(C) LIBERALS ON THE OFFENSIVE IN FACE OF GROWING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001701 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/RA, DRL, INR/NESA RIYADH FOR MATT TUELLER TEL AVIV FOR DCM LEBARON TUNIS FOR NATALIE BROWN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2014 TAGS: PGOV KISL KDEM PHUM SOCI KU SUBJECT: (C) LIBERALS ON THE OFFENSIVE IN FACE OF GROWING ISLAMIST DEMANDS REF: A. KUWAIT 01274 ¶B. KUWAIT 01558 Classified By: CDA Frank C. Urbancic, reasons 1.4(b,d) 1.(SBU) SUMMARY: Islamists have stepped up their demands over the past few months, calling for restrictions on public concerts, the "grilling" of a Cabinet minister deemed supportive of "immoral" activities, and amendments to the Press and Publications Law to stiffen penalties against statements "defaming" (Sunni) Islam. An advisory committee on the implementation of Shari'a has completed and submitted the text of a new "Shari'a Draft Law" to the Council of Ministers. Kuwaiti liberals, who tend to be less well-organized and less vocal than Islamist groups and fared poorly in the July 2003 National Assembly elections, are starting to take the offensive against Islamist demands that they believe threaten Kuwait's basic freedoms. Liberal editorialists have long criticized the GOK's "marriage" of convenience with Islamist groups and have written scathing articles recently against Islamist social and political influence. Kuwait's liberals have won several important victories recently, most notably the GOK's decision to license a popular Arab music concert despite intense Islamist opposition and the Cabinet's approval last week of a new draft bill granting women full political rights. Many liberals are hopeful that regional and international developments will encourage more hardline Islamist groups to moderate their stance on major issues. Liberals themselves, however, may also have to change their image to appeal to a broader audience. END SUMMARY. (U) ISLAMIST EFFORTS TO CONTROL "IMMORAL" BEHAVIOR -------------- -------------- 2.(SBU) Islamist MPs, spearheaded by hardline Scientific Salafi MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, have threatened to "grill" Information Minister Mohammed Abulhassan, a liberal and the only Shiite in the 16-member Cabinet, for licensing and allowing the hugely popular Arab music concert "Star Academy" (based on a Lebanese reality TV show) to take place in Kuwait earlier this month. Thousands of Kuwaiti young people reportedly attended the concert to the dismay of Islamists, who regarded it as "immoral" and a violation of Shari'a principles. (Note: An unprecedented 20,000 Kuwaiti young people reportedly greeted Kuwaiti Bashar Al-Shatti, Star Academy runner-up, at the airport upon his return to Kuwait recently, surprising even liberal observers. End Note). 3.(SBU) In order to preempt the "grilling" of a third Cabinet minister so far this year, the GOK agreed May 16, as part of a compromise with Islamist MPs, to tighten (or, in most cases, more strictly enforce) regulations governing public concerts. The regulations ban all forms of dancing at public concerts by both audience members and performers, and require "youths" (unaccompanied or single men) to sit separately from "families." (Note: A 1997 Cabinet decision already bans concerts that "contravene" Shari'a and Kuwaiti traditions. End Note). Some hardline Islamists believe these restrictions are not far-reaching enough. They would prefer to ban such concerts altogether; failing that, they have demanded at minimum the complete gender segregation of audience members, a prohibition against female singers performing before men and vice versa, and a ban against women under 21 from attending public concerts without a chaperone. The GOK has insisted that the current regulations, if actively enforced, are sufficient to ensure that concerts comply with Kuwait's traditions. 4.(SBU) Nevertheless, the Fatwa Department of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs issued a (non-binding) fatwa, or religious ruling, May 24 banning all concerts featuring female entertainers. The Fatwa Department has "recommended" that the GOK enforce the ruling. (Note: The fatwa, issued by a department within a government ministry, goes far beyond the compromise solution reached with MPs to more actively enforce already existing restrictions on public concerts. Although the Fatwa Department has no authority to enforce or implement its religious rulings, the issuance of the fatwa represents a victory for hardline Islamists and indicates that debate over the concert issue is far from over. End Note). (U) DEBATE OVER "ISLAMIZATION" -------------- 5.(C) Some Islamists have actively advocated for the "Islamization" of all laws, including the Penal Code. The Constitution says Shari'a is "a main source" of legislation but some Islamists would like to amend this to "the main source." The Higher Advisory Committee on Completion of the Application of Islamic Shari'a Provisions, created by an Amiri Decree in 1991, is tasked with preparing Kuwaiti society for the full implementation of Shari'a in all fields. The committee has completed the text of a proposed new "Shari'a Draft Law" in accordance with its mandate and has submitted it to the GOK for review and consideration. In a meeting with Poloff recently, however, the Secretary General of the Committee, moderate Islamist Dr. Ayoub Al-Ayoub, acknowledged that the GOK, especially Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed, would never tolerate the implementation of Shari'a law in "contentious" areas such as women's rights or the Penal Code, nor would the GOK support any measures that would contradict the "current open environment" in Kuwait. Many Kuwaiti liberals argue that the Shari'a Committee is unnecessary and should be dissolved. (U) LIBERALS DECRY "DANGEROUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST FREEDOM" -------------- -------------- 6.(SBU) Some 500 liberals reportedly participated in a rally at the Kuwait Graduates Society, a well established liberal NGO, on May 17 to protest the new GOK restrictions on public concerts, accusing the GOK of engaging in a "dangerous campaign against freedom." Seven liberal NGOs also reportedly issued a joint statement calling the new restrictions an "attack" on Kuwait's constitution. At an informal evening gathering last week at a well-known liberal household, several attendees told Poloff that Islamist parliamentarians had gone too far this time in trying to advance their political and social agenda, and that most Kuwaitis do not support their actions. The liberal editor-in-chief of the English language daily Arab Times wrote in a scathing editorial on May 19 that "people have woken from the coma induced by Islamic political groups, who use religion as a cover to impose their will on others by telling them what is right and wrong." 7.(SBU) Significantly, 22 MPs, including Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) MPs Dr. Nasser Al-Sane and Dr. Mohammed Al-Bossairi, submitted a petition last week calling for the postponement of the "grilling" of Information Minister Abulhassan. (Note: ICM, which has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, is the most moderate of the three main Islamist political groups here. End Note). They reportedly appealed to three hardline Islamist MPs (Scientific Salafi MPs Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Dr. Awad Barad Al-Enezi, and independent Islamist Dr. Faisal Al-Mislim) to delay the "grilling" in order to give the GOK an opportunity to implement the new concert regulations. Rifts within the Islamic Bloc were already evident before the concert issue when ICM members boycotted a sparsely attended Scientific Salafi-sponsored rally at the National Assembly in April protesting U.S. "genocide" against Sunni Muslims in Fallujah. The ICM's new younger leaders are eager to portray the organization as moderate and progressive (ref A),and the organization has distanced itself in practice from more hardline Islamists on Iraq, women's political rights, and the "grilling" of Abulhassan. (U) NEW LIBERAL ALLIANCE TO CHALLENGE ISLAMIST INFLUENCE -------------- -------------- 8.(C) Various liberal groups established the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in early 2004 (around the same time as the ICM undertook its structural and personnel reorganization) as a loose umbrella organization aimed at unifying liberals and improving their prospects for election to the National Assembly in 2007. NDA has a new board composed of young activists focused on expanding outreach and appeal, particularly to Kuwaiti youth. Khaled Al-Mutairi, a youngish and well-connected lawyer and former Political Advisor to the Minister of Defense, was appointed as the NDA's Secretary General in February. In a candid meeting with Poloffs in April, Al-Mutairi argued that both the Kuwait Democratic Forum (KDF) and the National Democratic Movement (NDM),the two main liberal political groupings in the country, lost seats in the 2003 parliamentary elections because most of their candidates were middle-aged and lacked broad popular appeal. He also attributed the defeat to disunity among liberals, the lack of a coherent agenda, and weak organization compared to Islamist political groups. Al-Mutairi said the NDA is actively working to bring liberals together on key issues such as women's political rights, electoral reform, and economic liberalization. (U) WOMEN'S RIGHTS BILL MAJOR STEP FOR LIBERALS -------------- -- 9.(SBU) The Cabinet's approval May 16 of a new GOK draft bill granting women full political rights (coinciding with the 5th anniversary of the 1999 Amiri decree that granted these rights but was narrowly voted down by the National Assembly) represents a major step for the country's liberals (ref B). The women's political rights issue may now be the cornerstone around which liberal and Islamist political groups wage their battle over the future direction of Kuwaiti society. Since the Cabinet's approval of the bill May 16, liberal NGOs have hosted at least two well-attended seminars on women's political participation, in which influential liberal and opposition MPs have participated: one May 16 sponsored by the Kuwait Writers' Society and one May 23 sponsored jointly by the Women's Cultural and Social Society and the Kuwait Human Rights Society that included a few ultraconservative Islamist attendees. The women's rights bill must be presented to the National Assembly for ratification, but it is unlikely to reach the floor until the 2004-05 session. 10.(SBU) Liberal groups have also been emboldened by the GOK's recent decision to subsume the now independent Faculty of Shari'a within Kuwait University's Faculty of Law, and recent unprecedented Islamist losses in cooperative society elections (Salmiya and Kaifan districts) and in elections to the prestigious U.S. branch of the National Union of Kuwait Students. Two liberal/independent student groups at Kuwait University, "Al-Mustaqilla" and "Democratic Center," reportedly forged an alliance recently in order to counter the traditional dominance of ICM and Salafi groups. 11.(SBU) COMMENT: Many liberals are cautiously optimistic that the GOK may be serious this time in granting women political rights. Given the timing of the bill's announcement on the 5th anniversary of the 1999 Amiri decree, another GOK defeat on this pivotal issue would be deeply embarrassing, especially in light of growing regional and international criticism of Kuwait's lack of progress compared to some Gulf neighbors. Apparent fractures within the Islamic Bloc in parliament and the recent string of liberal victories seem to be energizing liberals to take the offensive against Islamist political and social influence. However, just as the ICM's new younger leaders are trying to appeal to a broader audience by presenting the newly restructured organization as mainstream and progressive, liberal groups may also have to change their image. In this predominantly conservative, tribal, patriarchal society, liberal groups are -- almost by definition -- perceived as parties of irreligion and vice, deviating from the cherished values of the culture. This largely discredits their efforts to promote greater democratic reforms. The less liberals are seen as Western "agents" and the more attachment they show to accepted values, the greater their appeal may be, especially to Kuwaiti youth. URBANCIC