Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KUWAIT1076
2005-03-15 13:31:00
SECRET
Embassy Kuwait
Cable title:  

EXTREME ISLAMIST JABER AL-JALAHMA SHARES WORLDVIEW

Tags:  PTER PGOV KISL KMDR PINR KU ISLAMISTS 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001076 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI AND S/CT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2015
TAGS: PTER PGOV KISL KMDR PINR KU ISLAMISTS
SUBJECT: EXTREME ISLAMIST JABER AL-JALAHMA SHARES WORLDVIEW
IN RARE INTERVIEW WITH KUWAITI DAILY

REF: A. 04 KUWAIT 1731

B. 04 KUWAIT 1661

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (d)

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001076

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARPI AND S/CT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2015
TAGS: PTER PGOV KISL KMDR PINR KU ISLAMISTS
SUBJECT: EXTREME ISLAMIST JABER AL-JALAHMA SHARES WORLDVIEW
IN RARE INTERVIEW WITH KUWAITI DAILY

REF: A. 04 KUWAIT 1731

B. 04 KUWAIT 1661

Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (d)


1. (U) SUMMARY: Extreme Sunni Islamist Jaber Al-Jalahma, a
frequent subject of questioning by state security officials
for his links to militants and for preaching violent jihad,
granted an unusual and exclusive interview to the Daily Star,
which ran in the March 12 edition of the Kuwaiti
English-language newspaper. During the interview, he spoke
out about the recent shoot-outs in Kuwait between security
forces and terrorists, the incompatibility of Islam and
democracy, his opposition to women's political rights, and
the incendiary provocation caused by the presence of U.S.
military forces in the Gulf. Al-Jalahma, a hardline Islamist
with militant links, was most recently questioned by state
security last summer in a case involving Kuwaiti youths
apprehended in Syria en route to Iraq. END SUMMARY.

"Islam Firmly Against Attacking Any Unarmed Person"
-------------- --------------


2. (U) Hardline Islamist Jaber Al-Jalahma granted an
unusually candid interview to the Daily Star, a Kuwaiti
English-language daily, in early March. According to the
reporter who noted the considerable difficulty in obtaining
the meeting, the interview with Al-Jalahma took place in the
diwaniya of Osama Al-Munawer, a well-known attorney and
defender of Islamists accused of jihad and related
activities. The interviewer described the session as
punctuated by long periods of silence, after which Al-Jalahma
responded to many questions saying, "I do not want to speak
on this issue."


3. (U) Al-Jalahma began by speaking about the recent
shootouts and about the acceptable use of violence.
Al-Jalahma said that the recent violence in Kuwait, in which
four security officers and eight militants were killed, was a
result of "the passion felt by a few young men," and said
that "I am against the way in which these young men chose to
deliver their message." However, he found equal fault with
state security for their alleged physical abuse of prisoners,

and claimed that he had been the victim of torture at their
hands.


4. (U) Islamic scholars and Kuwaitis who have traveled to
wage jihad in Afghanistan should be in charge of looking
after the next generation, Al-Jalahma said. He pointed to
Hamed Al-Ali, an ex-Awqaf employee and former Secretary
General of the Salafi Movement and frequent target of
security interrogations for his alleged role in supporting
jihad, as a fine example for young Kuwaitis. "The involvement
of Hamed Al-Ali in Kuwaiti society is a valve of security for
Kuwait," he said. Al-Jalahma also said that Kuwaiti youths
should not go to Iraq to wage jihad "without the permission
of a Kuwaiti religious scholar."


5. (U) Al-Jalahma parsed his words just as carefully in
discussing the issue of when attacks might be permissible.
"We should differentiate between attacking military and civil
targets, given that the latter is forbidden according to
Islamic teaching. Islam is firmly against attacking any
unarmed person," he said -- even Ariel Sharon, were he to
visit an Islamic country. Al-Jalahma did not comment further
on attacks against military targets, an action implicitly
approved in his statement. (Note: The Kuwaitis killed in
recent incidents and those apprehended in the resulting sweep
were suspected of plotting attacks on military targets such
as convoys. End Note.)

Islam Incompatible With Democracy
--------------


6. (U) Al-Jalahma bluntly stated his belief in the
incompatibility of Islam and democracy. "The democratic
system contradicts Islamic teachings," he said. A democracy
rests power with the public, he said, "while in Islam, the
Sharia (Islamic Law) is the divine source of power."
Al-Jalahma then called into question the participation of
Islamists in Parliament (note: Islamists of various strains
maintain a majority in the body),saying their efforts to
reform the assembly had gotten nowhere, and that their
efforts would therefore be better spent "in humanitarian work
and in spreading Islam."


7. (U) On the issue of women,s political rights, Al-Jalahma
said that it was not permitted on religious grounds, although
Islam does permit women to express their opinions "in an
informal way... indoors." Al-Jalahma said that he suspected
the government,s timing in renewing its push for women,s
suffrage was aimed at pressuring the Islamists and sending
them a message in the wake of the shootouts. Al-Jalahma said
that were women to be granted their rights, "the Islamic
groups will allow the women in their circle to vote, but not
to run for Parliament."
"I Hope The American Forces In Kuwait Will Soon Leave"
-------------- --------------



8. (U) The presence of American "occupiers" in the region and
their conduct is the primary reason for the unrest among Arab
youths, Al-Jalahma said, "especially after they saw the
torture being carried out by American soldiers against Iraqi
citizens." Al-Jalahma characterized the U.S. presence in the
region as "imposing democracy by force and occupying some
Islamic countries," and called it "unacceptable." "I
understand the anger of the Kuwaiti youth that stems from the
American presence, especially as it is accompanied by
countless killings of Muslims in Iraq and Palestine."
An Islamist Espousing Intolerence With Militant Links
-------------- --------------


9. (U) Jaber Al-Jalahma is a prominent Sunni Islamist cleric
with known links to violent extremists, however he rigorously
avoids the public eye and rarely appears in the press. He was
tried in November 2002 for broadcasting propaganda and
praising two extremists, Anas Al-Kandari and Jassem
Al-Hajiri, for shooting and killing a U.S. Marine on October
8, 2002 on Failaka Island. Al-Jalahma was accused of
publicly describing the attack as legitimate and heroic at
the funeral of the two assailants who were also killed during
the attack. Al-Jalahma defended his actions saying that his
message was intended for the grieving families of the two
dead attackers.


10. (S) According to many accounts of his statements at the
funeral, Al-Jalahma said the attack "was a message to us
all," and said the two Kuwaitis "were better than us because
they stood up against infidels bent on usurping our rights."
He was acquitted of all charges in December 2002. The court
ruled that Al-Jalahma had merely expressed his opinion and
did not pose a threat to military preparations to defend
Kuwait. Al-Jalahma later admitted to EmbOff (ref A) that he
had been wrong to praise the Failaka attackers despite still
characterizing their intentions as "righteous." Al-Jalahma
also admitted knowing Usama bin Laden, whom he refers to as
"Shaykh Usama," meeting him in Afghanistan during the Soviet
occupation in the 1980s, where he claims to have provided
only humanitarian aid. Al-Jalahma also claimed to have made
a "deal" with UBL in Kandahar and received a promise that
Al-Qaida would leave Kuwait alone (ref A).


11. (C) In recent years Al-Jalahma has been arrested or
detained in Kuwait and several other Arab countries including
Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the UAE. Yemeni authorities
arrested Al-Jalahma for having "extremist beliefs" in October
2003 while he was trying to depart Sana'a by airplane. In
the summer of 2004, Al-Jalahma was detained in Saudi Arabia
and was eventually transferred to a prison in Riyadh. The
Saudis reportedly held him on suspicion of involvement in
recruiting Kuwaitis to fight coaltion forces in Iraq.
Al-Jalahma was purportedly detained, questioned, and charged
by the Kuwaiti public prosecutor in August 2004 for allegedly
recruiting jihadi fighters for combat in Iraq. It was
reported that Al-Jalahma was handed over to Kuwaiti
authorities by Saudi security officials. He denied the
charges and was released in November 2004 without trial. He
has been a vocal critic of Kuwait State Security (KSS),which
he accused of torturing him and numerous young Kuwaitis,
motivating them to further acts of violence.


12. (C) A well-connected liberal Embassy contact informed
EmbOffs that after the shoot-outs between militants and
security officials in January, KSS director Shaykh Athbi
Al-Fahd Al-Sabah telephoned Al-Jalahma and fellow firebrand
Islamist cleric Hamad Al-Ali to tell them to "calm things
down." It has been asserted by some Embassy contacts that
Shaykh Athbi uses the two extremist clerics as go-betweens to
communicate with Islamic militants.

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