UAE SHI'A AND THEIR LOYALTIES

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 001471

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL, INR, NEA/ARP AND NEA/IR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2016
TAGS: PHUM KISL PREL PINR IR AE
SUBJECT: UAE SHI'A AND THEIR LOYALTIES

REF: A. 05 ABU DHABI 5078

B. 05 ABU DHABI 2815

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Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: With rising international tension over Iran's
quest for nuclear power, and persistent reports of Iranian
influence in Iraq's internal affairs, the UAE's Shi'a
minority have been doing a lot of soul-searching, according
to sect members and their acquaintances. While we have heard
no official concern that the indigenous Shi'a community poses
a security risk, there are anecdotes suggesting Emirati Shi'a
do face some discrimination because of the sect to which they
belong. Asked about their loyalties, Emirati Shi'a are
likely to respond that they are spiritually loyal to the
Shi'a teachers/mullahs in Iran, and politically loyal to the
UAE and its government. End Summary.

Emirati Shi'a and Their Loyalties
--------------


2. (C) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's recent warnings
about Iran's influence in Arab countries and his observation
that "Shiites are mostly always loyal to Iran and not the
countries where they live," did not ring true in the UAE,
where Sunnis and Shi'a have long lived side-by-side in
relative harmony. "This is a misconception," said Fatima
al-Sayegh, an academic and a Shi'a. "We are not loyal to
Iran whatsoever. We are not loyal to any foreign government
whatsoever," she told Pol chief. "(The UAE) is the land my
father and grandfathers have lived in for over 200 years."
She conceded that Emirati Shi'a such as herself take their
spiritual guidance from the holy city of Qom, Iran. (Note:
Not all Emirati Shi'a look to Qom for spiritual guidance;
others look to Grand Ayatollahs in Najaf, Iraq, as "sources
of emulation." End Note.) The negative publicity
surrounding Iran and its role in the region has caused some
Shi'a to do a lot of soul-searching. Al-Sayegh told us that
in her discussions with other Shi'a, she found that they
lamented what they saw as Iran's unwelcome ambitions to
acquire nuclear power and spread its influence across the
Gulf region.


3. (C) Academic and human rights activist Mohamed Ghobash
told us that Shi'a allegiances are not uniform throughout the
UAE. The more affluent and educated Emirati Shi'a are more
likely to see themselves as Emiratis first and Shi'a second,
according to Ghobash, adding that the opposite is also true,
especially in the poorer northern emirates, where an
Emirati's Shi'a identity is more important than national
identity. Ghobash opined that there is generally very little
resentment of Iran among Emirati Shi'a, and in fact the
majority of Emirati Shi'a feel tied to Iran through their
Shi'a beliefs.


4. (C) An Emirati Shi'a from the northern emirate of Sharjah
professed to be a loyal Emirati first and a Shi'a second. He
told Pol/Econoff that many of the Shi'a, whose family roots
were in Iran, still look to Iran's clergy for guidance rather
than the UAE government. Most of them prominently displayed
photos of the Ayatollahs in their houses, but not photos of
UAE leaders. Thus, in his opinion, the UAEG is justified in
being suspicious of Shi'a loyalties in the UAE.

UAEG Attitude Toward UAE Shi'a
--------------


5. (C) Events in the Arabian Gulf in recent years, especially
those involving Iran, have affected everyone's lives to one
degree or another in the UAE. At the leadership level, Abu
Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed has made clear
his aversion to Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'a leaders, telling
CENTCOM Commander General Abizaid March 27, "I don,t think
the Sunnis will accept" a new government led by Ibrahim
al-Ja'afari, who "is on (Tehran's) payroll."


6. (C) Whatever misgivings the UAE leadership and the Emirati
Muslim population may have about Iran, at the local level,
Sunni-Shi'a relations are generally harmonious. Ahmed
al-Kindi, an assistant under secretary for Islamic Affairs at
the Ministry of Justice, downplayed any differences between
Sunnis and Shi'a. "We are all brothers," he told Pol chief.
"The Shi'a say they are happy here," al-Kindi said. Muslims
co-exist peacefully in the UAE, al-Kindi continued, citing
government assistance in financing and maintaining Shi'a
mosques, supporting Shi'a religious celebrations, and meeting
Shi'a economic and social needs. Senior officials from the
Islamic Affairs Department attend Shi'a celebrations to
demonstrate religious tolerance. Hessa al-Khalidi, a Sunni

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and an advisor to the widow of the late UAE President Sheikh
Zayed, told Pol assistant that the Emirati Shi'a are
generally wealthy and their commercial interests "keep them
satisfied" and away from political activism.


7. (C) Al-Sayegh and others we know in the Shi'a community
echoed these sentiments. Many Shi'a are scrupulous about
contrasting their comfortable situation in the UAE with the
difficulties fellow Shi'a experience in Bahrain and Saudi
Arabia. Indeed, we have never heard the UAE leadership say
anything to us suggesting they are wary of the Shi'a living
in the UAE. (Note: Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed is fond of
sharing his generally negative views about Islamic extremists
and the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as his efforts to prevent
these groups from gaining a foothold in the UAE. End Note.)
The federal government's unified Friday sermons are
distributed to Sunni and Shi'a mosques alike, but the Shi'a
preachers are not bound to use the sermons the way their
Sunni counterparts are. The Daira al-Awqaf al-Jafariya in
Dubai (Endowments Department) issues prayer guidance to Shi'a
preachers. Shi'a preachers in the UAE discuss spiritual
themes that are different from those of their Sunni
counterparts. When it comes to social and political concerns
in Friday sermons, the preaching in Sunni and Shi'a mosques
is the same, al-Sayegh said.

Demographic Survey of the Shi'a in the UAE
--------------


8. (U) Although demographic data on religious affiliation has
not been collected in a decade, it is estimated that the vast
majority of the UAE's estimated 800,000 citizens are Muslims,
with approximately 85 percent belonging to the Sunni sect and
the remaining 15 percent Shi'a (mostly Shi'a Twelvers or
"Ithnasheris" who recognize 12 imams). While their exact
numbers are not known, many UAE nationals who are Shi'a trace
their family heritage to Ahwaz in Iran's Khuzistan province.
The UAE's total population (citizens and non-citizens)
reached 4.3 million in 2004 (ref A). (Note: The recently
completed population census did not ask respondents about
their religious affiliation, so the results the UAEG is
expected to release any day now will not tell us anything
about how the UAE's Shi'a minority might have changed in 10
years. End Note.)


9. (U) What we have reported in the International Religious
Freedom report in the past, and what our interlocutors
confirm to be the case nowadays, is that the Shi'a are
concentrated in the northern emirates, and they are free to
worship in, and maintain, their own mosques. All Shi'a
mosques (and 5 percent of Sunni mosques) are considered
private, unlike the majority of Sunni mosques. Moreover,
Shi'a imams are government-appointed only in the Emirate of
Dubai, whereas all Sunni imams are government-appointed. The
largest non-Emirati Shi'a populations in the UAE are from
India and Pakistan (mostly Shi'a Ismailis),according to
government estimates. An estimated 250,000 Iranians reside
in the UAE, including more than 150,000 in Dubai alone (ref
B). In Dubai, Shi'a Muslims may pursue Shi'a family law
cases through a special Shi'a council rather than the Shari'a
courts. Shi'a parents with children in government schools do
their best to reconcile the Sunni-based Islamic studies
curriculum and their own Shi'a beliefs either by "correcting"
at home what their children learn at school, or by taking
their children to Jafari schools on Thursdays.

Shi'a Face Some Discrimination
--------------


10. (S/NF) About the only sour note we hear from Emirati
Shi'a is that they face some employment discrimination,
particularly in the armed forces and in the diplomatic corps.

(Note: It is also our understanding that the federal State
Security Department only hires Sunni Emiratis. End Note.)
The UAE Air Force prohibits Shi'a from becoming pilots, and
those Shi'a who do pursue military careers, are barred from
sensitive or key positions. "Not every position is open to
us," al-Sayegh said, recalling anecdotes about relatives and
friends who tried to enlist in the military. The response
from the military was a simple, "We will call you."


11. (C) In other sectors, the Shi'a do not face
discrimination. A Dubai Shi'a contact told CG Pol assistant
that employment and business opportunities have steadily
improved for the Shi'a after the late Dubai Ruler Sheikh
Rashid al-Maktoum died in 1990. Indeed, businesses owned by
Shi'a families like al-Fardan, al-Sayegh, Galadari, and Habib
al-Yousuf, have flourished in Dubai in recent years. This

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same contact said that the Shi'a are now looked at simply as
"Ajam" (a word referring to all locals of Persian origin, the
vast majority of them Sunni Arabs).


12. (U) While some of our Shi'a contacts insist that their
identity is a non-issue, the fact is, the Shi'a still mostly
marry within their sect, and they generally welcome the
long-standing Dubai government practice of grouping the Shi'a
population in certain neighborhoods (i.e., al-Jaflyia or
al-Quoz). Rather than viewing this "ghettoization" as a form
of prejudice, our contacts say it allows their community to
maintain their social ties. "It is intended to keep the
identity of the society," said al-Sayegh.
SISON