GOJ DETAINS, RELEASES UNLICENSED PREACHERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007619

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2014
TAGS: PGOV KISL JO
SUBJECT: GOJ DETAINS, RELEASES UNLICENSED PREACHERS

REF: AMMAN 6213

Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: A GOJ crackdown on unlicensed preachers
over the weekend ignited a furious reaction from Jordan's
powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which accused the GOJ of
kowtowing to U.S. demands and restricting public freedoms.
Intervention from the Prime Minister resulted in the release
of 11 clerics and a calming of the situation for now. The
GOJ's attempt to enforce this controversial law appears to be
a response to the King's public directive earlier this summer
to minimize extremist sermonizing from Jordan's mosques.
However, the reaction and government climb-down illustrates
again the difficulties Jordan faces in reconciling its
security concerns with the development of political
pluralism. We can expect more such confrontations between
Islamists and the monarchy. End Summary.

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ISLAMISTS BLAME U.S. FOR ARRESTS
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2. (U) Jordan's Islamic movement reacted furiously to a
crackdown on unlicensed preachers which began the night of
September 8. They accused the government of "storming" the
homes of 39 Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members who were accused
of violating Jordan's long-standing "Sermons and Guidance
Act." The law requires all preachers to be licensed by --
and made employees of -- the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic
Affairs before delivering a sermon or religious lessons. The
crackdown resulted in the arrest of 11 preachers throughout
Jordan, including two elderly clerics (one of them former
Awqaf Minister Ibrahim Zeid Kilani),who were hospitalized
after authorities presented the summons at their homes.


3. (U) As news of the arrests -- some carried out in the
middle of the night -- spread, the Islamists' leadership
cried "foul." The MB issued a statement condemning the GOJ's
"authoritarian measures" as illegal and heaped blame on the
United States: "We regard such an action as yet another
restriction of public freedoms and awareness at a time when
Islam is under U.S.-Zionist attack and is their first
target." MB Comptroller General Abd al-Majid Dhunaybat
accused the government of implementing a U.S. agenda by
carrying out such actions. He warned that the GOJ's actions
will drive disaffected youth underground. Meanwhile, the
MB's political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF),
announced: "This measure is condemned, illegal, and does not
serve the interests of the country," and called on the
government to immediately release the detainees.

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PM INTERVENTION CALMS SITUATION--FOR NOW
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4. (U) Interior Minister Habashneh publicly defended the
arrests, saying the preachers were in violation of a
long-standing law, and noted that seven had been released on
September 11 after signing pledges to comply (the two
hospitalized clerics also were expected to sign). However,
the pressure mounted on the GOJ after the two remaining
detainees (senior MB leaders) refused to sign the agreement.
PM Fayez, Awqaf Minister Hilayel, and Interior Minister
Habashneh on September 12 met MB and IAF leaders in an
attempt to defuse the situation. The two were released after
the MB leadership agreed that its members would abide by the
licensing law. Stressing the Islamists' commitment to
Jordan's security and stability, Dhunaybat said: "The meeting
was positive and has an atmosphere and understanding and the
case was closed." For his part, Habashneh said the MB leader
pledged that in the future its members would not deviate from
any of the "constants" of the state; would not "defame"
Jordanian foreign relations, Arab rulers, or friendly
countries; would steer away from "personal slander and
accusations of infidelity," and would adhere to the Sermons
and Guidance law.

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WHENCE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT?
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5. (C) Beyond Islamist circles, reaction to the crackdown
was mixed. Noting the hypocrisy of a government that boasts
of its commitment to political development (and by extension
loosening its restrictions on free speech),the new Jordanian
daily al-Ghad published a harsh political cartoon about the
arrests with the caption "Political Development" in its
September 12 edition. It depicted a sinister Interior
Minister leading three bound and sweating clerics, as he
tells them to prepare to experience his own brand of
"political development." Writing in government-controlled
al-Rai, political analyst Hamadeh Faraneh criticized the
Muslim Brotherhood (which the GOJ has coddled for years) for
confronting the government on this issue, noting that
Islamists like all other citizens are obligated to comply
with the laws of the state. He also slammed Dhunbayat's
claim that youth will be driven underground, saying the
Islamists have to accept responsibility for shaping the
perspective of the young people who attend their mosques.
Al-Rai's editorial published the same day agreed, and went so
far as to say force should be used if necessary to bring the
MB in line with Jordan's laws.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) With recent terrorist events in Iraq, Russia, and
Saudi Arabia not far from Jordanian leaders' minds, the move
to enforce the law against unlicensed preaching is in line
with the King's recent public call on his ministers to better
monitor mosque preaching and promote a message of tolerance
and moderate Islam (ref). The GOJ understands that extremist
religious messages are increasingly well-received among some
disaffected sectors of Jordan's society. The crackdown
underscores the delicate balancing act Jordan's political
system faces in maintaining security and advocating true
political development. Ironically, the mosque sermons pose
the lesser of two evils. Generally tight controls on mosques
has pushed the most radical preachers, including the
Salafists, out of that monitored setting and into living
rooms and informal venues, where far more dangerous messages
are disseminated, and circles formed which are harder to
penetrate.


7. (C) Comment continued: This episode also exposes a rift
between the government and Islamists, who for decades were
cultivated by the monarchy as a bulwark against radical Arab
nationalist ideologies. With radical secular ideologies all
but exhausted, and the King pushing the country on a
globalist, integrated path, the Islamists are left as the
only voice of opposition. We can expect to see many more
such clashes as this process plays out, although "mainstream"
Islamist forces, such as the MB, can be expected to comply
with regime redlines when pressed to do so -- even at the
cost of their own credibility. End Comment.


8. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
HALE