Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05AMMAN9319
2005-12-01 13:04:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

JORDAN SEEKS US SUPPORT IN ADVANCE OF OIC SUMMIT

Tags:  KISL PREL PTER SA QA JO 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 009319 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2015
TAGS: KISL PREL PTER SA QA JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN SEEKS US SUPPORT IN ADVANCE OF OIC SUMMIT

REF: AMMAN 4991

Classified By: Ambassador David Hale, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 009319

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2015
TAGS: KISL PREL PTER SA QA JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN SEEKS US SUPPORT IN ADVANCE OF OIC SUMMIT

REF: AMMAN 4991

Classified By: Ambassador David Hale, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) King Abdullah II and Jordanian Foreign Minister
Abdulillah Al Khatib separately briefed Ambassador December 1
on GOJ efforts to prepare for the December 7-8 summit in
Mecca of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Khatib explained that the GOJ is working for a final
communiqu from the meeting that incorporates the conclusions
of the July 2005 Islamic conference in Amman (reftel) in
three points:

--a robust condemnation of takfir as practiced by
revolutionary salafists;

--an agreement that each of the principal schools of Islamic
jurisprudence will limit to the senior-most levels of its
institutions the authority to issue fatwas, and that only
fatwas vetted at those levels will be deemed legitimate, and;

--a strong endorsement of mutual recognition among the
principal schools of jurisprudence.


2. (C) The Jordanians identified Egyptians, Palestinians,
Turks and Emiratis as supporters of this agenda. They
expressed worry, however, about the Saudis (especially on the
takfir clause) and the Qataris.


3. (C) Recognizing that U.S. leverage on internal Islamic
religious issues like these is limited and would need to be
exercised with discretion, the King and FM nevertheless asked
that the USG seek opportunities to persuade the Saudis and
Qataris to support, or at least not actively oppose,
inclusion of these three elements in the communique, and that
efforts with governments would be especially helpful.


4. (C) Comment: King Abdullah has devoted considerable
effort throughout the Islamic world over the past year to a
campaign to promote the &Amman Message8 of November, 2004,
on moderate Islam. But those efforts have not gone
unchallenged by others, perhaps for less-than-substantive
reasons in some cases. The King,s coordinator for this
agenda, his cousin Prince Ghazi, told us this week during
APHSCT Townsend,s visit that the &Amman8 label of the
Amman Message &is meeting resistance8 in some OIC quarters
more than the &Message8 itself. The King, however, noted
that it is no surprise that the two Wahabi nations are trying
to water down OIC endorsement of the key points of the Amman
Message.
HALE