BAHRAIN REACTS TO SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN IRAQ

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000288

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO PTER BA IZ REGION POL
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN REACTS TO SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN IRAQ

REF: STATE 28802

Classified by DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Tens of thousands of Bahrainis, mostly Shias,
participated in peaceful and orderly demonstrations over the
weekend protesting the attack on the Imam Al Hadi Shrine in
Samarra. Officials, politicians, and religious leaders
denounced the Samarra bombing and revenge attacks on Sunni
targets. The Cabinet issued a statement February 26 calling
on Iraqis to exercise self-restraint, and politicians and
political societies condemned sectarianism. In their Friday
prayer sermons on February 24, clerics called for Muslim
unity and some wondered about whether there is an American or
Israeli hand in the violence. Columnists went in several
directions: some called for increased efforts to overcome
sectarianism, others blamed Sunnis for not condemning
previous violence, and Baathists blamed the United States for
creating the conditions for the strife to occur. The trend
by some in Sunni and Shia quarters to lay blame on the United
States, which echoes similar statements in Iraq, bears
watching. End Summary.

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Tens of Thousands Participate in Peaceful Rallies
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2. (U) Bahrainis, mostly Shias, participated in peaceful and
orderly demonstrations across the country February 22-24 to
condemn the February 22 attack on the Imam Al Hadi Shrine in
Samarra. Protests took place in Manama, Muharraq, Sitra,
Sanabis, Daih, Diraz, and Karranah. The largest rally, with
some 20,000 participants (according to a reliable source),
took place after Friday prayers February 24 and closed
streets and highways between the village of Qadam and the
Seef commercial district.


3. (U) Islamic Clerics Council Chair Shaikh Issa Qassem,
Bahrain's most influential Shia cleric, led the procession
and called for those carrying out terrorist activities in the
name of Islam to be punished. He accused the perpetrators of
seeking to sow divisions between Muslims. He told the
participants, "Those who claim to have done this in the name
of Islam are non-believers, seeking to destroy the image of
Muslims the world over. Muslim brothers' blood, money and
dignity should always be protected and any Muslim who harms
another is not a Muslim and should be treated as an infidel.
Sunnis or Shias, we are gathered here today to show that
Islam stands for tolerance and love for one another." He
called for all Iraqis to unite and to stop incitement.
Marchers carried signs with photos of the destroyed shrine
saying "No to Sectarian Sedition" and "This is What the
Followers of Yazeed Do," a reference to the army that killed
Imam Hussein and his followers in 680 AD at the battle of
Kerbala.

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Government, Officials Condemn Violence
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4. (U) Government officials, parliamentarians, political
societies, religious leaders, and columnists denounced the
violence in Iraq. The Cabinet issued a statement February 26
criticizing both the Samarra bombing and the attacks on Sunni
mosques and called for Iraqis to act with self-restraint to
calm the situation. Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin
Abdulla Al Khalifa February 23 told the press that the
bombing of the shrine is a "criminal act of incitement" that
Iraqis should resist. The elected Council of Representatives
(COR) called on the Iraqi people, religious scholars, and
national leaders to remain calm and avoid violence that could
result in sectarian conflict. "A unified Iraq is everyone's
goal and (the bombing) is an obstacle we hope the Iraqis will
overcome." Iraqi Ambassador to Bahrain Ghassan Mohsin said
the attack would not harm national unity or the political
process in his country. He lauded the stance and support of
the Bahraini people.


5. (C) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
told the Ambassador February 26 that the government felt it
was important for senior religious leaders to step up and
take public positions against violence and sectarian strife.
He noted that the GCC foreign ministers had issued a
statement condemning the violence in Iraq.

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Politicians Denounce Sectarianism
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6. (U) Both Sunni and Shia political groups have weighed in.
President of the Sunni Al Minbar Islamic Society Dr. Salah
Ali criticized the perpetrators of the bombing, saying they
want to destroy the unity of the Iraqi people and ruin
peaceful coexistence of the different sects. He termed the
bombing "offensive to Islam and all Muslims." The COR's Shia
Islamic bloc slammed the "takfeeri" (jihadist) mentality that
is at the heart of terrorism. It called for national unity
and not allowing Sunnis to suffer for the acts of terrorists.
The hardline Shia Haq Movement said actions and words that
incite sectarianism should be considered criminal acts. A
Haq spokesman said his group would soon launch a campaign
titled, "Together Against Sectarianism and Takfeeri School of
Thought." University of Bahrain students are holding a rally
February 27 to condemn the attack and reject sectarian
incitement.


7. (U) Other political groups see an American hand in the
violence. The secular socialist Al Waad issued a statement
holding "the occupation forces" responsible for the attack.
In a joint statement, two Sunni groups, Al Wasat Al Arabi
Society and the National Democratic Grouping Society, claimed
the incident was orchestrated by the United States. The
statement read, "The enemy is trying to divide the people of
Iraq... but Iraqis are aware of this conspiracy" and that
knowledge has brought them closer together.

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Clerics Address Violence
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8. (U) The Iraq violence was a universal subject in the
Friday prayer sermons of February 24. Shia Shaikh Issa
Qassem said that anyone who claims the right to kill others
and bomb holy places also gives others the right to do the
same to him. He accused the "triangle of pessimism,"
America, Israel, and the jihadists, of carrying out the
attack. Shaikh Ali Salman, president of leading Shia
political society Al Wifaq, said he had received many phone
calls from Sunni leaders rejecting the attack. He asserted
that the main beneficiaries of the situation are "the
Zionists," regardless of who actually carried out the
bombing. Sunni clerics Shaikh Juma Tawfeeq, Shaikh Abdul
Nasser Al Mahmood, and Shaikh Salah Al Jowder called on
Muslims to unite against those who seek to divide them. The
Shia Jaafari Awqaf Endowment, Sunni Islamic Society, and the
mixed Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs all issued
statements denouncing the bombing and calling for unity.

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Columnists Offer Diverse Analyses
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9. (U) Columnists have interpreted events in various ways.
Sayed Dhiya Al Mousawi of Al Wasat and Abbas Bu Safwan of Al
Ayam take the high road, calling for extraordinary efforts to
help Iraqis get beyond the spasm of violence and to avoid
spillover into Bahrain. Al Mousawi says, "We have lived as
Sunni and Shia in this country for many years and we will
continue to do so as long as we work together to extinguish
the sectarian flames that are heading toward us from Iraq.
We must help Iraq jump over the sectarian hole instead of
helping it jump into it." Bu Safwan writes, "Nobody can deny
the influence of what is happening in Iraq on Bahrain. I
call for a national gathering attended by the religious
leadership that will cut off the division faction and send a
strong message reaffirming that harming national unity is a
red line."


10. (U) Sawsan Al Shaer of Al Watan, herself a Sunni,
criticizes the reaction of her co-religionists, saying, "Now
you are counting the number of Sunni corpses in Iraq? Why
haven't you counted all the corpses that have fallen in Iraq
for years? Is it because you have a double standard and you
were looking at whether they were Sunni or Shia? Nobody
denies the self-restraint Shias have shown so far and how
much wisdom Al Sistani has shown over the years... We have
warned you repeatedly from discriminating between the souls
of the victims... You can accuse whoever you want but you
will never be able to erase your fingerprints on the crime of
incitement in Iraq."


11. (U) The pan-Arabist and Baathist writers lay the blame
on the United States. Abdulla Al Ayoobi, Radhi Al Sammak,
and Mohammed Kadem Al Shehabi, all from Akhbar Al Khaleej,
say the American occupation created the conditions for the
bombing and believe that the end of the occupation is the
only way to salvage Iraq's unity and stability. Abdul Menem
Ibrahim, also of Akhbar Al Khaleej, writes that the Gulf
region is "paying the price of American mistakes in Iraq.
Since Iraq was torn apart between sects, ethnicities, and
religions, all we have seen is more extremism and religious
radicalism. Whenever the situation in Iraq gets more insane,
we in Bahrain must get more rational and adhere to our
national unity."

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Comment
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12. (C) As the only other Arab state with a Shia majority,
Bahrain is directly impacted by events in Iraq. To their
credit, most officials, politicians, and clerics are calling
for unity and stability in the face of unprecedented violence
in Iraq. However, as has happened in Iraq itself, some blame
the United States for creating the conditions that led to the
attacks, a trend we will continue to track.

MONROE