UAE IMAMS DENOUNCE TERROR, EXTREMISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 003161

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARPI, AND NEA/PD
ALSO FOR IIP COORDINATOR ALEX FELDMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2015
TAGS: PREL KISL KPAO PTER TC
SUBJECT: UAE IMAMS DENOUNCE TERROR, EXTREMISM

REF: A. STATE 131453


B. STATE 121757

Classified By: AMBASSADOR MICHELE J. SISON, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: In response to the July 7 terror attacks in
London and the continuing violence in Iraq, the UAEG has
stepped up its efforts to denounce terrorist violence. The
UAEG's latest push has included a public campaign with
unequivocal condemnations of extremism in government-approved
Friday sermons broadcast on national television and covered
in the Arabic and English print media, which includes
statements such as, "what do we gain by killing a Muslim like
the Egyptian Ambassador in Iraq, an act deemed unlawful and
forbidden by the Prophet Mohammed, or by kidnapping
journalists, workers, truck drivers, and medical staff who
are videotaped while slain like sheep? Is it ordained by
Islam? Never." The UAE has been an outspoken critic of
terrorism since well before 9/11, and the current crop of
younger leaders who succeeded the late Sheikh Zayed has every
intention of combating local extremism, whether it manifests
itself in the schools, the mosques, or elsewhere. In a 16
July meeting, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed told
us that the UAE would soon take the additional step of
splitting the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs into
two ministries, in order to guarantee that sufficient
resources are devoted to ensuring that moderate Islam is
preached and taught in UAE mosques and schools. An Action
Request for IIP and NEA/PD is contained in para 12. End
Summary.

Friday Sermon: "Warning Against Terrorism"
--------------


2. (C) On Friday, July 15, preachers in the UAE's 1,500 Sunni
and Shi'a mosques were directed by the UAEG to read verbatim
from a sermon approved by the Ministry of Justice and Islamic
Affairs condemning acts of terror. As is customary, the
sermon was aired live nationwide on Abu Dhabi TV, but it was
unusual to see excerpts of the sermon published in both the
Arabic and English press the following day. At a July 16
meeting, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
(MbZ) told Ambassador and visiting DEA Administrator Karen
Tandy that he had personally met with 10 senior imams before
the Friday sermon in order to gain their support for this
bold statement. MbZ said that the Ministry of Justice and
Islamic Affairs had monitored approximately 30 percent of the
mosques across the country and that 90 percent of those
preachers had delivered the pre-approved sermon condemning
terrorism "verbatim." Although his office was still
compiling reactions, MbZ had only heard of one negative
response from an individual in the Emirate of Fujairah.


3. (C) MbZ said that the UAEG,s campaign against extremist
ideology would not stop with toughly worded sermons. He
noted that the UAE would soon announce the split-up of the
Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs into two ministries.
This move will allow Islamic Affairs Ministry officials to
better focus on monitoring and guiding Islamic teachings in
UAE schools and mosques. MbZ had told us earlier that the
UAE is no longer encouraging Pakistani, Saudi or Egyptian
professors of religion to come to the UAE, preferring instead
to recruit moderate Moroccan and Tunisian scholars.
According to MbZ, approximately 70 percent of the imams in
the UAE are foreign, and only 30 percent are UAE citizens.


4. (U) Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Al Dhaheri told
Arabic daily "Al Khaleej" July 18 that the sermon, entitled
"Warning Against Terrorism," was part of a "national
strategy" to eliminate terrorism. The sermon stated that
"Muslims are currently plagued with feeble-minded sects who,
like Bin Laden, Al Zawahiri, and Al Zarqawi, lost their way
and fell under the illusion that they are doing the right
thing. Though inadequately enlightened (with the teachings
of Islam),they sought absolute power, turning things upside
down falsely in the name of Islam."


5. (U) The sermon raised several rhetorical questions. "So,
how does it help Islam when civilians are slaughtered in
Iraq, Afghanistan, New York, Madrid, Bali, Casablanca,
Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and lately in London, by a
handful of criminal killers falsely belonging to Islam? What
do we gain by killing a Muslim like the Egyptian Ambassador
in Iraq, an act deemed unlawful and forbidden by the Prophet
Mohammed, or by kidnapping journalists, workers, truck
drivers, and medical staff who are videotaped while slain
like sheep? Is it ordained by Islam? Never. ... The Prophet
Mohammed spoke of a woman who would be punished in hell for
having a cat locked up without food, or even for not freeing
the cat so it could feed itself. So, how about killing
peaceful, unarmed civilians the way they do on the TV today?
So, we feel it is our duty to condemn criminal sinful acts of
murder, of destroying civilization and property, of
instilling fear in the name of Islam and the Muslim cause.
What do they want Islam to be like when it is already known
as a message of mercy, peace, and justice for all mankind?
Is this the proper way to serve it and attain Muslim rights?
Don,t they realize what they have done by such treacherous
acts? They turned the whole world against us until Islam and
terror became, unjustly, synonymous. ... So, we say it loud
and clear that he who kills the innocent is no Muslim. It is
quite strange to hear these criminals justify their acts as
'jihad' and position themselves as judges and rulers. ...
Every now and then we are taken by newcomers appointing
themselves as emirs who find support among the illiterate.
... We condemn all acts of aggression and terror, practiced,
unjustly, in the name of Islam against Muslims and
non-Muslims. Islam, in fact, warned strongly against this
sect, and the Prophet Mohammed said: 'It is unlawful for
Muslims to kill or steal from one another. It is totally
unfair for a Muslim to despise his Muslim brother. This
means that every Muslim is accountable before God to observe
others' peace and to do his best to defend his Muslim
brother."


6. (C) MbZ's director for international affairs, Yousef Al
Otaiba, who had alerted the Ambassador the night before the
sermon to the fact that the UAEG would publicly express its
opposition to extremist-inspired terror, asked that Embassy
take note of the sermon and public reaction to it. Al Otaiba
also said that the government wanted to make clear that
extremist ideology would not be accepted or condoned in the
UAE. "People have to understand that the security of the UAE
is the most important thing. It is even more important than
religion," he said. Other government officials also appeared
to be very proud of this measure and noted that they were
"the only country" in the region to condemn publicly and
swiftly the attacks in London. A number of our UAEG contacts
emphasized that they wanted to ensure that the USG was aware
of the contents of the sermon.

Sheikh Saif, Sheikh Tahnoun on Moderate Islam
--------------


7. (C) During a July 9 meeting, Abu Dhabi Ruler's
Representative for the Eastern Region and elder Al Nahyan
ruling family member Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan,
told the Ambassador of the UAEG's determination to stamp out
extremism. Clerics and teachers needed to be counseled,
regardless of their nationality, he said. (After 9/11,
Tahnoun played a role in the retirement of some UAE
University scholars with pay and the UAEG's decision to order
other persons to stop teaching and preaching due to their
extremist views. Some Pakistani imams were deported.)


8. (C) The Ambassador also used a July 16 meeting with
Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, a member of Abu
Dhabi's Al Nahyan ruling family and the federal Cabinet, to
praise the sermon. Sheikh Saif said that the UAEG has been
very focused on the issue of terrorism for some time. He
recalled that the late President (his father, Sheikh Zayed)
had gathered Muslim scholars during the month of Ramadan and
urged them to preach about moderation. After 9/11, Sheikh
Zayed told Muslim scholars that what had happened in the U.S.
was the killing of innocents. He asked rhetorically, "What
would you call these men? Muslims or criminals?" Sheikh
Saif added, "If someone killed your wife or child, and if I
gave that person refuge, what does that say about me?" The
UAEG's decision to authorize a sermon condemning terrorism
and violence in the name of religion stems from its belief
that a government has the responsibility to criticize what is
wrong and provide guidance to the public, Sheikh Saif said.
Sheikh Zayed would have been pleased with this sermon, he
added. The July 15 sermon echoed what was said at the
October 2004 international conference on Islam sponsored by
the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs in Abu Dhabi,
when clerics from the UAE and other nations exhorted
preachers to adhere to sermons with moderate themes. The
UAEG expected that the themes of moderation and reform of
Islamic studies curriculum would be recurring themes in
future Ramadan conferences, Saif noted.


9. (C) Comment: The split-up of the Ministry of Justice and
Islamic Affairs into two distinct ministries is significant
in that it would allow a newly constituted Ministry of
Islamic Affairs to devote more attention to the training of
moderate-thinking imams, and the crafting and monitoring of
sermons with a moderate political and social tone. Dr.
Mohammed Sulaiman, the Ministry's senior religious scholar,
told "Al Ittihad" newspaper July 16 that Islam is a religion
of moderation, love, and peace, adding that any Muslim who
has been taught correctly will not commit any of these
terrorist crimes. The split-up of the Ministry would also
allow greater focus on the implementation of reform of the
Islamic Studies curriculum in the secondary schools within
the next two years. The Ministry of Education implemented a
new Islamic Studies syllabus at the primary school level in
2005 with input from the Ministry of Justice and Islamic
Affairs. (Septel to comment on possible impact of this split
on our draft Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and other
judicial cooperation matters.) End Comment.


10. (C) Action request for IIP and NEA/PD: We would
appreciate inclusion of the July 15 sermon quotations in
IIP's Infocentral "Quotes from moderate Islam" section.
SISON