SOCIAL REFORM SOCIETY CHAIRMAN ABDULLAH AL-MUTAWA

UNCLAS KUWAIT 003561 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT TREASURY FOR PATRICK HEFFERNAN, RACHEL LOEFFLER AND KRISTEN HECHT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR KTFN KU ISLAMISTS SUBJECT: SOCIAL REFORM SOCIETY CHAIRMAN ABDULLAH AL-MUTAWA DIES; REPLACED BY FORMER SRS MP HAMOUD AL-ROUMI REF: A. KUSHNER/BENDANA EMAIL DATED 08/22/06 ¶B. KUWAIT 1638 ¶C. KUWAIT 1637 ¶D. 02 KUWAIT 318 ¶1. (SBU) Abdullah Al-Mutawa, one of the founding members of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood (KMB) and the Chairman of the Social Reform Society (SRS),the KMB's charity branch, passed away September 3. Al-Mutawa also served as Editor-in-Chief of the SRS's weekly publication, Al-Mujtima, and Chairman and CEO of Ali AbdulWahab and Sons and Partners Company, a multi-million dollar trading company. (Note: For more information on the SRS, Al-Mujtima, and the KMB, see refs B and C.) According to local media reports, Al-Mutawa died in his office around 12:30pm apparently of natural causes. He was 80 years old. Local press reported that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood "mourned" Al-Mutawa's death, lauding him as "a true role model." Hamoud Hamed Al-Saleh Al-Roumi, a member of the KMB and a former two-time Member of Parliament, is expected to replace Al-Mutawa as SRS Chairman. ¶2. (SBU) The Russian government recently designated the SRS and another Kuwait-based Islamic charity, the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS),as terrorist organizations, prompting an outcry from Kuwaiti Islamists. The Kuwaiti government has reportedly asked Russia to explain the designation of the charities, which it claims are "beyond suspicion." In his last public statement, Al-Mutawa was quoted in the September 3 Arab Times (local English daily) as saying, "Whoever has evidence (to support the Russian designation),let him present it to me." ********************************************* * For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ ********************************************* * Tueller