IRISH IRAQIS "KEEPING THE FAITH" FOR IRAQI SUCCESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000252

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

EUR/PPD (ACERVETTI)
EUR/UBI (NNOLAN)
NEA/PPD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER PINR KPAO EI
SUBJECT: IRISH IRAQIS "KEEPING THE FAITH" FOR IRAQI SUCCESS

REF: 05 DUBLIN 01264

Summary
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1. Summary. On March 7, the Ambassador hosted a dinner for
Irish Iraqi Shia Muslims and select members of the Irish
government and press to assist the Shia community in
developing a voice to counter the continued Irish anti-war
rhetoric. The Imam of the Shia community, Dr. Ali Al Saleh
told the Ambassador that the American-led invasion of Iraq
prompted a 'miraculous' changing of Iraqi mentality. He
asked that the USG proceed slowly and fairly with its
treatment of the new Iraqi government, and be careful not to
ostracize the majority Shia population. He also said that
the West's fears of Iraqi Shia allegiance to Tehran are
unfounded; instead, when the Iraqi Shias are once more
empowered, Tehran will look to Iraq for leadership. End
summary.

Shia Muslim Dialogue
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2. On March 7, the Ambassador hosted a dinner for Irish Iraqi
Shia Muslims and select members of the Irish government and
press. The purpose of the event was to bring Irish officials
and media together with the Shia community. The Shia
community in Ireland, comprised mostly of Iraqi nationals, is
favorably disposed to USG involvement in Iraq and eager to
speak publicly on moderate Islamic themes, but struggles to
effectively impart to the Irish public the reality, as
members see it, of the progress in Iraq. The Ambassador
hosted this event to assist the Shia community in raising
their profile within the Irish political scene. Irish
participants included a representative from the Prime
Minister's office, the Department of Foreign Affairs Middle
East Deputy Director, the Director of the National
Consultative Committee on Racism and Integration and the
Foreign Affairs Correspondent for the Irish Times.

Changing Mentality
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3. The Imam of the Shia community, Dr. Ali Al Saleh repeated
many of the ideas he has expressed to us before. He told the
group that the American-led invasion of Iraq prompted a
'miraculous' changing of Iraqi mentality. He said that prior
to the invasion, Muslim clerics questioned the compatibility
of Islam and democracy. Now, according to the Imam, "you
can't have Islam without democracy." He added that since the
fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraqis on Saudi Arabian Hajj freely
boast about the democratic changes occurring in Iraq. He
also added that now Muslims are beginning to ponder the
differences between theological Islam and state-led
impositions of culture and tradition, such as in the
restrictive public role of women in Saudi Arabia.


4. Al Saleh also said that until 2003, Iraqis were raised to
hate Israelis. Since the insurgency in Iraq and instances of
Palestinian suicide bombers killing innocent Shias in Iraq,
the Shia community is developing a sympathy towards the
Israelis. Al Saleh said that Iraqis are questioning why they
ever aligned themselves with Palestinian 'murderers'.

Keeping the Faith
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5. Al Saleh told the group that maintaining the faith of the
people is crucial for the success of Iraq. He suggested the
following as keys to keeping Iraqi confidence:

--An increase in NGOs toteach Iraqis how to nation build.
--An increase n exchange programs with Americans. According
t Al Saleh, Iraqis will always distrust governments so the
personal touch of people-to-people progras is needed to
ensure future partnerships.
--Ptience. Al Saleh said tat the Iraqi government is too
new to wthstand rebukes from American or other governments
on the current human rights problems in the counry. He
added when USG Ambassador Khalilzad warnd the Shia
government officials not to engage in sectarianism, he
ostracized the very Shias who were victimized by the
sectarianism of the former Sunni government. Al Saleh called
for time to train, grow, and make mistakes and learn from
them. He also added that the West does not have proprietary
rights on human rights and democracy; these are universal
values and the Iraqis, in time, will establish a just and
transparent governmental system.

DUBLIN 00000252 002 OF 002



Najaf, the Shia Vatican
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6. According to Al Saleh, there is nothing to fear from
alleged Iraqi Shia alliances with Tehran. Al Saleh said that
until the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the world's Shias
looked to Najaf, Iraq as the Shia Vatican. He added that
empowerment of Iraqi Shias will reestablish the influence of
Najaf and diminish that of the Iranian government and
Hezbollah.

To support this concept he mentioned the following:

--Qom, Iran became a prominent Shia faith center during the
time of Saddam Hussein only because Iraqi victims of his
persecution fled to Iran.
--Many of Iran's influential leaders (including the now
deceased Ayatollah Khomeini) studied Islam in Najaf and
maintain loyalties to the holy sites in Iraq.
--To add to the point, Al Saleh mentioned that the most
influential Shia leader in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani,
recently refused to meet with Hezbollah's leader, Hassan
Nasrullah.


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