HASAWI SHI'A CONTINUE ADVOCACY EFFORTS IN RIYADH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 005451 SIPDIS SIPDIS DHAHRAN SENDS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KIRF SA SUBJECT: HASAWI SHI'A CONTINUE ADVOCACY EFFORTS IN RIYADH REF: A. RIYADH 5136 ¶B. RIYADH 1196 Classified by Consul General John Kincannon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Television Shows and Jaafari Courts -------------- ¶1. (C) In separate meetings with PolOff and PAO on July 8, Hasawi Shi'a activists Sadeq Al-Ramadan and Mohammed Al-Jubran discussed Shi'a advocacy efforts with the SAG. Al-Ramadan mentioned that he was part of a small delegation that visited the Vice Minister of Information and several other ministry officials in June to protest a recent incident on an Al-Akhbaria television show. The show's host, Al-Ramadan said, had invited a Sunni sheikh to discuss tolerance in Islam. The sheikh apparently claimed that Muslims should be tolerant to Christians and members of other faiths, but not toward Shi'a, whom he described as "kuffar." The host, Al-Ramadan related, was startled and noted to his guest that the Shi'a were "our brothers," to which the sheikh responded, "only our companions, not our brothers." The show's host, Al-Ramadan continued, called for a short break and then ended the program. According to Al-Ramadan, the ministry officials were very apologetic, promising to be even more careful in vetting guests for the program and noting that they had already put the sheikh in question on a black list to prevent him from appearing on future programs. ¶2. (C) Mohammed Al-Jubran said that he was part of another small Shi'a delegation seeking a meeting with King Abdullah through one of his advisors. The purpose of the meeting, Al-Jubran said, was "to ask the King to grant official status to the Shi'a (Jaafari) courts." Al-Jubran noted that the request had both practical and symbolic significance. The practical impact would be to put Shi'a courts on equal footing with their Shariah (Sunni) counterparts on issues of family law, taking away the final jurisdiction that the Shariah courts have over intra-Shi'a legal matters (ref B). The symbolic impact, according to Al-Jubran, would be an official "recognition of the Saudi Shi'a community." The King's advisor recently told Al-Jubran's group that they would have to wait a month or more for an audience with the King. -------------- Forbidden Sweets on the Prophet's Birthday -------------- ¶3. (C) Al-Jubran, a member of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR),described another of his current preoccupations, trying to resolve a case involving punishment of more than 10 Shi'a high school students accused of celebrating the Prophet's birthday. "They brought in some sweets and handed them around during the break time," Al-Jubran explained. "The teachers caught them and the principal decided to reduce their grades in each subject by 10 percent and note in their files that they had disciplinary problems. It is making it difficult for them to apply to university." Showing ConOffs a petition submitted by the students' parents to the NSHR and disciplinary letters from the principal to the parents, Al-Jubran noted that he would send the file to the NSHR in Riyadh, which would then set up a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education to seek a resolution, "or at least assurances that this treatment won't happen again." -------------- -------------- Prince Mohammed and the Politics of the King's Visit -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Asked if he had attended the recent festivities for King Abdullah in Al-Ahsa, Sadeq Al-Ramadan said that he had been abroad on a business trip but that he was disappointed by the outcome of the King's visit. Hasawis, he noted, are chafing under the leadership of Eastern Province (EP) Emir Prince Mohammed bin Fahd (MbF) and would like to be a separate province. (Note: We have heard this sentiment from many Hasawis. End note.) The Emir's office, Al-Ramadan continued, took control over the arrangements for the King's visit to Al-Ahsa from a local committee to prevent Hasawis from having a chance to bring their request to be a separate province to the King. Al-Ramadan was also disappointed that King Abdullah did not make any strong statements recognizing the Shi'a community during his trip to Qatif, despite strong hints from officials in the Ministry of Information that he would. Al-Ramadan speculated that MbF might have quashed the possibility of a major address. Despite a recent interview with Okaz in which he praised the Shi'a as loyal citizens, MbF's sentiments toward the Shi'a, Al-Ramadan speculated, were different. "He had to say nice words about us in public. But we know how he feels. At a lunch at a Shi'a businessman's house several years ago, he noticed his father's picture was not on the wall. He got upset and said, 'Well, of course everyone knows you are loyal to Iran.'" -------------- A Local Salafi Takes a Hard Line -------------- ¶5. (C) Responding to a question from PolOff, Sadeq Al-Jubran, Mohammed's brother, said that he knew well one of the 61 people who signed the recent extremist petition titled "A Statement and A Warning (ref A)," namely Dr. Mohammed Al-Ali, a professor at the Al-Ahsa branch of the Imam University. "He's well known locally as a hard-core Salafi," Al-Jubran explained, "but he has decent relations with Shi'a leaders here." He characterized the petition as "extremely dangerous," noting that the drafters had modified extremist vocabulary without changing the extremist message. For example, he said, the drafters used the concept of "takhween," or calling someone a betrayer, in place of "takfeer." Asked why Dr. Al-Ali would have signed a petition that could incite extremists against Shi'a, among others, if he had decent relations with Hasawi Shi'a, Al-Jubran shrugged, speculating "Peer pressure?" -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) The Shi'a continue to advocate for their rights as citizens through all available means. While they have sent delegations to the ministries and senior Al-Saud princes in Riyadh for some time, they appear to be gaining more confidence in this approach and accelerating the rate of this activity. They clearly have no confidence that their concerns can be addressed at the provincial level, whether because of the centralized nature of the Saudi state or because of Prince Mohammed's alleged indifference to their grievances. The NSHR offers a new channel through which the Shi'a are attempting to address specific cases, but it is too early to tell if it will be a successful channel. These advocacy efforts also highlight the degree of cooperation between Shi'a in Al-Ahsa and Qatif, the two main population centers. The Shi'a delegations to Riyadh generally seem to include Shi'a from both areas (and occasionally a Shi'a from Medina),and Mohammed Al-Jubran confirmed that Shi'a activists make a conscious effort to achieve this geographical representation. In addition, the EP branch of the NSHR includes Shi'a from Al-Ahsa and Qatif, and we know these members are in frequent contact with one another. End comment. OBERWETTER