BUILDING CIVIL SOCIETY, ONE DISCUSSION AT A TIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 003346

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DHAHRAN SENDS
PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2016
TAGS: SOCI PGOV KPAO KMPI SA
SUBJECT: BUILDING CIVIL SOCIETY, ONE DISCUSSION AT A TIME

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


1. (C) Summary: In the past year, Consulate officers have
observed increasing numbers of small civil society groups
forming in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Also
notable is that many of the groups have started to cooperate
and interact with each other in pursuit of larger goals. As
an example of the beginnings of grassroots civil society in
Saudi Arabia, new cultural forums are creating space for
political discourse in the Eastern Province. On Tuesday
April 25th, PAO gave a presentation on USG public diplomacy
programs to a group of 70 women in Hofuf, the capital of the
Al Ahsa Governorate. Questions quickly spread to issues of
politics, from the legitimacy of Al Manar Television, to
Hamas's victory in the Palestinian elections, and to the
status of Saudi women. Although like many others, this forum
is loosely organized and held in a private home, organizers
consider it an important development in Saudi society. End
summary.

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CREATING SPACE TO TALK
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2. (C) "My wife and I set up this forum to give women a
chance to get together and express themselves, " said Sadeq
al Ramadan, the host of the forum. Following the custom of
gender segregation, the meetings are only for women, but Mr.
Al Ramadan listens from the next room. Since its inception in
February 2005, the group has held monthly meetings with
different speakers. Attendance ranges from 40 to 100 women,
with some coming from as far away as Khobar, a 1 1/2 hour
drive. The organizers send out notices by text message, and
the audience on April 25th ranged in age from a 3-month old
boy (the only male in the room) to sixty-year olds.


3. (C) The group, like many other forums, does not call
itself political. In reality, however, the group has
political discussions about many topics. For this event, PAO
was asked to talk about cultural and educational exchanges,
but questions dealt with a range of political issues. The
group seemed both sophisticated and naive, with the capacity
for a power-point presentation in a large sitting room in
someone's home.

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LEARNING HOW TO QUESTION
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4. (C) "You don't know how hard it is for a woman to ask a
question in this culture," Sadek al Ramadan told PolOff as
they listened from the next room. He said that some women
are too shy to ask questions directly, and call his wife
later to ask her. During the two-hour event, however, women
asked pointed questions that ranged from acceptance of
Muslims in the US to the Dubai Ports deal. "What would
Americans do if they see me wearing the hijab?" asked one
woman. "If America believes in free press, why are you
banning Al Manar Television?" asked another. Most women only
spoke Arabic. Many took notes during the presentation on USG
programs, and were very interested in bringing speakers and
events to their community. The group welcomed copies of PD
publications such as Muslims in America, e-Journals about
women in American history, and the Study in the USA booklets.


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GOVERNMENT SUPERVISION
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5. (C) The event was opened by one of the organizers, Manal
al Khalifa; she started by quoting King Abdullah's statements
on the importance of cross-cultural communication and
understanding and noting that the most recent National
Dialogue session focused on communication with non-Saudis.
Sadek Al Ramadan said, "the environment is changing. Five
years ago if we had asked people to come listen to an
American official, no one would have come. They would have
been too afraid."


6. (C) Nonetheless, the government continues to monitor
these groups. A regular forum for men in Hofuf run by Sheikh
Adel Bokhamseen was closed for three months after a speaker
discussed the recent Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)
summit. "Someone submitted a report to the Mubahith that said
it was about a political topic," Sheikh Bokhamseen said, "so
they told me to shut it down." He spent weeks trying to

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convince them that the discussion was not political. "I told
them they should thank me, not shut it down, because I was
encouraging dialogue, just as King Abdullah had asked. In the
end they let me start again, but it is still sensitive." As
a result, Sheikh Bokhamseen withdrew an invitation for a USG
official to speak to the women's group that his wife runs,
feeling it was too much of a risk at this point. (Note: Both
Sadek al Ramadan and Sheikh Bokhamseen are Shi'a, under
perhaps closer scrutiny and observation than Sunni
counterparts. End note.)



7. (C) Comment: These groups use King Abdullah's support
for dialogue and cultural understanding to protect their
activities from criticism, both official and unofficial.
Given the tight control of the extremist religious
establishment on the natural places for discussions - the
mosques, the schools and the universities - these informal
groups are providing space for critical thought and
discourse. In the absence of clear government guidelines on
civil society and its practice, however, their existence
remains precarious. End comment.

(APPROVED: KINCANNON)
GFOELLER