CLERIC ISSUES A FATWA AGAINST DANISH CARTOONISTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PESHAWAR 000086 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/21/2016 TAGS: KISL ASEC PREL PGOV CVIS PK SUBJECT: CLERIC ISSUES A FATWA AGAINST DANISH CARTOONISTS REF: PESHAWAR 79 CLASSIFIED BY: Gautam Rana, Political Officer, U.S. Consulate , Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) On February 17, Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Qureshi (heading Peshawar's oldest mosque, the Mohabat Khan) offered a bounty in excess of $1 million for the killing of any of the Danish cartoonists who drew the allegedly blasphemous sketches of the Prophet Muhammad. He announced that Mohabat Khan mosque would donate one million rupees, Jamia Ashrafia (a local madrassah associated with his mosque) 500,000 rupees and a car, and the Jewelers and Currency Traders Association one million dollars, the last presumably to show their religious devotion and avoid new outbreaks of looting (REF). In press reports, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller denounced the fatwa by noting, "It's murder, and murder is forbidden by the Holy Quran. Islam is a religion of peace, mercy and forgiveness." ¶2. (C) Comment: We are extremely disappointed that Maulana Qureshi issued this fatwa, as he has long served as a voice of moderation and a bridge between the USG and the religious community in the Northwest Frontier Province. He has been a post contact for many years, traveled numerous times to the U.S., and has extensive family and business ties in New York and Virginia. We no longer plan to engage with the Maulana, and have advised the Embassy consular section to enter him into the visa lookout database. End comment. SPANGLER