ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON THE SHI'A "SHIRAZIS"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000275

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DHAHRAN SENDS
PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KIRF SA
SUBJECT: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON THE SHI'A "SHIRAZIS"

Classified by Consul General John Kincannon for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Kamal Al-Khattee, son of a former Shi'a judge in
Qaif, discussed with PolOff the evolution of the Shi'a
faction known as the "Shirazis," who include Hassan
Al-Saffar, Jafar Al-Shayeb, Tawfiq Al-Sayf, and others.
According to Al-Khattee, they moved from Iran to Syria and
elsewhere in the 1980s after feeling "used" by Iran. Now
back in Saudi Arabia, they are trying to gain acceptance by
more traditional religious figures by focusing on serving the
community. Al-Khattee, a non-practicing Shi'a who lives in
Riyadh, also discussed discrimination faced by the Shi'a from
the perspective of someone living outside the Shi'a
community. End summary.


2. (SBU) Al-Khattee and his daughter Zainab visited PolOff
on January 18 to discuss an expedited visa appointment for
Zainab, who has received a scholarship from the Saudi
government for study in the U.S. Al-Khattee lives in Riyadh
and most recently worked as a researcher for Prince
Abdul-Aziz bin Fahd (septel).

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Marked as a Shi'a
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3. (C) Al-Khattee agreed with PolOff's observation that the
Saudi government seemed to be awarding scholarships for study
abroad to Shi'a students in proportion to their numbers, i.e.
without discrimination. He said that the discrimination
Shi'a faced did not come from government degrees or
regulations, but from individuals and groups of individuals
in the government and elsewhere. "I am a non-practicing
Shi'a and I live in Riyadh, not Qatif. Yet everyone looks at
me as a Shi'a; there is no way I could escape it."
Al-Khattee gave an example of the sort of discrimination
Shi'a faced from his daughter's experience. "Zainab got
excellent overall marks, especially in math and science. She
passed the exam for King Saud University. When she went for
her interviews, things were fine with six of the seven
committees. But professor on the seventh committee gave her
a hard time for no reason and wouldn't accept any of her
answers." That professor, Al-Khattee suggested, torpedoed
Zainab's application because she was Shi'a. "But the problem
here is we have no way of claiming our rights. We can't take
any cases to the legal system. If we tried to accuse one
person with discrimination, everyone would close ranks around
him."


4. (C) Asked by PolOff if there were any independent Shi'a
civil society organizations based in Qatif or elsewhere that
could help Shi'a claim their rights, Al-Khattee laughed.
"They (the Saudi government) will never give up control of
the Eastern Province - it's too precious to them." He noted
that reformers, who one might think would be pressing the
government for an increased role for civil society, currently
had no clear public agenda or direction. "Some of them are
Islamists, like Abdullah Al-Hamid. He says he wants an
"Islamic democracy" but that's impossible in practice. But
then you have others, like Ali Al-Dumaini, who are liberal."
(Note: Al-Hamid and Al-Dumaini are two of the three
reformers King Abdullah pardoned shortly after he became
King. End note.)

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The Shirazis and Their Evolution
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5. (C) PolOff observed that there were some active members
of the Shi'a community, like Jafar Al-Shayeb, who espoused
the principles of democracy and human rights, yet whose
underlying motivation for political activism was not fully
clear. "Yes, the Shirazis - they are Islamists, but they are
evolving," Al-Khattee responded. He explained that, although
they did not fully agree with Ayatollah Khomeini's political
philosophy, the Shirazis sought refuge in Iran in the early
1980s following the Saudi crackdown on Eastern Province
Shi'a. They left Iran later in the 1980s because, according
to Al-Khattee, "The Iranians told them to claim
responsibility for an explosion at a (Saudi) refinery.
Al-Saffar refused, saying oil was Saudi Arabia's national
treasure and he would not claim responsibility for an attack
against it. So he went to Syria, and others from the
movement, like Tawfiq Al-Sayf, went to London and even the
U.S." The move from Iran was good for Saudi members of the
Shirazi movement, Al-Khattee claimed, especially those who
lived in the west, because it exposed them to other political
philosophies, including western principles of democracy and
human rights.


6. (C) Al-Khattee noted that Ayatollah Shirazi, despite his
prodigious writings, was not considered learned enough by
mainstream Shi'a religious authorities to be a marja'.
Therefore, he continued, many of the Saudi Shi'a who followed
Shirazi are now trying to bridge the gap between them and
more traditional religious figures by applying themselves to
working in the community's interest, for example through the
municipal council. Contrasting the Shirazis who, like Jafar
Al-Shayeb, won seats on Qatif's municipal council with a
liberal like Zaki Abu Al Saud, who was not successful in his
bid, Al-Khattee said, "Zaki had a lot going for him - he is
intelligent, respected, a banker, and from a well-established
family. But they (the Shirazi's) had the organizational
tools. And they didn't even use all the tools at their
disposal in the elections."

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Comment
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7. (C) This meeting was post's first with Al-Khattee (brief
bio note septel). We think he has the potential to be a
valuable contact on the EP Shi'a community: he is
well-connected and politically minded, and his choice to live
in Riyadh and distance himself somewhat from Qatif's
political scene seems to have given him a greater degree of
objectivity than many of our other Shi'a contacts. End
comment.

(APPROVED: KINCANNON)
OBERWETTER