SHI'A ACTIVIST SAYS SHIRAZIS ARE MODERATING

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 001461 SIPDIS SIPDIS DHAHRAN SENDS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2016 TAGS: PGOV PINS PINR SA SUBJECT: SHI'A ACTIVIST SAYS SHIRAZIS ARE MODERATING INFLUENCE ON SAUDI HEZBOLLAH Classified by Acting Consul General Dave Speidel for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Shi'ite political activist Mohammed Al-Shoyoukh told PolOff that Saudi Hezbollah countenances only "peaceful" means to achieve its social and political goals. He said that the "Shirazis," who include the most politically active Shi'a such as Hassan Al-Saffar and Jafar Al-Shayeb, have been a "moderating influence" on the leaders of Saudi Hezbollah, convincing them that recourse to violence will not help the Saudi Shi'a community. Al-Shoyoukh brought up Saudi Hezbollah unprompted, during a short discussion about Iran in which he noted that Iran had "popular support" in southern Iraq and in Lebanon through Lebanese Hezbollah. By contrasting Saudi Hezbollah with Lebanese Hezbollah, he implied that Iran did not have significant "popular support" in Saudi Arabia. ¶2. (C) Bio note: Al-Shoyoukh is active in Shi'a political circles: he organizes a regular "cultural, social, and even political" forum on Tarut island and writes and lectures through various Internet sites. A graduate of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in 1999, he also undertook religious study in 1986 in Tehran and Qom. End bio note. (APPROVED: SPEIDEL) OBERWETTER