Good idea: Houstonians should travel to Iran

Idea person: Riaz Siddiqi, managing partner and one of the founders of Denham Capital Management, LP

Idea: More Americans, especially Houstonians, should travel to Iran. Houstonians, says Siddiqi, are the west's ideal ambassadors to Iran because "we are friendly and respectful travelers."

Siddiqi's background: To obtain a master's degree in business, Siddiqi left Pakistan to attend Mississippi State in 1977. He flew 30 hours to arrive on the campus; it was his first international trip.

His first question to the greeter who had come to receive him: "Where can I find work?" The counselor had good and bad news. As a foreign national, Siddiqi couldn't work for a salary. But if he worked in the school cafeteria, he could eat for free. Siddiqi showed up at the cafeteria at 5 a.m. the next morning dressed in a coat and tie to met his fellow dishwashers. They, of course, were wearing flip-flops and cut-off shorts.

But Siddiqi adapted to American culture quickly. He enjoyed singing with the choir of a nearby African-American church. He now speaks English with a unique Pakistani/Mississippi/Texan accent.

Where his idea came from: Siddiqi joined the Houston World Affairs Council for a two-week trip to Iran, a Muslim country that's mostly Shia. That's significant because Siddiqi is a Sunni, a fact that those who know Muslim surnames can glean from his name: "Siddiqi" implies that he traces his lineage to Abu Bakr Siddiq, the first Caliph of Islam after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

On the Houston World Affairs Council trip, Siddiqi gazed in awe at Persepolis, a jewel of the Persian Empire whose palace and terraces took more than 100 years to build. The Zoroastrian Fire temple in Yazd fascinated him. But most of all, he enjoyed his interactions with the Iranian people.

He spotted a few signs that said, "America is the enemy," but mainly, Iranians were warm and hospitable. "Everywhere we went, the Iranian people loved Americans," says Siddiqi. "They were so happy that we were there." Many, he says, asked to have photographs taken with Siddiqi, his wife, Salma, and the other Houstonians. As an American and a Sunni, he felt welcome, not worried about security.

Some Iranians told Siddiqi that they had never met an American before. Official figures show that tourist numbers were up last year for Iran, with pilgrims from Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon and Pakistan making up 60 percent of Iran's visitors. Yet according to the Houston World Affairs Council, only 1,500 Americans receive visas to travel to Iran every year.

Why, despite tensions between the Iranian and American governments, were the Iranian people hospitable? Siddiqi credits Persia's history as a hub of international trade. Many Persians seem to long for more interactions with the west.

The idea's urgency: He believes Iran and Iranians will play an important role in world affairs. "Iran has proven its resilience and its adaptability as a society and as a people over the millennia," he says. "Iran will be vital to the resolution of the essential conflicts in the Middle East." More lines of communication with Iranians could lead to the "solutions that are vital for all peoples of Iran, the Middle East and the U.S."

"Their history and culture have to be understood," he says, "and that is best done by a trip to the country and immersion in that society." Travel to Iran will "dispel the misconceptions of the country and its people that pervade mainstream media."

Our best exports, he believes, are American values and culture, and our best diplomats are everyday Americans. "Houstonians can be very effective diplomats and bridge builders."