ISLAMISTS PULL THE PLUG ON TV SHOW DESPITE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000336

SIPDIS

CAIRO FOR ECPO - S. BONDY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2024
TAGS: PGOV PINS KISL BA
SUBJECT: ISLAMISTS PULL THE PLUG ON TV SHOW DESPITE
BUSINESS OUTCRY

REF: 03 MANAMA 2686

Classified By: CDA Robert Ford. Reasons: 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY. In the latest in a string of recent
victories, Bahraini Islamists earlier this month compelled
the Middle East Broadcasting Channel 2 (MBC 2) reality
television show "Big Brother" to halt its production in
Bahrain. The show's production team left Bahrain despite
public support for the production from Bahrain's usually
timorous business community. Businessmen are complaining
about the lack of GOB support for the production, and the 200
jobs that came with it; they complain that the GOB's retreat
on Islamists' social policy demands are damaging Bahrain's
business climate. The production's closure and other
Islamist agitation could hurt Bahrain; one prominent U.S.
company told us earlier this week that Bahrain's political
climate appears less stable than Qatar and the UAE and hence
it is less attractive as a regional base. We cannot explain
the GOB's apparent acquiescence to Sunni Islamist demands
when the King has the political tools to block their
initiatives. Some Bahraini businessmen are beginning to
fight back. END SUMMARY.

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BIG BROTHER GETS GOB BLESSING
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2. (C) On February 21, Saudi owned MBC 2 launched its
Middle Eastern version of the reality show "Big Brother."
Based on the original Dutch show, 12 female and male
contestants were filmed 24 hours per day living in a house.
By group vote these 12 participants would decide whom to kick
out of the house and off the show until only one 'winning
contestant' was left. MBC 2 altered the show's format to
conform to Bahrain's Arab and Islamic culture by segregating
the male and female contestants and having them only interact
in the communal areas. Only after format alterations did the
Minister of Information Nabeel Al Hamer give the go ahead for
the project to be based on Bahrain's tourist island of Amwaj,
according to press reports. (COMMENT: Rumors abound that Al
Hamer was one of Bahrain's leading investors in the project.
END COMMENT.)

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SUNNI ISLAMISTS CHASE BIG BROTHER FROM BAHRAIN
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3. (U) Even with alterations to the show's format,
parliamentary conservatives attacked Minister Al Hamer for
failing to keep his promise to maintain strict Islamic
values. Sunni conservative and Al Minbar Islamiyya (Muslim
Brotherhood) member MP Shaikh Mohammed Khalid proposed that
an investigative committee look into the motives of the
Minister. Along with five others MPs, Salafi leader and
Second Vice Chairman of the Council of Representatives (COR)
MP Adel Al Moawda called for questioning the Information
Minister, the first step towards a vote of no confidence and
removal of a minister from office.


4. (C) According to the press, conservative religious
leaders outside parliament ramped up the rhetoric, declaring
the show "rampant moral depravity." Friday sermons at the
end of February and into early March warned parents of the
show's "dangerous implications" and reprimanded Minister Al
Hamer for failing to keep Bahrain "clean." Sunni
conservatives organized a public protest at which about 1000
protesters attempted to make their way to the filming site.
Smaller protests occurred in downtown Manama and other
locations. MBC 2 announced on March 3 that it was stopping
production in Bahrain and withdrawing its production team.
It laid off 200 workers, including 85 Bahrainis, according to
press reports. The show,s assistant producer told Poloff
last week that the rumor on the set was that the Government
told MBC 2 to halt the production. MBC 2,s public statement
made no reference to Government involvement in the decision
in order to preserve appearances of network freedom, she
alleged. (Comment: We have no confirmation yet from other
sources of GOB involvement in the decision. End Comment.)

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THE GOB'S PRE-EMPTIVE CAPITULATION POLICY
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5. (U) The successful campaign against the TV show is the
latest in a string of recent victories Bahraini Islamists
have gained to enforce more conservative social norms in
Bahrain. In December 2002, the Commerce Minister severely
restricted alcohol sales in response to press from the
Islamist block in the elected chamber of the Parliament (the
Islamists are the largest block with 17 of the 40
representatives). In June 2003, conservatives were
successful in passing a bill through the COR to ban the sale
of alcohol to Muslims. (The Parliament's upper chamber, the
Shura Council never acted on the legislation, thus blocking
its passage into law.) In the following month, the King
allowed fully-veiled women to drive, despite the Shura
Council's overwhelming rejection of a COR sponsored bill
authorizing the same. According to the press, the royal
decision followed a private meeting between the King and
Salafi leader Al Moawda. The GOB has also aggressively
closed hotels and clubs for allegedly violating GOB
limitations on alcohol sales and entertainment.

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BUSINESS COMMUNITY PROTESTS FIZZLE
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6. (U) Angered by the cancellation of the show, prominent
businessman and Big Brother investor Farouq Al-Moayed
lambasted the six conservative members of Parliament for
demanding the cancellation of the show. He remarked to the
press that the debate about the show will have a negative
impact on foreign investment. Along these lines, an American
oil company executive visiting the Gulf told RSO on March 8
that American firms operating in the region have started to
notice the Islamist protests and restrictive social policy
initiatives. They compare this agitation with the quiet in
places like Qatar and the UAE, he commented. Bahrain does
not fare well in this comparison, he concluded, and no
American firms are likely to choose to put a new regional
base in Bahrain instead of a country judged quote more stable
end quote.


7. (C) Commenting on the negative effect the Islamists have
inflicted on Bahrain's economy, dynamic young business leader
Sofyan Al-Moayed asserted to Poloff March 7 that tourism is
down 40 percent over last year's levels. Chairman of the
Bahrain Businesswomen's Society Afnan Al Zayani (Information
Minister al-Hamer's wife) told PolOff on March 7 that in 2001
and 2002 hotels were at 106 percent occupancy. However for
New Year's 2003 and Eid holidays, hotels were only 30 percent
occupied. Another leading businessman described the 2004 Eid
al-Adha holiday to us as a "business disaster."


8. (C) Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry board
member Jawad Habib Jawad asserted that hotel occupancy is
tied to alcohol consumption, which is way down. An American
Express executive confirmed this impression to P/E Chief on
March 7. He said that GCC tourists who used to come to
Bahrain are now filling Dubai's and Doha's hotels. Another
prominent American businessman complained that Bahrain's
clubs are now serving liquor in teapots, just like in Kuwait.
A Microsoft executive quipped that because of the limited
availability of alcohol, entertainment companies are
importing more prostitutes into Bahrain.


9. (C) Leading businessman Abdul Hammed Kooheji commented
angrily to PolOff on March 8 that the GOB is allowing
Islamists to run the country, and they are running it into
the ground. He added that the Islamists will attack
businessmen personally as well as their companies. Thus, he
lamented, there is little the business community can do to
fight the conservatives. Bahrain Businessmen's Association
President Khaled al-Moayed told us March 6 that while Bahrain
is negotiating a FTA to encourage more foreign investment
from the U.S. and other countries, conservative Islamists are
threatening Bahrain's reputation as a relatively open,
moderate society hospitable to a variety of cultures. When
PolOff asked members of the Bahrain's Businessmen's
Association why there are so few businessmen active in
politics, Khalid Al-Moayed answered that the business
community is too fearful to cross the Islamists, who in turn
are too ignorant to make intelligent policy decisions. So
far, Al-Moayed said, the business community is too dignified
to run for parliamentary office to confront the Islamist
parliamentary bloc through the ballot box. Separately,
Khalid's son, Sofyan al-Moayed, told us March 7 that few
Bahraini businessmen would confront the Islamists for fear
the Islamists would organize a boycott of their Bahraini
companies. The Islamists are large and dangerous, he
observed.

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COMMENT
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10. (C) We do not sense in any way that stability in
Bahrain is under threat, but we do sense much greater
Islamist assertiveness - a conclusion underlined to us by
Central Bank Governor Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed last week as
well. Emboldened by the GOB's decision not to confront their
social initiatives, Bahrain's Islamists have begun
articulating an even more ambitious agenda, calling for the
segregation of cinemas, the censorship of films, and the
banning of alcohol sales. They are on record in support of
segregating men and women at the University of Bahrain. We
are uncertain why the King continues to retreat in the face
of Sunni Islamist pressure. He could easily rely on the more
liberal-minded Shura Council and the cabinet to block Sunni
Islamist legislative initiatives. Regardless, the outcry
from the business community against the pressure on MBC 2's
TV show is the first time anyone in Bahrain's society has
criticized the impact of Islamist "reforms" directly. Shura
Council member and Amwaj Properties General Manager Jameel
al-Matrouk told P/E Chief on March 9 that he is planning a
major anti-Islamist media blitz for next week. Big Brother
has left Bahrain, but its departure may have awakened
Bahrain's business community to the challenge posed by the
Sunni Islamist political agenda. END COMMENT.
FORD