Dr. Iravani Brings Message of Faith at National Prayer Breakfast WASHINGTON — CSIME executive director Ayatollah Iravani told participants at the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast that faith and spirituality is important to international peace and should be a central tenet of diplomacy. The National Prayer Breakfast an annual event held in Washington DC on the first Thursday of February, he told attendees, is an opportunity to “help overcome misconceptions and prejudice about other religions and understand that we are all children of God.” This year the event was hosted by the bipartisan duo of Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Janice Hahn (D-CA). Ayatollah Iravani emphasized throughout the event the universality of faith and noted the various ways in which people can unite through interfaith endeavors. Moreover, Ayatollah Iravani explained how he had experienced faith and its power throughout his lifetime and stressed how dialogue among those different religions can strengthen peace and tolerance to the world. Ayatollah Iravani also emphasized how the opinions of religious leaders should play a role in diplomacy in the United States and called on government officials to take their opinions into consideration in policy making. He suggested it was clear that the opinions of religious leaders in the United States have been neglected in the past and policy makers need to communicate more often with religious leaders. He himself, the executive director, met with various elected officials and high level representatives as an imperative for the United States to promote further communication with religious leaders.