SPEAKING WITH MUSLIM LEADERS ABOUT TERRORIST ACTS:

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005760

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KISL KPAO PREL PTER JO
SUBJECT: SPEAKING WITH MUSLIM LEADERS ABOUT TERRORIST ACTS:
JORDAN

REF: A. STATE 131453

B. STATE 121757

C. AMMAN 5456

D. AMMAN 5387


1. (SBU) Post continues to deliver ref B points as part of
its regular engagement with the Government of Jordan and
Jordanian religious leaders, underscoring the importance of
countering extremism, terrorism, and incitement to violence
and intolerance. One of our strongest allies on the
counterterrorism front, Jordan has taken a leading role in
the region by publicly denouncing terrorism in Iraq, Israel,
and worldwide, and in devising cooperative strategies to
combat it.


2. (U) Immediately after the July 7 London bombings, King
Abdullah strongly condemned the attacks in remarks that were
widely covered by the local media. "Islam condemns the
killing of innocents and rejects all forms of violence and
terrorism," he said in a statement issued by the Royal Court.
The King also expressed Jordan's "solidarity with the
British people and denounces the criminal acts that killed
dozens and wounded others. Everyone must close ranks and
unite efforts to fight all forms of terrorism, the forces
that support it and those who stand behind it," he added.
King Abdullah later reiterated these points during interviews
with BBC and CNN on July 8 and 9. He told CNN: "It's so
painful" that terrorist crimes, including the London
bombings, are allegedly committed in the name of Islam.
Noting that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, he said
he was relieved that Muslim communities in the UK and the US
had also strongly condemned the attacks that targeted
innocent civilians. The King's comments were featured
prominently in all local papers on July 10.


3. (U) In response to ref A, Charge spoke with King Abdullah
immediately upon his return from Africa on July 17 to urge
him and the GOJ to continue to speak out publicly against
terrorism. The King noted the July 6 communique of the Amman
Islamic conference (see para 6),and said Jordan would
continue to speak out. When asked about the possibility of
further statements by the signatories of the communique, the
King noted that the conference established no permanent
secretariat to coordinate further joint actions, but he

SIPDIS
believed the GOJ could persuade some of them to do so.
Charge is following up with Prince Ghazi, who is managing the
conference process.


4. (U) Jordan regularly and strongly condemns acts of
violence and terrorism in Iraq and in Israel. In part due to
the proximity of Jordan to the events unfolding to its east
and west, reports of suicide attacks and car bombings receive
prominent coverage in the Jordanian press. Likewise, these
attacks are always followed by condemnation from the King and
other leaders in Jordan. For example, after the killing of
Egypt's ambassador to Baghdad, the Jordanian government
strongly condemned the murder as a "heinous crime." DPM
Marwan Muasher told a press conference on July 6 that despite
the attack, Jordan was "determined" to name an ambassador to
Iraq as soon as possible. In a statement carried by Petra,
Jordan's state news agency, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry
condemned the Netanya bombing as a terrorist act that will
only breed more violence. (On July 17, DPM Muasher agreed to
Charge's request for additional statements supportive of Abu
Mazen's efforts to crack down on extremists, and to note that
attacks on Israelis are also attacks on the interests of the
Palestinian people.)


5. (SBU) The three-day Islamic conference in Amman (ref C)
was attended by over 170 religious scholars and clerics,
including representatives from nearly all of the Arab states.
In his opening address to the conference, King Abdullah
called on the attendees to unify the global Muslim community
against threats to its integrity. Among these threats, the
King specifically cited acts of violence, killing, and
terrorism in the name of Islam, as violations of the spirit
of true Islam. Jordan's Foreign Minister, Farouq Qasrawi, in
a meeting with the Charge (ref D) further explored the
opportunity for more U.S.-Jordanian cooperation on promoting
moderate Islam through increased programming at organizations
like the Brookings Institute, which could host conferences
and workshops in this vein. Charge and other emboffs have
also met with other ministerial level and royal family
contacts, all of which echoed Qasrawi's statements on the
importance of the conference and the need to vigilantly press
forward with a message of moderation. The King views his
September trip to the U.S. as a major opportunity to move
forward with this message.


6. (SBU) The conference concluded with a joint statement
(ref B) by the participants to heal the fractures between the
different schools of Islam, and to set rules on the issuance
of religious edicts in an effort to reduce the incidents of
hard-line fatwas being issued by illegitimate "leaders," such
as Zarqawi or Bin Laden. It also endorsed the "Amman
Message," first issued by King Abdullah through Jordan's
chief religious authority Grand Mufti Shaykh Izzeddine Tamimi
to promote Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance. See
ref B for the full text of the statement. Jordan's Minister
of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Salam Abadi, the
coordinator and official spokesperson of the conference told
press after the event that Jordan will exert all possible
efforts towards implementing the recommendations adopted by
the conference through seminars to be held in Islamic
countries and abroad.

7. (SBU) Post continues to meet regularly with local
religious leaders to promote a moderate message and increase
understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, in Jordan and
internationally. For example, post sponsored an
International Visitors Program last year in which Shaykh
Tamimi and other Muslim leaders traveled to the U.S. under
the auspices of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research
Center (JICRC),to meet with American leaders of the three
monotheistic faiths. Post is currently engaging in a
dialogue regarding future proposals of JICRC to organize more
of these exchanges. A group of Shari'a Court judges is
scheduled to travel to the US on a similar exchange program
in September. The Public Affairs Office and Political
Section maintain solid and ongoing relationships with a
number of local civil society and political leaders committed
to interfaith dialogue and tolerance. Charge is also seeing
the Awqaf Minister soon to explore ideas.

Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page.
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