GOB REACTS TO OUTWARD SIGNS OF SHIA ACTIVISM

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000347

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL KIRF BA
SUBJECT: GOB REACTS TO OUTWARD SIGNS OF SHIA ACTIVISM
DURING ASHURA OBSERVANCES

REF: A. MANAMA 344

B. MANAMA 281

C. MANAMA 273

D. MANAMA 270

Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) The GOB has launched a public and private campaign
complaining of Iranian interference in Bahraini affairs and
attempts to sow sectarianism in Bahrain. Interior Minister
Shaikh Rashed said publicly that some people spread hate
messages during mid-February Shia Ashura celebrations by
chanting slogans and hanging posters inciting divisions
within Bahraini society. Bahrain is the only GCC country
that permits widespread public Ashura processions. The means
of celebrating the holiday in Bahrain varied depending on the
participants' school of thought, but those who cut themselves
are a very small minority in the country's Shia community.
The processions allow the Shia to push the envelope of public
expression, and this year in Bahrain the faithful posted
photographs of Khomeini, Khamenei, and even Hizballah SecGen
Nasrallah in greater number and size than in previous years.
The Bahraini government could well be right that Iran is
fomenting activism in the Shia community, but another source
of Shia empowerment and public confidence is undoubtedly the
Shia success in Iraq's elections. The GOB encourages the
participation of all sectors of society in its political
system, but it may not be ready to deal with an increasingly
assertive Shia population. End Summary.

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Beware the Iranian Hand
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2. (S) Echoing public statements by King Hamad February 26
(Ref C) and Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammed and Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs Abdul Ghaffar's private comments to
the Ambassador (Refs A, D),Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa
March 6 publicly vowed to crack down on lawbreakers who
threaten national unity. He was reacting to Minister of
Interior Shaikh Rashed's separate briefings for the Cabinet
and members of Parliament over "violations committed during
Ashura," saying the government will not tolerate sectarian
acts. Shaikh Rashed said some people spread hate messages
during Ashura by chanting slogans and hanging posters calling
for divisions within Bahraini society. The Cabinet issued a
statement condemning acts that harm the "one-family spirit"
reinforced by the King's reform program. Shaikh Mohammed and
Abdul Ghaffar told the Ambassador that during Ashura,
pictures of Khomeini and Khamenei proliferated in Manama and
Shia villages (more and larger than usual, they said). Even
more worrisome, said Abdul Ghaffar, were camps set up
offering ideological training to youth. Calling these camps
"very dangerous," he said that Bahraini authorities found in
the camps Hizballah logos as well as numerous American and
Israeli flags drawn on the ground for people to stomp on.
Shaikh Mohammed told the Ambassador that the government
reacted strongly this time, including with a now-public
protest to the Iranian Ambassador, to nip in the bud this
activity and ensure that it does not become more pronounced
during future Ashuras.

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Long Tradition of Ashura Observances
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3. (SBU) The Shia-observed holiday of Ashura, commemorating
the killing of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein in
Karbala, runs for the first ten days of the Islamic month of
Moharram. The holiday reaches its peak on the 9th and 10th
of Moharram, coinciding with February 18-19 this year. With
some 70 percent of its population Shia Muslim, Bahrain is the
only GCC country that permits widespread public Ashura
celebrations. Bahrain's Shia are proud of their unique
status in the region: one contact boasted that the Shia had
carried out their traditions for centuries before the ruling
(Sunni) Al Khalifa family came to the island.


4. (SBU) Ashura is best known for images of the faithful
marching in processions covered in blood from self-inflicted
sword and knife cuts on their heads and backs (called
"haidar" in Arabic),symbolizing the suffering of Hussein.
While this striking and gruesome scene was visible in
downtown Manama, particularly on the morning of the 10th of
Moharram (February 19),Bahraini Shia note that there is much
more to the holiday than blood-letting. They note that this
year in particular, Shia assembly halls ("ma'tams") in both
the capital and smaller towns and villages organized regular
lectures on the events and personalities surrounding Ashura,
"passion plays" portraying the suffering of Hussein, blood
drives to support local hospitals, and papier-mache
reproductions of Hussein's martyrdom reminiscent of Christmas
nativity scenes. On a vacant lot across the street from the
landmark American Mission Hospital in downtown Manama, Shia
clerics, at least one of Iranian origin, gave lectures in
fluent English to interested foreigners.

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Variety Among Rituals of Procession Participants
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5. (SBU) Although less bloody, the Ashura processions of the
evening of the 9th of Moharram, February 18, were nonetheless
remarkable for their size, variety, and religious fervor.
With the exception of a group of about 10 young men who
struck their backs with swords and knives, the many thousands
who marched did not cut themselves. Organized by ma'tams,
most groups (men-only) walked in rows accompanied by
riderless horses, preachers broadcasting chants via mobile
speaker systems, drums, banners, and the occasional mock
coffin. One group was accompanied by a marching band whose
members wore identical black satin uniforms with gold sashes,
similar to the spectacle of a New Orleans Dixieland jazz
funeral procession.


6. (SBU) The ma'tams are identified by their location in a
particular area of Bahrain or by the ethnic origin of the
members. There are ma'tams for Shia of Bahraini origin,
called "Baharna;" of Persian origin but with Bahraini
citizenship, called "Ajaam" (some of these families have been
in Bahrain for generations but are considered to be
Persians); guest workers from the sub-continent, mostly
Pakistanis; and Saudis from the Eastern Province who can
practice their faith in relative freedom. Each of the groups
performs a particular style of self-flagellation in unison.
Many tap their chests gently with their right hands; others
have complex, dance-like rhythmic movements resulting in a
hard chest smash with both hands; other groups swat their
backs with strands of chain-link attached to wooden handles.
There is some measure of "having fun" and teenage
testosterone-fueled one-upmanship in the enthusiasm some of
the faithful demonstrate. Small groups of what appear to be
brothers, cousins, and best friends urge each other on to
ever higher frenzies of shouting, praying, and pounding.


7. (SBU) The route of the procession is lined with stalls
organized by ma'tams, distributing hot and cold drinks and
food free of charge to any and all present, including
(clearly non-Bahraini) Emboffs. Volunteers at the stalls
went out of their way to make foreigners feel welcome,
personally delivering food and drink to those standing in the
immediate area. They also walked with participants in the
processions for short distances, plying them with
refreshments like spectators passing drinks to marathon
runners. Many women and children watch the processions from
the sides of the street or from windows, adding to the almost
carnival-like atmosphere.

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Public Displays of Shia Luminaries
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8. (SBU) There were numerous photographs, including some
very large ones, of Khomeini and Khamenei along the
procession route in central Manama. Pasted on the walls were
posters featuring the two Iranians as well as Hizballah
SecGen Nasrallah. Although Emboffs did not see any Hizballah
flags, other spectators did. Some posters protested Article
56 of Bahrain's 2002 constitution, which grants a general
amnesty to, among others, security forces personnel accused
by Shia of torturing and killing detainees during strife in
the mid-1990's. These posters displayed photos of the bodies
of those killed in clashes with security forces and while in
detention. A few participants in the processions wore badges
saying "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" in FARSI.

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Shirazis at the Extreme
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9. (C) According to Shia contacts, the various methods of
commemorating the death of Hussein reflect different schools
of thought in the Shia community. Bahrain's Shia follow many
different trends within the Shia sect, including those of
Khomeini/Khamenei, Al Khoei, Fadlallah, Sistani, and Shirazi.
In the late 1980's, Khomeini issued a fatwa saying that
performing haidar, the blood-letting, is "haram," or
religiously unacceptable. He recommended that Shia donate
blood instead. The large majority of Bahrain's Shia still
follow this instruction. However, just two years ago, Grand
Ayatollah Mohammed Shirazi, the (now deceased) leader of the
more radical Shirazi movement, disagreed and issued a fatwa
saying that haidar is religiously acceptable. His fatwa
coincided with the greater political openness in Bahrain
initiated by the King's reform policies, and adherents of the
Shirazi philosophy moved quickly to resume this bloody
practice, which many non-Shirazi Shia view with disgust.


10. (C) The Al Qassab ma'tam in downtown Manama is the
center for Shirazis in Bahrain. It is run by the Al Alawi
family. Minister of Labor and former exiled dissident Majid
Al Alawi is from the same family, but he is not close to the
branch involved in the Al Qassab ma'tam. Our contacts say
that almost all the men performing haidar in the Ashura
processions are members of this ma'tam. One contact claimed
that many of the Saudi Shia who come to Bahrain for the
holidays are members of the Shirazi movement and also cut
themselves in the processions.

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Comment
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11. (C) Bahrain's leadership is becoming increasingly
nervous about and sensitive to overt signs of Shia activism.
The government is particularly incensed with obvious displays
of deference to non-Bahraini religious leaders, many of whom
the GOB considers to be politicians more than they are
clerics (i.e., Khamenei and Nasrallah). While it is Bahraini
policy to encourage full participation in the political
system by all sectors of society, the leadership has not yet
developed a policy to deal with the potential full
empowerment and possible political success of the Shia
community. The source of increased Shia activism inside
Bahrain could be due to Iranian interference, as the
government claims. However, another likely source is the
impact on Shia identity and confidence brought on by the
sweeping Shia electoral victory in Iraq. The GOB wants Shias
to participate in the system, but it may not yet be
comfortable with an increasingly assertive community.
Therefore, the government could be laying down markers --
complaining of Iranian meddling, arresting the administrators
of an opposition website (Ref B),calling for national unity
and threatening those who promote sectarianism -- that it
will permit a Shia renaissance to go only so far.


12. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.

MONROE