MUHAMMAD BAHR AL-ULUM DECRIES US "BA'THIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 002506

SIPDIS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2025
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: MUHAMMAD BAHR AL-ULUM DECRIES US "BA'THIST
IMPOSITION", DETAILS ISLAMIST CONCEPT OF DEMOCRACY


Classified By: A/PolCouns Henry S. Ensher. Reasons 1.4
(B) and (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Leading Islamic cleric and founding
Da'wa party member Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum told Poloff
the US was "deserting the Shia" and attempting to
bring Ba'thists back to power--comments we have heard
recently from other Shia interlocutors. Al-Ulum was
especially incensed over an article in a leading Iraqi
newspaper claiming how the US is working with the UN
to secure an agreement with the resistance and return
Ba'thists. We will seek to correct this perception.
Al-Ulum also detailed the Islamic parties' evolution
from denouncement to acceptance of democracy because
they came to see democracy as a route to power. Al-
Ulum made a distinction between Islamist "acceptance"
of democracy versus their "belief" in and true
understanding/respect for the system and concepts.
Bahr al-Ulum has written extensively on the subject
and is regarded as a leading Iraqi "liberal Islamist".
END SUMMARY.


2. (C/NF) Former Governing Council member, founding
Da'wa party member, and leading Islamic cleric/writer
Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum met with PolOff on June 12 at
his residence. Bahr al-Ulum expressed grave concerns
about the Transitional National Assembly's ability to
forge a constitution that satisfies all Iraqi
factions, especially given the excessive demands from
Kurds and Sunnis, he said. Sunnis were emboldened by
clause 61c in the Transitional Administrative Law
(TAL) that allows three provinces to veto the
constitution, if each votes to do so by two-thirds.


3. (C/NF) Al-Ulum said the Kurds are trying to impose
their ethnicity on the rest of the country by pressing
for the Kurdish language to be one of Iraq's official
languages, as it is in the TAL. Kurdish should only
be official in the North.

--------------
Bahr al-Ulum Believes USG Intent on Returning
Ba'thists
--------------


4. (C/NF) Bahr al-Ulum became visibly agitated as he
brought up the topic of Sunni/Ba'thist participation
in the constitution and what he said was US support to
bring them back to power. Bahr al-Ulum angrily
pointed to the headline article of that day's Azzaman
newspaper: "Brahimi and US Embassy Have Secret Plan
to Restore Ba'thists." Al-Ulum criticized the US
position towards Shia--"the children of mass graves"--
who had suffered so much during the former regime and
had been killed by Sunni extremists since the fall of
the regime and yet have only shown restraint. Al-Ulum
accused the US of imposing the 25 names submitted to
the constitutional committee, 10-15 of whom, he said,
were high-level Ba'thists including the former
Minister of Justice Munthir al-Shawy and former Office
Manager for Saddam Hussayn Akram al-Witri. Al-Ulum
warned that the US policy is driving the Shia further
and further into the hands of Iran, which is not good
for the US or Iraq.


5. (C/NF) PolOff pushed back, noting that the US has
suggested no names to the constitutional committee and
has stated that 25 Sunni additions to the
Constitutional Committee would be unacceptable to
other communities. PolOff added that US policy is
aimed at providing non-violent access to the political
process for all Iraqi communities. Bahr al-Ulum and
his aides urged that the USG do more to publicize this
position.

-------------- --------------
Bahr al-Ulum Discusses Islamic Parties' Concept of
Democracy
-------------- --------------


6. (C/NF) A leading Shia Islamic thinker and
proponent of liberal Islamism, as well as one of the
founding members of the Da'wa party, Bahr al-Ulum
detailed to PolOff his view of Islamist parties'
evolution from denouncement to acceptance of
democracy.

--DEMOCRACY AND ISLAM COMPATIBLE. Iraqi Shia Islamic
parties, including Da'wa, at first rejected democracy
because they lacked a clear understanding of the term.
Democracy was viewed as a foreign, Western, even
heathen, concept--created by the "Godless Greeks" as a
system of people self-government in contrast to a
divine government. During the turbulent years of
upheaval in Iraqi politics and the decline of the
clerical class in the early 1960s, Bahr al-Ulum and
his colleagues studied various governing systems to
redress the exclusion and suffering Shia were
experiencing. Through his study of democracy, he
noted the similarity of democratic and Islamic
concepts, such as shura (consultation) and rule of
law.

--MEANS FOR SHIA TO GAIN POWER. Just as important as
the compatibility of Islam and democracy, al-Ulum saw
democracy as a means for Shia to gain power through
the majority. During the 1970's in Iraq, many Da'wa
factions and other Islamic parties started opening up
their thought to democratic principles in part because
of this realization.

--"MEANING OF DEMOCRACY" ANECDOTES. AL-Ulum used
examples to explain his view of democracy. "I do not
believe it is right to dance, but if we are out at a
gathering, you can dance and I will not. Each one can
express what he believes is right." Al-Ulum also told
a story of one of the Shia's most revered figures,
Imam Ali, that illustrates there is a similar concept
in Islam to the democratic view that all are equal
before the law.

--"ACCEPTANCE VERSUS BELIEF" IN DEMOCRACY. Bahr al-
Ulum was careful to distinguish between the Islamic
parties' "acceptance" of democracy as a means to
ascend to power versus a system in which they truly
believe. Al-Ulum acknowledged that he himself does
not know if the parties truly understand the concepts
or believe in them. However, al-Ulum opined that the
Islamist parties would increasingly take ownership of
and imbibe democratic principles through their ever-
increasing exposure of it. Al-Ulum said the parties
have had a taste of democracy and proclaim they
support it and would be viewed by the people as "two-
faced" if they backtracked from this position. Al-
Ulum, however, noted that there are still widely
diverging opinions on democracy within the Da'wa party
itself and even more so within other Islamic parties.


7. (C/NF) Comment: Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum's
accusation that the US is turning away from the Shia
and seeking to impose Ba'thists, although delivered in
a more agitated manner than our other Shia
interlocutors, echoes the consternation we hear from
them over the unfounded allegations that Sunni
outreach really means a Ba'ath restoration. As we
continue efforts to achieve acceptable representation
for all communities, we will have to continue to
clarify and explain our views to prevent this type of
misunderstanding that draws from the history of
repression experienced by Iraqi Shia. Bahr al-Ulum's
insights on the evolution of Islamic parties' views on
democracy and the remaining ambivalence towards the
term--other than an expedient way to gain power--helps
explain the contradictory writings of the Da'wa and
other Islamists' views on democracy.


8. (C/NF) Bio Notes: Bahr al-Ulum left the Da'wa
party in 1960 because he said he preferred to be a
religious rather than political leader. Al-Ulum said
he was very close to Grand Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim
during his time in Iraq. Al-Ulum lent support from
1960-1969 to political movements that opposed the
Ba'th party even though he himself was no longer a
member of any party. Al-Ulum claimed he worked with
all parties except the communists and Ba'thists
because he refused to work with parties with Iraqi
blood on their hands. In 1969, the Ba'th regime
sentenced him to death and he fled the country, first
hiding out in Egypt, Kuwait, and Iran before he
finally settled in London in 1970. He lived in London
until the fall of the regime, during which time al-
Ulum frequently lectured at London universities on
Islam and democracy. Bahr al-Ulum began writing his
Islamic political treatises in 1961. Al-Ulum
recounted that while he traveled frequently to Iran
during his time in London for work in the opposition,
he is the least pro-Iran of the Islamic leaders. He
was called the "American" Bahr al-Ulum because of his
defense of liberal democratic ideals.


9. (U) REO BASRA, REO MOSUL, and REO
KIRKUK, minimize considered.


Jeffrey