WAMY SECRETARY-GENERAL PREACHES NEED FOR INCREASED

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 RIYADH 008003

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PTER EFIN KTFN ETTC KISL SA
SUBJECT: WAMY SECRETARY-GENERAL PREACHES NEED FOR INCREASED
UNDERSTANDING, COMPLACENTLY SUPPORTS EXTREMIST IDEOLOGIES

REF: JEDDAH 643

Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission David Rundell
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY)
Secretary-General Dr. Saleh al-Wohaibi told PolOffs in an

SIPDIS
August 27 meeting that, despite negative publicity
surrounding Islamic charities, WAMY has nothing to hide.
Al-Wohaibi talked about WAMY's international programs, but
focused primarily on problems facing Saudi youth today,
including the lack of employment opportunities and exposure
to extremist ideology. Dr. al-Wohaibi explained that WAMY
programs support Islamic youth development and are
implemented domestically and internationally. Dr. al-Wohaibi
said WAMY cannot control every speaker at youth summer camps,
including those who espouse extremist ideologies. Al-Wohaibi
railed against what he described as "Zionist control" over
the USG and media, saying it results in negative perceptions
of Islamic charities worldwide. END SUMMARY.

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WAMY Worldwide
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2. (S) PolOffs met on August 27 with World Assembly of
Muslim Youth (WAMY) Secretary-General Dr. Saleh al-Wohaibi,
along with two of his colleagues from the editorial and
public relations departments, at WAMY headquarters in Riyadh.
Dr. al-Wohaibi described WAMY's background and current
programming, noting that its international programs primarily
support youth camps and orphanages that benefit thousands of
children in Islamic countries, including southeast Asia, the
Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and South America.
Al-Wohaibi pointed to WAMY programs in Brazil, Egypt,
"Palestine," Somalia, Chechnya, and Pakistan as examples of
some of its largest charity projects. He boasted about
WAMY's partnerships with the United Nations, particularly in
places where there is a vacuum of governance, such as Somalia
and "Palestine." He suggested that the U.S. should take
advantage of WAMY's accessibility to many states and partner
with it on some projects. Al-Wohaibi suggested that this
partnership could be one way to increase understanding of the
Muslim faith and community within the U.S., as well as
maximize the benefits provided by Islamic charities.


3. (S) When questioned about youth summer camps, al-Wohaibi
said WAMY is an open charity that aims to improve
opportunities for youth throughout the Islamic world and
stated that Saudi-based youth camps comprise a very small
component of WAMY's activities. He insisted that increased
"suspicion" surrounding summer camps resulting from their
portrayal in the media as "terrorist breeding grounds" is
unfounded. To combat this negative stereotype, WAMY opened
access to the camps to local authorities. He stated that
local authorities attended many youth camps this past summer
in various countries. He noted that, in some countries,
there were more media and government and security officials
in attendance than there were youth. Despite the fact that
the "open access" policy did not apply to Saudi Arabia this
year, he welcomed our attendance at camps next summer.
(NOTE: Attendance of non-Muslim observers has not been
previously welcomed at WAMY's Saudi-based youth camps.
PolOffs in Jeddah were refused access this summer for
"security" reasons. END NOTE.)

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Extremist Lecture at WAMY Youth Summer Camp Ignored
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4. (C) Conservative Islamic cleric Sheikh al-Break
reportedly gave a strong lecture this summer at one of WAMY's
youth camps in Saudi Arabia. The lecture was anti-American
in nature and al-Break accused many Saudi journalists of
being "agents" of the West. Following the announcement of
this lecture in the mainstream media, there was negative
public reaction and calls for al-Break to apologize to the
journalists. Dr. al-Wohaibi told PolOffs that, although it
was unfortunate that al-Break's comments sparked such
controversy in the media, it is "not possible to control" all
of the information given during these lectures. WAMY is a
major organizer of summer camps for children, said
al-Wohaibi, and its focus is to encourage youth to engage in
positive activities, such as sports and religious study,

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during their summer vacations. If some lecturers share
extremist ideologies with the children, he said, it is
unintentional. (NOTE: Al-Wohaibi's position precisely echoes
statements made by International Islamic Relief Organization
(IIRO) Secretary-General Dr. Adnan Khalil Basha during a
September 18 meeting with EmbOffs (reftel). END NOTE.)

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Al-Wohaibi Claims U.S. Media Harms Islamic Charities
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5. (C) In addition to its ongoing, youth-related activities,
WAMY produces Al-Mustaqbal, a monthly magazine distributed in
both English and Arabic, which addresses youth issues as they
relate to Sunni Islam. Topics include how to use spare time
effectively, to what extent religious diversity should be
tolerated, and how democracy operates within the context of
Sunni Islam. The text in the English-language version of the
magazine given to PolOffs walks a fine line between promoting
intolerance and condemning violence. In one article on the
rights of non-Muslims in a Muslim state, it is written,
"those who live in a Muslim state, and who have a different
religion, or don't have any religion are not treated as
enemies -- are not boycotted except if they start attacking
other members of the society." Although the definition of
"attack" is left open to interpretation in the magazine,
al-Wohaibi's position was clearer. He indicated that he felt
Islam in general -- and Islamic charities in particular --
are being "attacked" in the media by what he termed
"Zionist" leaders in the U.S. Congress.


6. (C) Al-Wohaibi repeatedly condemned the U.S. media and
Congress for promulgating "Zionist" policies that offend
Muslims and impede the work of Islamic charities. In
addition to condemning what he called "willful blindness" of
the U.S. towards the Palestinian problem and the damage U.S.
policies do to U.S.-Saudi relations, he also claimed that the
U.S. media negatively stereotypes Muslims. He repeatedly
said that these negative media portrayals do significant
damage to Islamic charities because they lead to increased
investigations and suspicions, hence, decreased funding. He
said that in order to solve this problem, there is an
immediate need to increase understanding and tolerance in the
U.S.

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SAG Faces Different Challenges
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7. (C) Al-Wohaibi did not acknowledge similar problems
inside Saudi Arabia regarding the media or the SAG. The
major problem that the SAG faces, he said, is the growing
youth population and the lack of adequate educational and
employment opportunities for them. This situation, in
addition to increasing opportunities for youth to engage in
extremist activities, particularly relating to Iraq, is a
significant detriment to the stability of Saudi Arabia. To
help combat this, said al-Wohaibi, WAMY's main goal in Saudi
Arabia is to work with youth to ensure that they have a
positive, peaceful, and secure future.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) Al-Wohaibi shared stories with PolOffs about his stay
in Indiana, where he attended college, joined student groups,
and even led a Muslim student union. He admitted these
experiences paved the way for his curent involvement with
WAMY. He talked of the religious tolerance that he both
witnessed and enjoyed in the U.S. in the 1970s, but expressed
different thoughts on the need for religious tolerance today.
When al-Wohaibi spoke about different religions and the need
to respect them, he indicated with hand gestures that Sunni
Islam is above all other religions and sects. This attitude
of inherent superiority was expressed throughout the meeting
and clearly demonstrated the ideologies upon which WAMY bases
its programs.


9. (S/NF) The Secretary-General appeared open and sincere
during the discussion. His comments on the perceived
inequities in the media were strong, but reflected the views
of many Saudis that unfounded, one-sided, negative
stereotyping has seriously damaged the image of Muslims

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around the world. However, al-Wohaibi's dismissal of the
implications of the al-Break lecture was disturbing,
particularly given his concern about public perceptions of
the Muslim community and WAMY's stated objective of
preventing youth from embracing radical ideologies. END
COMMENT.
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