RELIGIOUS GUIDANCE CONFERENCE CALLS FOR MODERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001690

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2014
TAGS: PHUM PTER PREL PGOV PINR KISL YM COUNTER TERRORISM HUMAN RIGHTS
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS GUIDANCE CONFERENCE CALLS FOR MODERATION

REF: SANAA 359

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Nabeel Khoury
for reasons 1.5 (b and d)


1. (U) Summary: After several delays (reftel),Sanaa was
the venue for a significant religious gathering June 20-24,
the "Mutamar al-Irshad al-Awal" (First Guidance Conference),
which brought together Muslim clerics, scholars, and
ministers of religious affairs from Arab and Muslim states.
The main purpose of the conference was to promote the
moderate and tolerant aspects of Islam and to disassociate it
from ideas of extremism and terrorism. The ROYG Prime
Minister Ba Jammal addressed the participants at the opening
session, while President Saleh addressed them upon receiving
them at his palace. The conference made a number of
recommendations at its conclusion (see para 6),demanding,
among other things, the convening of an international
conference to define the phenomenon of terrorism, its causes,
and means of tackling it. ROYG Deputy Minister of Awqaf
(Endowments) and Guidance presented a booklet titled
"Terrorism: Its Threats and Means of Combating It" (see para
7). End Summary.

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Conference Proceedings
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2. (U) More than 270 Muslim clerics, thinkers and some
ministers from the Arab and Muslim world attended the
four-day conference (June 20 - 24),which was organized by
the ROYG Ministry of Awqaf and Guidance after several delays
because of regional developments (reftel). Speeches
delivered at the opening session by prominent figures, such
as the Chairman of Al-Azahar University, Sheikh Tantawi and
the Sudanese Minister of Awqaf and Guidance, called for
underscoring the true teachings of Islam that are based on
tolerance and acceptance of the other. The two scholars also
criticized extremist ideas and acts of violence that are
carried out in the name of Islam and asserted that these acts
are alien to Islam and that Islam totally rejects them. The
Al-Azahar Chief, at one point, harshly attacked the acts of
beheading (without specifically mentioning AmCit Paul
Johnson, whose beheading took place in the same week) and
said these acts fatally defame Islam and Muslims.


3. (U) Over the course of the conference, topics discussed
included the unity of the nation and ways of achieving it;
crisis of contemporary thought and the inevitability of
modernization; missionary work and Islamic thought;
regulations of recompense in Islam; and differentiation
between the concept of terrorism and the legitimate struggle
(see para 6).


4. (U) According to the GPC ruling party weekly newspaper May
22, during one session, Sheikh Abdul-Majeed al-Zindani, the
Head of the Shura Council of the opposition Islah Party and
Chairman of al-Iman University, expressed his reservations
regarding the condemnation of terrorism. Zindani explained:
"Terrorism is using weapons beyond the Shari'a and the law,
but using weapons within the framework of the Sharia and the
law is not considered an act of terrorism."

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President Saleh,s Remarks
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5. (U) Hosting the participants at his palace, President
Saleh lectured them on the effects of what he said was a
misinterpretation of Islamic teachings. He harshly attacked
those Ulema (Muslim clerics) who mobilized Muslim youth
wrongly and said the foreign intervention in the affairs of
Islamic world is a result of this wrong education. According
to government daily al-Thawra newspaper, President Saleh said
"the support that was rendered at certain periods to the
extremist schools was to confront the expansion of communism
in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East region. However,
peoples are paying the price." He also said that "when we
notified the young men that their ideas were wrong, they told
us why didn't we ask the ulema or clerics who taught them and
that they were only victims."

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Conference Recommendations
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6. (U) The conference came up with the following main
recommendations:

-- Adoption of a scientific method to define the phenomenon
of terrorism, its causes and ways of dealing with it through
an international conference that will differentiate between
terrorism and the rights of peoples to resist occupation;

-- Rebuff of terrorism in all its forms for the threats it
brought to the world in general and the Muslim world in
particular;

-- The need for adopting perceptive guidance based on the
Quranic evidence, clarification, and persuasiveness in
spreading Islamic religion;

-- Consolidation of human rights awareness that has been
conveyed by Islam and the need for giving attention to
women,s rights and issues;

-- The need for a rejuvenation of Islamic thoughts.

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Deputy Minister of Awqaf and Guidance Paper On Terrorism
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7. (U) Post received a booklet written by Sheikh Yahya Ahmed
al-Najjar, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and
Guidance called "Terrorism: Its Threats & Means of Combating
It" published by the Ministry. Post will pouch both the full
text Arabic original and the 15-page English translation done
by Post to the desk. Intended to promote moderation and
combat terrorism, the five-part paper covers the following
topics:

-- Part One attempts to define terror and terrorism from
several sources, including the Quran, Arab language
dictionaries, academic analysis, English encyclopedias and
dictionaries, the Arab League and the United Nations;

-- Part Two describes the characteristics of terrorism and
its motives, using five different terrorist acts (including,
for example, Oklahoma City and 1995 Khobar Towers) to draw
conclusions;

-- Part Three describes why terrorism is bad, i.e., the
threats of terrorism on religious, political, economic and
security in the Muslim and Arab world;

-- Part Four covers Islam's position on terrorism, including
historical descriptions of war in Islam, quotes from Shari'a
and the Quran and detailing seven specific human rights
afforded by Islam;

-- Part Five outlines the means of combating terrorism,
including listing the treatment of political, economic and
social problems necessary, detailing specific suggestions on
how to combat it and providing six guiding principles for the
role of preachers and religious institutions.

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Comment
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8. (C) This conference is part of efforts by the ROYG to
promote its brand of reform and moderation through the
convening of international conferences, such as the January
2004 conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Role of
the International Criminal Court. While it remains to be
seen whether there is additional practical follow up, the
ROYG has been engaged since before 9/11 in promoting
moderation in religious schools. Recently the ROYG also
announced it will be closing unlicensed religious schools and
that schools may not deviate from a government-approved
curriculum (septel). End Comment.
HULL