UAE DISMISSES ACADEMICS WITH PRESUMED ISLAMIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 001567

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2017
TAGS: PREL PTER SCUL AE
SUBJECT: UAE DISMISSES ACADEMICS WITH PRESUMED ISLAMIST
LEANINGS

REF: A) ABU DHABI 1445 (MAJAN.NET CLOSURE)
B) ABU DHABI 1224 (AL-ROKEN)
C) 06 ABU DHABI 3904 (FNC ELECTORATE SELECTION)
D) 06 ABU DHABI 3140 (BOUCHER WITH MBZ/ABZ)
E) 06 ABU DHABI 790 (HUMAN RIGHTS NGO)

Classified by CDA Martin Quinn, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: Reports of educators removed from the
classroom for alleged "Islamist" tendencies are circulating
in the UAE, with estimates of the number of those dismissed
reaching as high as 92. One English teacher well known to
the PA Section was told not to report to work when the new
semester began. In separate conversations, PolOffs spoke
with a professor from UAE University and a lawyer active in
human rights cases (himself banned from teaching and
publishing in the UAE); both noted the risks of edgingout
experienced UAE national teachers and driftig towards
vocational (western, English-based, seular, and
technically-oriented) training at the expense of preparing
minds with creative thinking capacity. (Both may have an axe
to grind with the UAEG, or a case of sour grapes over their
personal situations, yet they represent a potentially
influential alternative view.) The lawyer lamented the
suppression of civil society as well. Another human rights
activist supported the dismissal of Islamists who "exploit"
their position to spread an ideology, to the detriment of
secular education goals. Post also understands that the UAE
military is enforcing stricter policies on the length of
beards to cull out religious extremists. End summary.


2. (C) Freedom of expression is not assured in the UAE and,
according to recent reports, increasingly not tolerated by
the government in the academic arena. An Emirati English
teacher with whom the Public Affairs Section had extensive
dealings was told on the eve of the new school year that he
was no longer permitted in the classroom and would be
transferred to a ministry that had nothing to do with
education. The rationale for this sudden notice to Mr. Salem
al-Haliyan in Ras al-Khaimah appears to be his participation
in the religious group "Reform and Guidance" ("Islah wa
Towjih" in Arabic). Mr. al-Haliyan said he was one of five
teachers in Ras al-Khaimah suddenly barred from teaching.
(Comment: Through Post's interaction with Mr. al-Haliyan, we
knew he was a devout Muslim, but his approach to education
has been balanced and does not appear "extreme"; he has
participated in PD programs promoting English and U.S.
culture and supported Ministry of Education plans to divert
time from Islamic studies to English study. End comment.)


3. (C) On September 9, UAE University Political Science
professor Ebtisam al-Kitbi (protect) told PolOffs that in
fact 92 educators, including Ministry of Education officials,
had been told not to report to work as the new semester
began. An unknown number of nationals are reportedly among
those dismissed. Mohammed al-Roken, a lawyer active in human
rights cases who has been banned from teaching or publishing
in the UAE since 2002, told PolOffs September 9 that Internet
chatter put the number of educators recently dismissed at 83.
Regardless of the actual number, a number of academics,
including nationals, are reportedly paying a price for their
views. (Comment: Reports of 60 or more educators removed
from the classroom for extremist leanings circulated in the
immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001. When this happens
to foreign teachers (many Egyptians at the time),the UAE can
simply terminate contracts and deport them. Emiratis losing
teaching jobs raises the stakes somewhat. They are an
enduring, educated, and potentially outspoken part of society
that cannot be distanced so easily. End comment.)


4. (C) The next generation is also paying a price, said
al-Roken, having seen his own daughter denied a scholarship
he felt she clearly deserved after graduating with honors in
business administration (ref B). Al-Roken said he was aware
of multiple cases in which the Minister of Higher Education,
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, approved a scholarship
based on merit (as was the case with al-Roken's daughter),
only to have "security" veto the award. (Note: The same
security reportedly vetted the list of 6,000-plus Emiratis
allowed to compete and vote in the December 2006 Federal
National Council election, ref C. That list tellingly
included no academics, in spite of their qualifications.
Al-Kitbi even stated that the appointed Shura Council of
Saudi Arabia has a higher level of discourse than the
"elected" FNC due to the superior academic credentials of its
members. End note.)


5. (C) Al-Kitbi noted that angst among UAE national
educators is compounded by a sense that creative thought is
no longer a goal -- or even permitted -- in an education
system increasingly oriented towards technical skills. Many

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institutions insist that teaching be in English; Emirati
teachers feel outnumbered and disadvantaged by foreign
faculty as a result. By some accounts, the native language
skills of Emiratis are not being developed to a level that
might facilitate mature expression. Al-Roken commented that
many young nationals were losing their expressive identity,
with 50% capacity in Arabic and English and 100% in neither.


6. (C) One headmistress who was dismissed, according to
al-Roken, appeared on TV complaining that the UAEG kicks out
experienced nationals and brings in "Canadian fugitives," an
apparent reference to a recently-employed educator from
Canada who was running from outstanding arrest warrants at
home. She argued that UAE national teachers, some of whom
had won awards for their work, were amply qualified to
educate the next generation.


7. (C) Sheikh Nahyan regrettably focuses only on the labor
market in setting academic goals, said al-Kitbi, sour on the
weakening of debate in the classroom. Sheikh Nahyan sees no
need for literature or humanities, she continued, creating a
gap in those areas, which engenders increased resentment
among professorial circles. That resentment in turn pushes
many in a more conservative direction, she said, citing the
danger of shutting off open debate as was the case, in her
view, in the closure of a popular web blog (ref A).


8. (C) Secretary General of the Emirates Human Rights
Association, Mohammed Ghubash, told PolOffs September 19 that
six ("of the 80" or so) dismissed educators had appealed to
the Association for assistance. (He said all 80 were
Emiratis, as expatriate teachers had been "dealt with"
previously.) Ghubash said he welcomed the dismissal of the
teachers, was pleased that education would remain "neutral"
and not "politicized," and told them they had no right to
exploit their profession in an effort to spread their
ideology. He offered them no assistance, adding to PolOff
that it was the Islamists who fought against English as a
teaching medium and jeopardized secular education goals.


9. (C) The dismissal of a large number of educators is still
informal (or extra-legal),said al-Roken, as they were told
not to report for duty in the absence of a formal decision.
He claimed that 52 teachers were pressed to take early
retirement in 2002; he had helped 12 of them sue for
reinstatement and the case is now before the UAE Supreme
Court. He was cautiously hopeful that some may win
reinstatement. Capricious dismissals are creating hatred
among UAE nationals, said al-Roken.


10. (C) Al-Roken tells a troublingly similar story of a once
"thriving" civil society now restrained by the tightened grip
of "the executive." His own desire to start a human rights
NGO in the 1990's was suppressed by the clear risk of a "no"
from the government. He and his colleagues therefore formed
a committee within the existing Jurists' Association and
effectively did "much work" that an NGO might accomplish. He
finally risked the application process in 2005 to open an NGO
and has received no reply. (Note: The UAEG did permit
formation of another "Emirates Human Rights Association" in
February 2006 with officers more acceptable to the
authorities, ref E. End note.)


11. (C) Asked what he thought was the impact of UAEG
scripting of Friday mosque sermons, al-Roken laughed and
asked who would voluntarily attend a sermon to hear the
sterile government bottom line. One had nothing to look
forward to but the prayers, he said. He did not elaborate
when asked if disaffected worshippers might go underground
and organize their own religious discussions. (We hear
reports of imams giving private sermons under the patronage
of some female members of the ruling family, who are likely
not approved by the security forces and who have reportedly
been more fiery and "Islamist" in their teachings.)


12. (C) Post has also learned of at least one case of a
military officer dismissed for Islamist behavior manifest in
a longer beard and shorter robe than traditionally worn by
Emiratis. The military, by some accounts, is instituting
stricter policies on the trimming of beards.


13. (C) Comment: The UAE is committed to secularizing
education, as Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ)
and his brother, Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed (AbZ),
outlined for a USG visitor last year (ref D). They said the
UAE had stopped sending Islamic Studies students to Saudi
Arabia due to extreme views among the faculties there, sent
fewer students to other Arab states where religion was
sometimes addressed in "strange ways," and would soon require
public school teachers in Abu Dhabi to go through training
courses and obtain teaching licenses (a licensing process

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that would not be based on education credentials alone, but
involve approval by "other agencies"). AbZ noted the
sensitivities of the teaching profession, in which "wrong
influences" and "twisted minds" can be dangerous. "We cannot
have radical Muslims running our schools, no matter what
subjects they know." While these comments were offered in
the context of education in Abu Dhabi in particular, Abu
Dhabi's funding of the federal government gives it influence
throughout the country.


14. (C) Comment continued: It is difficult to assess what
objective standards, if any, the UAE is using to cull the
ranks of academics, yet we consistently hear that "security"
(the "other agency" referred to by AbZ) has a role in the
vetting process.


15. (C) Comment continued: The UAE populace is by no means
liberal in a western sense, yet within a moderately
conservative Islamic environment it is largely permissive of
the somewhat secular UAEG approach to governance. The UAEG
seeks stability and prosperity by clipping the wings of
educators and thinkers who stray too far from support of the
implied "ruling bargain," by which rulers rule in exchange
for providing for the needs of the populace. Most UAE
nationals benefit from a highly comfortable quality of life
and go along with the bargain, founded in ruling-family
patronage. The few who speak out discover the cost of free
expression. By edging out "troublesome" teachers, preachers,
and writers, the UAEG hopes to limit the impact of these few
voices before an organized opposition to the ruling bargain
emerges. Labor unions are restricted for somewhat similar
reasons.


16. (C) Comment continued: Whether the long-term net effect
of this policy is a disaffected minority turning to more
extreme and/or even violent forms of expression, or simply
the suppression of the variety of creative thinking that
might lead the nation to discover new solutions to societal
problems as the UAE commutes between tradition and modernity
(with an abiding love for both),it would be in the UAE's
best interests to avoid sealing off expression to the point
that societal release valves close and pressure builds. Any
society needs to let off steam, especially a society steaming
along with ambitious economic grown plans that rapidly import
global values antithetical to the tribal socio-religious
tradition of the Gulf.


17. (C) Comment continued: Finally, although the USG should
sympathize with the UAEG desire to keep truly extremist views
from spreading, we must also emphasize that stability and
prosperity over the long term will require openness to the
greatest extent possible. End comment.
QUINN