ISLAMIC EXTREMIST HAMAD AL-ALI: GOK CONFUSION ON

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 001308 SIPDIS NOFORN STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, INR, S/CT E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2015 TAGS: PTER PGOV KISL KMDR PINR KU ISLAMISTS SUBJECT: ISLAMIC EXTREMIST HAMAD AL-ALI: GOK CONFUSION ON HOW TO HANDLE A FIREBRAND CLERIC PREACHING VIOLENT JIHAD REF: A. KUWAIT 1076 ¶B. 04 KUWAIT 3544 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Extremist Salafi preacher Hamad Al-Ali continues to preach violent jihad in Kuwait despite GOK attempts to promote tolerance in the society. Al-Ali was recently detained by Kuwait State Security (KSS) for alleged links to two of the January shoot-outs between law enforcement officials and militants. He is due to be either released or criminally charged in the next week. The GOK blocked access to Al-Ali's website in February and banned him from preaching in early March. Before his detention he was actively preaching at his mosque and making anti-U.S. statements, which were published in various media outlets. He routinely shrouds his calls for jihad in poetry and Islamic preaching thus making it more difficult for Kuwaiti authorities to find any criminal wrongdoing. Al-Ali's attorney Mubarak Al-Mutawa told EmbOffs that Al-Ali has never instructed anyone to commit violent jihad against Americans and that the allegations against his client are false. Al-Ali was convicted in 2004 of insulting the Kuwaiti Amir and other Arab leaders, but was able to have his sentence suspended by paying a minimal fine. End Summary. Who Is Hamad Al-Ali? -------------- ¶2. (SBU) "Shaykh" Hamad Abdullah Al-Ali, a Sunni cleric known for his radical Islamic interpretations, is the former Secretary General of the Salafi Movement (al-haraka SIPDIS al-salafiya),a position he held until 2001. (Note: The Salafi Movement, aka the Scientific Salafis, is a hardline offshoot of the conservative Salafi sect of Sunni Islam which is heavily influenced by the Saudi Wahhabi brand of Islam. End Note.) Al-Ali, who holds a PhD from an institution in Tunisia, was also the Imam of Al-Sabahiyya Mosque and a former preacher at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. He was convicted on June 19, 2004, and sentenced to two years in jail for a variety of offenses: criticizing the Kuwaiti Amir's decision to allow foreign military forces to use Kuwaiti territory to launch a war on Iraq, describing Arab leaders as traitors and failures, calling for an unauthorized demonstration in support of Kuwaiti citizens �0A;detained in Guantanamo, and hosting a jihadist website that included links to bomb-making instructions. He paid KD 1,000 (approx. USD 3,400) to have his sentence suspended. Al-Ali is also well known for a March 2004 statement in which he said "it was not necessary for Kuwaitis to go to Iraq for Jihad, rather, Jihad could be carried out just as well in Kuwait." (Note: There is also another extremist-minded Kuwaiti named Hamad Al-Ali. Dr. Hamad Hamad Al-Ali earned a doctorate in Islamic Shari'a from the Islamic University in Medina and is a professor at the Faculty of Shari'a at Kuwait University. He was removed from his position as a preacher at Al-Adasani Mosque and detained by police because he reportedly violated Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs rules and regulations and attacked with religiously-charged condemnation the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Minister and the Kuwaiti judiciary. End Note.) A History Of Spreading the Gospel of Violent Jihad... -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) In April 2002, Hamad Abdullah Al-Ali reportedly proffered a religious ruling which claimed that there are circumstances in which it is permissible to kill civilians in the cause of jihad without violating the Prophet Mohammed's command prohibiting the murder of women and children. He said in time of war that it was permissible to kill all citizens of Israel and vaguely included general populations that are party to anti-Islamic government policies because they pay taxes and participate in elections. Al-Ali also wrote in his book "Guiding Mankind to the Virtues of Jihad in the Rules of Islam," that "jihad is not negated if the ruler refuses to carry its banner, but it is Shari'a that continues until the day of judgment." In a related 2004 sermon after Hamas leader Abdal Aziz Al-Rantisi was killed, he said to mosque worshippers, "we should walk on the path of jihad without looking back. Victory will come soon and the martyrdom of the leaders is evidence that victory is near." ¶4. (U) Al-Ali has also served as a regular Qur'anic expert "Mufti" on IslamOnline.net's "Fatwa Bank" where he dispenses his religious teaching and replies to people who log in with questions on Islam needing "interpretation." In response to an August 2004 internet question asking what Islam says about sending Arab troops to Iraq to support the U.S.-led coalition, Al-Ali responded saying it is against Islam for any troops to "support and help an occupying force." He continued saying support was forbidden "even if the force is formed with the pretense of protecting the UN, because the UN is only an instrument used by the infidel to execute his plans." ¶5. (U) On February 9, 2005 a poem by Al-Ali was published by the Kuwaiti liberal weekly Al-Talia. In it, Al-Ali wrote "the Imam has no other function but jihad and ruling by Shari'a, just as the prince of the armies Abu Mus'ab has beheaded 'the American,' killing them if their evil becomes great, breaking their backbone and aggression. If there are women and children in their ranks leading to suspending jihad against them, shooting is a verdict of obvious preponderance. And we blow up enemies from a distance with mines as mighty volcanoes shredding the enemies into strips of flesh." ...While Clouding His Role in Militant Violence -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) Despite being convicted in 2004 of insulting the Amir and promoting bomb-making, Al-Ali has managed to stay out of serious legal trouble by couching his calls to violence in strict Islamic terms, an approach that Kuwait finds difficult to criminalize. During April 2004, Al-Ali was questioned by public prosecutors investigating allegations that he promoted bomb-making to worshippers at his mosque. One Arabic daily reported that Al-Ali's personal website provided directions for making explosives, however, no directions were found at the site days later. His website, currently shutdown by the GOK, contains religious edicts and information about the Iraq crisis from an anti-American perspective. ¶7. (S/NF) Al-Ali is believed by liberal opponents to be a key facilitator of militant jihadists heading to Iraq but he denies any involvement in such activities. Some detained Kuwaiti militants during interrogation have alleged that they were recruited by Hamad Al-Ali into a terror cell and in the spring of 2004, a Kuwaiti citizen submitted a complaint to Kuwait State Security (KSS) claiming that Al-Ali was the person who recruited his son to fight in Iraq and arranged his son's travel to Syria to enter Iraq. ¶8. (U) Al-Ali denies the presence of an organized terror network in Kuwait and mentioned on his website in early February that he didn't know any of those involved in the January shoot-outs. He also said that their motives were mysterious and called the press coverage of the incidents "spiteful press sensationalism." According to a security source, Al-Ali was placed under surveillance during this period. In February, the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry seized thousands of copies of a provocative religious tract entitled "The Gift of Jihad in the Service of Almighty God." The tract, which included a message on jihad by Al-Ali, had been distributed in several mosques in Al-Ahmadi in rural southeastern Kuwait. ¶9. (S) Like fellow Sunni Islamic extremist Jaber Al-Jalahma, Hamad Al-Ali was contacted by KSS director Shaykh Athbi Al-Fahd Al-Sabah and told to "calm things down," according to an Embassy contact (ref A). Kuwaiti contacts have informed PolOff that Al-Ali, like Al-Jalahma, serves as a routine point of contact for Shaykh Athbi to communicate with extremist elements in Kuwait. (Comment: This relationship, which some contacts are convinced is current and ongoing, suggests that Al-Ali not only has links to militants but is able to exert some control over them. End Comment.) ¶10. (C) A senior member of the ruling Al-Sabah family told PolOff in late 2004 that Hamad Al-Ali plays a significant role in the organization of the spring and summer youth camps, which are known to promote intolerant strains of Islam (ref B). The Al-Sabah family member also claims that Al-Ali remains closely affiliated with the Scientific Salafis and is a key thinker for the group. Detained For "Just Talking" -------------- ¶11. (U) On March 12, Hamad Al-Ali was detained and reportedly interrogated by the public prosecution for allegedly collaborating with suspects involved in two January shoot-outs with security forces. It was later announced that he would be detained for 21 days and it is expected that KSS will either release or charge him in the coming days. Salafi Movement MPs Dr. Walid Al-Tabtabaei and Abdullah Akkash met on March 14 with Attorney General Hamad Al-Othman in an unsuccessful effort to secure Al-Ali's release. The Salafi Movement, surpised at the circumstances of his detention, has expressed public solidarity with Al-Ali and is calling on the National Assembly's Human Rights Committee to verify that Al-Ali is being treated appropriately. The GOK blocked access to Al-Ali's website in February and banned him from preaching in early March. Al-Ali's lawyer, Mubarak Saadoun Al-Mutawa, publicly complained that Al-Ali has not been able to have his attorney present during certain periods of his detention, which according to the Attorney General is in keeping with some secret phases of the investigation. ¶12. (C) In a late-March meeting with EmbOffs, Al-Mutawa said that Al-Ali's sermons and speeches were misused and misrepresented by young people unknown to him in ways he did not intend. He claimed that Al-Ali never fomented violent jihad in Kuwait and that he "just talked" in his lectures and the mosque. Al-Mutawa argued that just because Al-Ali says something does not mean he should be responsible for others should they take action. When asked about the link to bomb-making instructions reported to be on his website in 2004, Al-Mutawa said that "it was a long time ago and it wasn't him." He also said that Al-Ali never directly called for anyone to commit jihad against Americans in Kuwait or anywhere. Instead he explained that Al-Ali's message of jihad was not direct, it was only "hinting." Al-Mutawa said that he is confident that his client is not being tortured and he expects Al-Ali to be found innocent. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON