Reverend M. William Howard, Jr.
Appearances
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Yeah, are you really who you say you are, you know?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And then, at some point, someone asked if I would offer a prayer. And we had a prayer. You know, the prayer was sort of a culmination of the conversation of acquaintance. And it was a prayer of contrition, a prayer recognizing the need for the intervention of a divine spirit and so forth and so on, but it was not long.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Well, I had no facility of that kind, but we did something that I think personally was quite affirming of the people. I said to them, if you have, as individuals, something you want to share with me of a personal nature and so forth, you know, sort of pastoral counseling, if you will. I'm going to sit here and you can come over. And there were a few people who came over.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
We talked about how they were being treated and they wondered, for example, if there was a way for me to communicate with their families. And was there a way for us to make an appeal for their release? And sure enough, on Christmas afternoon,
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
a representation of our group, went back to the embassy to pick up letters that were being written by the hostages, and they were subsequently delivered to the family members when we returned. So that is essentially the first sort of link the family members had with their relatives who were being held captive. And then at some point the time ended and they were escorted out of the room.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
My colleagues and I eventually wound up in a common room that felt like a basement to me. And the students who actually had invaded the embassy, taken the hostages, were there. And by the way, around the wall of this room were very young men. They could have been teenagers from all that I could tell.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
very much armed with semi-automatic rifles or automatic rifles, standing around the wall of this little room. And that's when Dr. Coffin said something to the effect, how many of these folk are you going to allow us to take home?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Well, I said right away, Bill, it's not that kind of situation. He was associating this with Vietnam.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
The Vietnamese were not driven by religion. These were people of real conviction about Islam. There was a female leader of these students, and she was known in the American media as Mary. When she spoke to him very sternly, you heard the young men cock their rifles, that kind of sound. And I said to him, Bill, you'd better leave that alone. And he backed down right away.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And after that experience, in that room, we also were taken to meet with the Mulas. in the Shiite tradition, the clergy are mullahs.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
No, but let me answer that in two ways. One, the students were always clear, not biased. appearing to try and influence us, but they were very clear about the role of the U.S. in supporting the Shah, the presence of the U.S. in Iran, the role of the U.S. in overthrowing Mohammad Mossadegh in the 1950s. They knew all of that in ways that most Americans did not. But
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Well, as you know, I've done some pretty daring things in my younger days. One of the things she often said was, When I was given invitations to go to various places like Syria or Guatemala, she would look at me and say, is this what you think you need to do?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
When we went to visit the mullahs after visiting the foreign ministry, there were so many checkpoints, armed checkpoints. And it was evident at that point that we were going to visit the real power, not the government guy, but these clergy. And we were clergy. They were clergy. So we sat in this little room. I mean, a little room.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Like if a mullah was sitting here and I'm sitting here, our knees were almost touching. And that was when they really poured out all of their suffering. Some of them were crying. They told us stories. I'll give you one really iconic story. about American teenagers riding motor scooters into the mosque at prayer time.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And the leaders, the leaders were unable to do anything about it because the Americans were so much influential of the Shaw that the Shaw would not allow anything untoward to happen to the Americans. So these kids could just disrespect and so forth, and they cried. They explained there was some guy there with one eye, and he told a story about how he lost his sight The brutality of the Shah.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Now, we had some general knowledge of this, but this was like detailing. Now, on the image and indoctrination thing, because many people in the United States were assuming that if you guys could get in there and see the hostages, you must be a little bit biased toward these folks. You know, that was going around.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And so what we decided, because we got some word that the Ayatollah was going to invite us for a conversation. And we had seen these conversations on the television. He's telling them things and you're sitting there quietly. We did not want to be in that situation. So we literally planned our exit from the country in some forethought that this may transpire. So we were successful.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Oh, yes. It would have been on American television before you could imagine that.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
One thing I would say, especially the live shows, is how uninformed the people in those audiences were about... the history of Iran.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
I mean, the people were angry. They were uninformed. And when you put those two combinations together, man, that's a pretty dangerous combination.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
I'm from the school of religious thought that doubts whether The average worshiper has fully understood the tradition that they claim. I think in this period, we are seeing, for example, how devoid certain sectors of the American religious community is of basic Christian principles and ethics, how they behave in politics. and so forth.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
I knew deeply the religious significance of Christmas, of course, but I knew that Christmas had evolved into, and it still is, an overwhelmingly commercial enterprise. It's about giving gifts. So I understood that.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
But what I did understand in this experience was what it meant for the first time, really, and you know very well that I grew up in the Jim Crow South where there were many instances of not necessarily knowing how much control you really had in your life because of external forces, meaning segregationist and so on.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
It was in the Iranian hostage crisis that I understood how alone we are and how powerless we are when other people take control. And really, it's in that setting that one can develop faith. If you think you have other options, you often don't turn to faith. When you have no other options, you turn to faith.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Shortly after I received the telegram, it came on the news that American clergy had been invited. And they mentioned that William Sloan Coffin, who was leader of the Riverside Church in New York, and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of the Roman Church were going to also go.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
At Riverside in New York, we met and we thought about the implications of this. We began to call around and speak with people who could give us some kind of orientation. We talked with then Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Frankly, they were delighted that we had been invited because up to this time, No American had been allowed to see the Americans that were in captivity there at the embassy. So, of course, there was a lot of speculation, but no one had actually seen them. So we were in no way discouraged from doing this.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
It never really occurred to me, and this was a striking question, a surprising question I received from many people who presumed that there was a level of risk that we might be taken hostage.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
No, I don't think either of us who traveled to Iran had that feeling. Why? Number one, we'd been invited. And number two, from the beginning, there was a sense of genuine respect for the religious heritage Of the hostages. Unitary. I mean, there were people there who were orthodox. There were non-believers. But there was a presumption that they were Christian.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And remember, the Iranian government was overwhelmingly Shiite Islam. And they wanted to show respect for the Christian faith. Now, keep in mind that Prior to that time, a lot of the public discourse, news media, they referred to these people as communists. See, they were very devout Muslims from all that I could tell before and during this event.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
But remember, this is at Christmas, and Mom was responsible for assembling toys and things like that while I was away. She made me aware that she had quite a struggle getting him ready for Christmas. Right. But the interesting thing about this... is that the Iranian hostage crisis was the breaking news all day, you see? And Matthew literally could watch his father on television.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
It didn't feel, I guess, to him that I was so far away.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Well, let me just say, I think propaganda is always part of something like this. But on the other hand, we had a public that was quite riled up, who knows what might have resulted if this issue were not somehow addressed. In other words, might there be an American invasion, an attempt to rescue the hostages in a militaristic way?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And frankly, I saw this as an opportunity to reduce that possibility. And this thing just kept going on and on. And a lot of vigorous protests. I don't know if you would recall. I mean, I wasn't alive. You may have read about the yellow ribbons. Right, right. That thing, I think it was taken from a popular song.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
As I recall, we went to the airport, JFK, and it was evident that we were getting... I'm not sure who was giving us this assistance. I thought maybe the airport authorities because we were taken through a private entrance to the airport and held in a very lovely private lounge, not in the normal sort of place until our flight left. It's like you enter a situation, it's ordinary in some ways,
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
But the gravity of it unfolds as you're in it. We arrived in Iran. We were escorted to the, I think, the Hilton Hotel. And we walked in the door and there must have been 200 or more press people. It was a circus. I mean, people from the United States, but from all over the world, wanting to meet these clergy who were about to go into the embassy. You know, I'm a Protestant clergyman.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
I'm thinking, Christmas, that's tomorrow, because this was in the evening of Christmas Eve. And I had staff people accompany me. And one of them came to the door of the hotel and knocked on the door and said, Bill, you'd better get dressed. We have to be at the embassy at the strike of midnight. Yeah, the midnight mass. And that's what the Muslim hosts knew about the Christian.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
So we dressed quickly, and literally at midnight, we were at the embassy, driving to the embassy from the hotel. You talk about paparazzi. I mean, my Lord. You know, just speeding cars, reporters hanging out the window of cars with TV cameras. And you're wondering, Is there going to be some kind of accident here? But we arrived at the embassy and the moment we arrived, And we were expected. Yeah.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
You know? I would hope so. That's when the... That would have been awkward.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
We didn't surprise them. Yeah, yeah. But the thing that... What happened at that point really became interesting. They blindfolded us. Did they at least give you a warning that they were going to do that? They explained to us why we were being blindfolded. Sure. They weren't mean to us. Right. But we were completely at their mercy. Right.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
On the 22nd of December, which was a Saturday, your mother and I had been out grocery shopping. So when we returned, we found the telegram. I read the telegram aloud to her. And it said something like, the Revolutionary Council of Iran is pleased to invite you to conduct Christmas services with the Americans in the U.S. Embassy.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
They escorted us to a place, sat us down. Once we were inside, they removed the blindfold. Now, each of us were taken to a different location. We didn't know where the other people were, our colleagues. I was brought to a large room, well-lit, and there was a table there
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
with uh sort of desserts you know like cookies and cakes and so forth that was the muslim understanding of how christmas was celebrated what was it like sugar cookies and things i think it was sweet stuff i don't know uh i didn't explore it because i didn't dare eat it sure sure i didn't yeah was there a christmas tree there and all that oh yes yes it was sort of like
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
What the Shiites imagined, maybe what they had seen on TV, movies, you know, in walks a stream of people, obviously hostages. And some of them were wiping their eyes and looking around. And of course, they're looking at me like, who the hell is this guy? They looked as if they had been kept in maybe a place not so bright. They didn't look disheveled or abused or anything.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And so one of the students, and let me just say the hostages were taken by and held by university-age students. And one of them said to the incoming people, this is Reverend Howard. He's going to conduct Christmas services.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
Oh, with a lot of reluctance. You might say suspicion, like, who is this guy? And once, you know, they were all seated, I said, look, if I were in your situation, I would be suspicious of me too. And I said, in so many words, look, I have a family. I'd rather be at home. But doggone it, I agreed to come over here because the nation is concerned about you.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And then they began to warm up because I was not kidding around with them. You know, I said, look, if you don't want Christmas, we could just sit here until they come and get you. And then at some point, one or two of them would say, no, Reverend, we respect what you're doing. And what do you have planned?
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Christmas in Tehran During the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis
And I said to them, look, I don't know your religious affiliation, so I'm not going to come and impose my own religious tradition on you. So you need to talk to me about what your needs are. And I remember very early in the conversation, before anything that we might consider religious began to happen, they asked me about the NFL playoffs.