Iranians Aspire to Sharpen Public Image

By almost any measure, Susan and Mady Jalinous are the epitome of successful, sophisticated immigrants. They own an elegant Tudor-style home in Northwest Washington and several thriving businesses in technology and health care. They have three handsome sons in private schools and a living room full of distinguished family portraits.

Like other Iranian emigres in the United States, a group estimated at about half a million, they also have an image problem. Most Americans know little of ancient Persia's proud and cultured history, but they've heard a lot about modern Iran's radical ayatollahs and nuclear ambitions.

They don't think cradle of civilization; they think axis of evil.

That's why the Jalinouses, who like other accomplished Iranians value their privacy and dignity, are enthusiastic about the launching of a lobbying and public relations group in Washington, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans. The organization seeks to unite the scattered community, promote its image and build political influence that has long lagged behind its size and affluence.

"This is way overdue," Susan Jalinous said. "Our people are very determined and driven as individuals, but we have never had a voice or a group that would represent us as a community. We need to let others know who we are, what we have contributed. It has taken us more than 20 years to come out of our shells, but it's time."

So far, the lobbying group has hit all the right buttons, opening sleek offices on I Street NW, hiring a young staff and gathering a deep-pocketed board of directors and an executive committee of Iranian Americans with résumés out of Who's Who: financial bigwigs, astrophysicists, corporate lawyers, Ivy League academics. The next step is to attract members, and alliance officials hope to enroll 2,000 by year's end.

To do so, they must skirt a political minefield that could sabotage the effort before it gets off the ground. Iranian Americans, many of them exiles from the 1979 Shiite revolution, are politically divided and sensitive about the current regime in Tehran and what the U.S. government should do about it.

Many have relatives in Iran and still visit; they do not want to say or do anything that would put their family members or their ability to travel in jeopardy. To minimize such problems, the alliance's founders plan to avoid the issue.

"We support human rights, rule of law and democratic freedoms in all countries, but the future of Iran will be decided by the people in Iran," said Babak Hoghooghi, a Washington lawyer who is executive director of the alliance. "There is more to Iran and Iranians than the current government, and we want to focus on the positive dimensions of our heritage and history. We don't want to complain; we want to construct."

But with U.S.-Iran tensions in the news and war not out of the question, other Iranian American activists say alliance officials may have to take positions on contentious issues such as whether to pursue "regime change" or dialogue in Tehran if they hope to become politically relevant and socially prominent.

"Under normal circumstances, they would be taking the perfect approach. But these are not normal circumstances," said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, a nonprofit advocacy group in Washington. "They may be able to rub shoulders with members of Congress, but if they want to have real influence, they will have to take positions on the big issues and stand up to attacks. They need to be itching for a fight, not trying to avoid one."

Alliance members acknowledge that Iran is the elephant in the parlor they are trying to build. So heated are the disputes in the exile community that members cannot agree on whether to call themselves Persian or Iranian. Yet for years, they have avoided public debate and national politics, burrowing into affluent emigre niches. Most live in California; several thousand families live in the greater Washington region.