SHIITE LEADER SAYS GOK FEARS ISLAMISTS, URGES U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003546

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2014
TAGS: PREL PTER KU IZ IR
SUBJECT: SHIITE LEADER SAYS GOK FEARS ISLAMISTS, URGES U.S.
TO APPROACH IRAN

Classified By: DCM Matthew H. Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: In a recent meeting with Poloff, Shiite
religious cleric Sayed Mohammed Bakr al-Mohri, an outspoken
advocate for Kuwait's Shia population and a vocal critic of
the GOK, lamented that although Kuwait's Shia had recently
made great gains, the GOK was "fearful" of conservative Sunni
elements. Accordingly, the GOK is loath to allow significant
reform. Al-Mohri also shared his thoughts on the situation
in Iraq, and suggested the USG actively engage Iran in an
effort to stabilize Iraq. End Summary.

Gulf States Placation of Sunni Conservatives Dangerous
-------------- --------------


2. (C) The head of Kuwait's Shiite Clerics Association, Sayed
Mohammed Bakr al-Mohri, told Poloff that he was disappointed
with the rebuke he received from Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah
during the latter's much-publicized meeting with newspaper
editors on September 22, following al-Mohri's demands that
the GOK allow the teaching of the Shiite (Jaafari) system of
jurisprudence in Kuwait's schools and universities. Noting
his surprise at the admonition, in which Shaykh Sabah
criticized him for making "sectarian" statements, al-Mohri
said the GOK's public criticism of him reflects the fact that
the government is "fearful of Salafi Islamists." He said
this was just one example of the many ways in which the GOK
was placating Sunni conservative elements in society and
subsequently crippling its own reformist agenda. Another
example of this, he said, was Kuwait's tolerance for a
website belonging to firebrand, anti-U.S. cleric Hamad
al-Ali, which he claimed taught people to make bombs. (Note:
Although Shaykh Sabah stated he would summon al-Mohri to
discuss his demands, the Prime Minister has yet to do so,
which suggests his remarks were only for public consumption.
End Note.)


3. (C) Al-Mohri linked these examples to a larger, "dangerous
trend" in which Gulf Arab Sunnis were increasingly falling
under the sway of mainstream clerics who advocated violence
against nonbelievers, and had even gone so far as to condone
the killing of U.S. civilians in Iraq. Al-Mohri said
extremists were still actively raising funds from Gulf States
for terrorist activities, although the U.S. orchesterated
crackdown on religious charities had reduced the amount of
aid extremists could funnel to terrorist organizations like
Al-Qaeda. Al-Mohri heaped particular scorn on Qatar-based
Egyptian cleric Yousef al-Qaradawi, whom he said has a large
following and routinely "calls for terrorism." He said four
Kuwaiti jihadis who had been returned to Kuwait from Syria
after attempting to cross into Iraq to fight Americans had
been influenced by al-Qaradawi's fatwas.

Shia Making Gains in Kuwait: Motivated By U.S. Attention
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Al-Mohri said the Shia population in Kuwait had
achieved much over the past few years and he is optimistic
that they will continue to do so. Praising the State
Department's Human Rights Report, al-Mohri said knowing that
the United States is taking note of the plight of Kuwaiti
Shia had encouraged him to continue pushing for reforms, even
though the Shia had already made significant gains during the
year. (Note: Shia celebrated Ashoura with a public
reenactment of the battle of Karbala for the first time this
year. In addition, the year saw the establishment of a
Shiite Waqf (endowment) and the approval of numerous
long-standing building permit applications for Shiite mosques
and Husseiniyas. End Note.)


5. (C) Responding to Poloff's query, al-Mohri said that Yaser
al-Habib, a Shiite who had been accused of 'sedition' for
remarks he made on a widely distributed cassette tape, had
fled the country after being erroneously pardoned in late

2003.

Iraq Shiites Appreciate U.S. Liberation
--------------


6. (C) Al-Mohri said the majority of Iraqi Shiites still
follow the teachings of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-SISTANI, whose
moderate views have been instrumental in limiting bloodshed
there. He pointed out that SISTANI had issued a fatwa
prohibiting the bearing of arms against coalition forces.
Al-Mohri also said that Iraq's Shia population is still
grateful to the U.S. for having liberated it from the tyranny
of Saddam Hussein.

Iranian Leaders Seek Stability in Iraq and View U.S. as Key
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Al-Mohri said he meets with the "highest religious
authorities" whenever he visits Iran, up to and including
President Khatami. He said all of these officials stressed
that regional stability was a priority, particularly in Iraq,
where a stable regime would facilitate cross border
pilgrimages to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. That
said, the situation in Iraq was unlikely to stabilize without
the political backing of the U.S., Iran, Syria and Saudi
Arabia. Al-Mohri said he had heard that U.S. officials had
approached Iran seeking Iranian support for stabilization
efforts in Iraq. He urged the U.S. to continue these back
channel approaches. Although he conceded that Iran feels
threatened by the U.S. presence in Iraq, especially in light
of ongoing IAEA investigations into Iranian nuclear
activities, al-Mohri said that even Iran's most conservative
leaders are not as hardline as they once were, and they are
willing to engage in dialogue. (Note: Al-Mohri's comments do
not coincide with open source and other reporting indicating
that Iran is sparing no effort to keep Iraq destabiized. End
Note.)


8. Comment: While al-Mohri may have some legitimate insights
into the thoughts of the Hawza in Iraq and the public views
of leaders in Iran, his claim that he is the voice of Grand
Ayatollah SISTANI in Kuwait is belied by the persistency with
which it is made. Al-Mohri, in his capacity as
self-appointed mouthpiece for the Shiite community in Kuwait,
will nonetheless continue to push the GOK, slowly forcing it
to cede ground on rights previously denied Kuwait's Shiite
minority. End Comment.

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