BASRAH'S PRO-WESTERN SUNNI CLERIC ON SECTARIAN VIOLENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BASRAH 000173

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/PD, KUWAIT FOR CAO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2016
TAGS: PREL KISL PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: BASRAH'S PRO-WESTERN SUNNI CLERIC ON SECTARIAN VIOLENCE

REF: BASRAH 139

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CLASSIFIED BY: Andrea F. Gastaldo, Acting Regional Coordinator,
REO Basrah, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On November 27 Acting Regional Coordinator met
with Shaykh Khaled Al Mulla, a prominent Sunni cleric whose
pro-Western stance has made him the target of Al Qa'eda in Iraq
(AQI). Shaykh Khaled told the ARC that he blames Iraq's
security problems squarely on AQI elements and their destruction
will lead to the militias being dismantled since they will have
no enemy to face. Commenting on the recent sectarian violence
in Baghdad, Shaykh Khaled stated that he and his fellow Sunni
clerics in Basrah forbade retaliatory attacks on Shi'a for
violence elsewhere. Proffering a solution to some of the
region's Al-Qa'eda's concerns, the Shaykh suggested that the
U.S. support discussion between moderate Iraqi Sunni clerics and
Sunnis around the Gulf region who have a young population easily
influenced by extremist rhetoric in order to counter it. END
SUMMARY.

Sectarian Violence and Al-Qa'eda
--------------


2. (C) Acting Regional Coordinator met with Sunni cleric Shaykh
Khaled Al Mulla on November 27 to ask his opinion on the recent
sectarian violence in Baghdad and possible spillover effects in
Basrah. Shaykh Khaled, a moderate cleric who is strongly
pro-western, made it clear that the violence was reprehensible
but that Al Qa'eda elements were to blame. Shaykh Khaled
stressed his belief that Sunni politicians who did not raise the
spectre of AQI were also complicit. Without naming anyone, the
Shaykh went on to say that "many of our (Sunni) leadership know
them (AQI),house them, and give them safehaven." While
acknowledging that all violence is of concern, Shaykh Khaled
asserted that the incidents of sectarian violence in Basrah were
one half of one percent of those in the central Iraq areas
including Al Baquba. He added that they (the Sunnis) have had
enough, starting with Saddam's violence, the violence of this
war, and now the sectarian violence.


3. (C) Shaykh Khaled informed the ARC that he and other Sunni
clerics in Basrah had made a point in last Friday's sermons, the
day after the Sadr City bombs, to forbid Sunnis from conducting
retaliatory acts in revenge for what had happened in Baghdad.
Shaykh Khaled stated that he believed Sunnis in Basrah would not
lash out at the Shi'a since, if they did, "there would be none
standing", alluding to the fact that Sunnis are a clear minority
in Iraq's second largest city. (Note. Shaykh Khaled stated that
there were "200,000 Sunni families" in Basrah, a figure too high
for a city of 2.5 million people. It is more likely that there
are 200,000 Sunnis total in a city overwhelmingly Shi'a. End
note.)

Moderating Others
--------------


4. (C) The Shaykh, who will be attending an IVP program in
Washington in January 2007, offered a possible solution to what
he sees as the growing threat of Al Qa'eda in the region. He
advised that the U.S. should support moderate Sunni clerics when
they speak out on AQI and focus the attention on what the
moderates are saying rather than what "extremist" Sunni clerics
such as Harith Al-Dari say when they issue fatwas for violence
against Coalition Forces in Iraq. Shaykh Khaled believes that
if moderate Iraqi Sunni clerics were given a program of travel
to speak out in neighboring Sunni majority countries about what
is going on in Iraq and the impact of the AQI originating
violence, that they could have a countering effect to the
extremist rhetoric which is being used to recruit Sunni youths
to go into Iraq. He specifically asked if it was possible for
the REO to assist getting a regional program together for
himself as well as for other moderate clerics who share his
views to speak to others in the Gulf. Pointing to Saudi Arabia
as the origin of Sunni extremism, he said that he would prefer
to go to Kuwait, UAE, and other GCC countries first since he
believed he could have a greater impact there. (Note: Shaykh
Khaled acknowledged that he has a reputation within Saudi Arabia
which makes him less than welcome there. He told the ARC that
he was not invited to the October conference in Mecca on
Reconciliation for Iraqi Clerics specifically because he would
raise Al Qa'eda as the root reason for the violence and that was
something most of the attendees would not address. He said that
he considered the conference and resulting declaration a "slap
in the face to truth" since it did not speak to Al Qa'eda's role
in the bloodshed. End note.)


5. (C) Comment. Shaykh Al Mulla's suggestion of a speaking

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tour of Iraqi moderate clerics within the Gulf has merit and
should be explored. Neighboring countries that have seen an
increase in extremism in the past few years could conceivably
use the Shaykh and others like him to offset the stories which
have filtered out of Iraq by foreign fighters looking to recruit
more bodies. Since the insurgency has not decreased
significantly, Iraqi speakers with ground experience in the
violence could help show the other side of the coin, Iraqis who
are still interested in bettering their country but who also
feel strongly that the way to do it is with the U.S. and
Coalition assistance. End comment.
GASTALDO