170 SAUDI AND MUSLIM SCHOLARS WORLDWIDE CALL FOR

S E C R E T RIYADH 006668

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KISL SA LE
SUBJECT: 170 SAUDI AND MUSLIM SCHOLARS WORLDWIDE CALL FOR
UNITY OF ISLAMIC NATION

REF: A. A) RIYADH 6153

B. B) RIYADH 6101

C. C) RIYADH 5876

D. D) RIYADH 5832

E. E) RIYADH 5709

F. F) RIYADH 6343

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Gfoeller
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S) SUMMARY: 170 Muslim scholars from more than seventeen
countries, including twenty-nine Saudi citizens, issued an
open statement on August 4 entitled "Statement and Appeal
from Scholars of the Islamic Nation." The statement
condemned Israeli "aggression" in Lebanon and Palestine, and
criticized the U.S. for supporting Israel. The authors
appealed to Muslim and Arab people worldwide, leaders of
Islamic nations, the international community, and people of
the free world to boycott Israel both politically and
economically and to follow paths of patience, peace, and
unity to seek justice from Israel's actions in Lebanon and
Palestine. The statement follows on the heels of several
open statements and editorials harshly criticizing the U.S.'s
reaction to the Lebanon crisis. It reflects the increasing
discontent among the Saudi public with the U.S., and at the
same time, it stands out as a call for peace and condemnation
of all forms of extremism, unlike most open statements by
religious conservatives from the Kingdom (Ref A, B, C, D, E).
END SUMMARY.


2. (U) The Saudi religious conservative website "Islam
Online" published an open statement on August 4 that called
upon world leaders and the Muslim and Arab peoples to unite
against Israeli aggression in Lebanon and Palestine. The
statement addressed five groups of people: (1) all Muslim and
Arab people; (2) various sects of the Ummah; (3) governments
of the Islamic and Arab states; (4) world people and
governments; and (5) U.S. and Israel.


3. (U) In the first group, the scholars declared their
solidarity with the Palestinians and Lebanese in their
struggle and called upon all Muslim and Arab peoples to offer
them "all material and moral support as far as possible and
within the limits of Shari'a." The statement delineated the
religious duty of supporting the Lebanese and Palestinian
people during their current "subjugation." It further
reminded them of their right of self-defense, citing the Holy
Quran: "to those against whom war is made, permission is
given (to fight) because they are wronged, and verily God is
most powerful for their aid." (Verse 39: Al-Hajj)


4. (U) The scholars called upon the various sects of the
Ummah (Islamic Nation) to unify in the wake of aggression.
They called upon the sects to "forsake all reasons of
differences as the enemy is targeting every one of them
without exception...In fact it is our duty to quell this fire
of sectarian discord before it spreads." The scholars
provided additional Quranic verses to support their call for
unity, including, "God likes those who fight in His cause in
battle array as if they were a solid cemented structure."
(Verse 46: Al-Anfal)


5. (U) The scholars also called upon the governments of
Islamic and Arab states to "act piously" and abide by
religion regarding the future of their people, in addition to
engaging in peaceful resistance by boycotting Israel in all
manners. They commented that the strength of Islamic and
Arab states lies in their devotion to religion and urged them
to unify based upon shared religious values in order to stop
American and Zionist "hegemony." They further called all
governments to "disengage from any political and economical
relations with the Israeli enemy, whether these relations are
declared or undeclared. We call them to get rid of any
illusions of peace, as this has only bred death, destruction,
shame, disputes, and subordination."


6. (U) The scholars called on world leaders to recognize
that Muslim nations stand "shoulder to shoulder with all
peace-loving people," and stated that world leaders must
condemn the "aggression perpetrated by Israel and the U.S."
They issued a stern warning that Israel and the U.S. are
"ruled by groupings of extremists who harbor hatred to all
religions and cultures and nationalities, and we reaffirm
that unless these powers are reigned in, mankind will witness
days much worse than it witnessed in the days of the Mongol
Tatars and Nazis and the like."


7. (C) The scholars then directly addressed the U.S. and
Israel. Switching tone from the previous paragraph, they
questioned the actions of the U.S. and Israel from both a
historical and present-day perspective. They talked of the

need for patience, claiming that patience will bring the
Muslims victory. They reaffirmed their desire to work with
all peoples, stating that "we are not advocates of wars,
sedition or racism. However, we hate humiliation and
surrender to the powers of injustice and tyranny. We address
the wise Jews in the world, as well as the free and wise
Americans, and say to them: reign in your mad rulers and do
not let them ruin the future of humanity out of religious
superstitions or for financial or political interests." They
closed with assurances of peace, faith and justice, and
questioned: "Will you listen to us before it is too late?"


8. (C) The statement was signed by 170 Muslim scholars from
nineteen countries, including 29 Saudi signatories. The
Saudi signatories included scholars from both the Sunni and
Shi'a sects, and they hailed from various parts of the
Kingdom. Interestingly, four of the 29 Saudi signatories are
professors at King Khaled University, where Dr. Sa'ad al-Musa
currently teaches-- the journalist and professor who
published an open letter to President Bush condemning U.S.
policies on the Lebanese and Palestinian crises (Ref F).
Other signatories included citizens from Lebanon, Jordan,
Bosnia, Chad, Macedonia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates,
Bahrain, Indonesia, Senegal, Morocco, Eritrea, Pakistan,
Yemen, Tunisia, and Egypt.


9. (C) COMMENT: Part of the significance of this statement
lies in its broad range of signatories, call for peace and
unity, and condemnation of all forms of extremism. On the
one hand, it calls both Muslims and non-Muslims alike to
oppose what the authors perceive as unjust aggression by
Israel, and, by virtue of its support, the U.S. It
encourages this opposition through the strength of unity and
religion, not violence. On the other hand, there is also an
underlying current of despair in the statement. The message
frankly dismisses the peace process with its call for
disengagement from the Israeli enemy and denunciation of the
"illusions of peace." These two conflicting sides of the
statement aptly reflect the rather divided attitude of much
of the Saudi intelligentsia and populace to the Lebanese and
Palestinian crises. END COMMENT.
OBERWETTER