorities have to act on it.”
He said Mowlana’s expertise and familiarity with both the U.S. and Iran could have put him in a position to “build bridges ... between America and Iran because of the situation you have with the tension between the two countries.”
Ahmed was saddened that if inaccurate facts were reported, it could lead to a misunderstanding that could negate Mowlana’s potentially peaceful role, he said.
“We should be very clear about our facts whenever we accuse people of things,” Ahmed said. “If the facts are right, it should be followed up. If not, then these charges shouldn’t be made because they simply muddy the waters. We’ve already had so much misunderstanding between these two [countries].”
Inaccurate Facts
The TribLive opinions piece gets an important detail wrong. The first line of the editorial identifies Mowlana as a current AU professor, however, he has not been a member of AU’s faculty for two or three years.
“By day, Hamid Mowlana is a senior professor of international relations at American University in Washington, D.C. By night, Mr. Mowlana is an adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,” the editorial said.
The Press TV article also gets its facts wrong, saying, “Mowlana, who is a professor of International Relations in the School of International Service (SIS) of the American University in Washington, advised Iranian officials to take ‘clear’ measure to counter Western tactics against Iran.”
While Mowlana is not a current member of the faculty, he was on the faculty for a “long time” — at least since the 1960s — and is now a professor emeritus, according to Goodman. To be a professor emeritus means that a professor has retired but may continue to teach or draws a percentage of his or her last salary as pension.
“I think it’s lamentable that this newspaper in Pittsburgh or that any other organization said he’s a member of our faculty when he’s not,” Goodman said. “I would like them to check facts, I would like for us to check facts ... The truth is that he’s not a member of our faculty and we’re not supportive of these views. People can and do draw strange conclusions about things.”
The last time Goodman saw Mowlana was when he came to AU to pick up books from his former office two years ago.
“He gave no indication that he was playing any role like is said he is playing here, so I don’t know what is going on with this individual,” Goodman said.
Senior Director of AU’s University Communications Camille Lepre said that saying Mowlana is a professor at AU is incorrect and that the things he is reported as saying are not reflective of AU.
“AU does not support the points of view expressed in the article,” Lepre said in an e-mail. “AU had no direct knowledge of the events that were reported, or the accuracy of the statements.”
In the article on Press TV, Mowlana is never directly quoted suggesting that Iran should implement soft warfare tactics on the U.S.
Goodman said he has heard from one person regarding the publication of TribLive’s editorial. An alumnus e-mailed the dean to say that it was “outrageous” that one of the faculty in SIS would say the things that were declared on TribLive, he said.
After Goodman clarified that Mowlana was no longer a member of AU’s faculty, the alumnus thanked Goodman and “went on to talk about how proud he was of SIS and how he hoped to attend the building dedication,” Goodman said. “So that was an example of someone unfortunately being exposed to this information, and once he heard the truth being able to dismiss it.”
Editors from TribLive have not yet responded to requests for comment. Mowlana could not be reached for comment.
You can reach this staff writer at mfowler@theeagleonline.com.
