Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05DOHA1856
2005-11-16 14:28:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Doha
Cable title:  

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: THE DISCUSSION THAT DID NOT

Tags:  PHUM PGOV SOCI KISL QA 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 001856 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2015
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI KISL QA
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: THE DISCUSSION THAT DID NOT
TAKE PLACE

REF: DOHA 910

Classified By: Ambassador Chase Untermeyer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 001856

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2015
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI KISL QA
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: THE DISCUSSION THAT DID NOT
TAKE PLACE

REF: DOHA 910

Classified By: Ambassador Chase Untermeyer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) The Amir's decision in May to lease land for the
building of churches (reftel) surfaced in non-Qatari Arab and
western newspapers at the end of October and early November.
At issue was the degree to which the churches would be
welcomed by Qatari society. The fact that it appeared
primarily in the foreign press indicates that the GOQ
considers the issue potentially sensitive. The incident also
illustrated the degree to which the authorities maintain
indirect but effective control of the press in Doha.


2. (C) Contrary to post's expectations, no public
announcement followed the Amir's May decision to allow
churches to be built in Qatar -- a decision that will make
Saudi Arabia the only Gulf state that does not allow this
freedom. The months passed without another word on the matter
until October 20, when the story was carried by the
Associated Press. (The Archbishop of Canterbury had held a
fund-raiser at Lambeth Palace on October 6 for the Qatar
church project, where the A.P. probably picked up on the
story.) The article quoted the Nicosia-based Anglican bishop
and the Qatari lawyer and former Minister of Justice, Najeeb
al-Nuaimi. Al-Nuaimi said that few Qataris would approve of
the decision, that their religious sensibilities would be
"insulted," and that many Qataris were upset by the country's
"westward tilt."


3. (C) The story ran in the UAE-based English-language Gulf
news October 23, and a three-sentence article was published
in one of Doha's English-language papers on October 24. The
story then appeared in an article in the Egyptian weekly "Al
Qahira" on November 1 which included al-Nuaimi's remarks.
Back in Doha, the story appeared in English November 3
without any controversial quotes. The matter did not reach
the Gulf press in Arabic until November 7 when an article was
published in "Al-Siyasia al-Kuwaitiya" reacting to
al-Nuaimi's warnings that the church decision did not have
popular acceptance. The author, the liberal former dean of
Islamic studies at Qatar University, Dr. Abdel Hamid
al-Ansari, had sent his piece to papers in Qatar and the
Gulf, but it was run only by the Kuwaiti paper and in the
UAE; no Qatari paper printed it.


4. (C) Al-Ansari began his article saying, "People will think
there is a dispute going on regarding this issue, while there
is none. Qataris feel no insult in constructing a church in
their country." He followed with the following points:

-- No legislation requires the approval of the Qatari people
for the building of a church.

-- What harm is it to Qataris if churches are built in their
country?

-- Qatar's constitution provides for freedom of religion.

-- Europe and the U.S. allow the building of mosques for
their religious minorities.

-- No objection to the decision was made by Qatar's religious
figures.


5. (C) In a meeting with P/E chief, al-Ansari expressed
frustration that his article was not published in Qatar and
more generally that he is not allowed to reach out to a wide
audience here. He says that he is a supporter of many of the
government's policies, for example in partnering with the
U.S. in national defense. He believes that such policies are
in the best interest of his country -- but he is not allowed
to voice these views widely. By contrast, he said that Dr.
Yousef al-Qaradawi is given free rein to voice his
anti-American views, even though the views do not conform to
Qatari policy. Al-Ansari believes that Qaradawi's popularity
is due in large part to the fact that he has access to a
large audience. He said he could make headway in changing
certain conservative and intolerant views if he were granted
the same support.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


6. (C) Whether Qataris indeed would welcome the churches or
whether the conservative point of view would prevail is not
the key question: It is our view that educated thinkers
accept the idea of churches from several points of view,
including the practical one that 80% of the country's labor
force is foreign. More traditional segments of society might
not like the idea but would fall in line behind the Amir.
Even a Salafi-oriented official charged with facilitating the
churches' licenses befriended the Catholic community's
spokesman and helped speed up the process. Rather, the key
point is that the discussion was not allowed to take place
and average Qataris lost the opportunity to voice their
opinions and develop the feeling that they have a role in
shaping the country. As Dr. al-Ansari knows, the government,
which effectively controls the press, did not allow his
article to appear because it would spark just such a
dialogue.
UNTERMEYER