LEBANON: PROPOSED CHARITY DESIGNATION

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000533 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/HARDING STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/FO:ATACHCO E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2017 TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL PTER LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: PROPOSED CHARITY DESIGNATION REF: A. 2006 BEIRUT 421 ¶B. BEIRUT 416 ¶C. MARCH 29 DOUCETTE-SCHMONSEES EMAIL Classified By: Jeffrey D. Feltman, Ambassador. Reason: 1.4 (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (S) A proposed designation of the al-Mabarrat charity organization, founded by Lebanon's top Shia spiritual leader Sayyed Fadlallah, would risk material damage to USG relations with Lebanon's Shia community, while promising little if any impact on Hizballah. The Embassy maintains good relations with Fadlallah's religious establishment, which appears to play a constructive role in Lebanon's political climate and may offer a moderate alternative to Hizballah's radicalism. A designation of Fadlallah's charity would likely change all that. Meanwhile, post is unaware of any financial or other links between al-Mabarrat and Hizballah, which derives most of its support from state sponsors. End Summary. FADLALLAH'S MABARRAT -------------- ¶2. (S) Post information on the al-Mabarrat charity suggests that there should be thorough consideration and reflection before proceeding with the proposed designation. In Ref A, post argued that al-Mabarrat "is not a Hizballah charity as commonly thought." That message continues, "Al-Mabarrat (in Arabic, "good deeds") was founded by prominent Shia cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, who is not a member of Hizballah, but is named on Treasury's SBN List." ¶3. (S) Embassy Beirut's Public Affairs Section (PAS) is familiar with al-Mabarrat both from peripheral involvement (i.e., PAS has provided teacher training, which al-Mabarrat teachers among others attended, in some southern schools) and from its knowledge of the organization's founder. According to PAS officers, Sayyed Fadlallah is Lebanon's supreme Shia religious authority, the sole "Marji' al-Taqleed" in Lebanon, and the equivalent of an Iranian Ayatollah. As Marji' al-Taqleed, Fadlallah's religious role is to provide a living model for Lebanon's Shia to imitate, and as such he is the most revered religious leader in their community. Although Fadlallah does not meet with diplomats, the number two Shia cleric, Sheikh Abd al-Amir Qabalan, is a regular Embassy contact who recently hosted the Ambassador for a meeting (Ref B) and has urged the USG to play a greater role in solving Lebanon's political crisis. ¶4. (S) The Embassy's acting Public Affairs Officer noted that it is important to recognize the distinction between Fadlallah and the Hizballah foreign terrorist organization. Fadlallah has made several public statements at variance with Hizballah political positions, according to PAS. Not only is Fadlallah politically independent of Hizballah, but there is a key doctrinal difference as well. Fadlallah is a follower of the Najafi School of Shia clerics in Iraq, headed by Ayatollah Sistani, as opposed to the competing Qom clerical tradition in Iran, headed by Ayatollah Khamenei. Hizballah, with its close links to the Qom-dominated Iranian regime, backs the Qom School. While this distinction does not make Fadlallah a U.S. ally, nor would it be completely accurate to say that Fadlallah competes against Hizballah, he and his religious authority may provide a mainstream alternative to Hizballah's radicalism. A designation targeting him or his organizations might undermine some of his standing and thereby boost Hizballah and Iran. THE CASE FOR DESIGNATION -------------- ¶5. (S) LegAtt confirmed that FBI HQ and the FBI Detroit office are in favor of designation of al-Mabarrat, but did not have any additional information on either the organization or its designation developed locally. ¶6. (S) Treasury, in its March 29 email to post on the subject (Ref C),appears to base the case for designating al-Mabarrat BEIRUT 00000533 002 OF 002 on the organization's "support for Hizballah" and an implication that al-Mabarrat fundraising in the United States is somehow entangled with Hizballah fundraising there. However, Treasury has not provided us with enough detail to evaluate those allegations and post is unaware of any financial or other links between al-Mabarrat and Hizballah. THE CASE AGAINST -------------- ¶7. (S/NF) SIMO does not support the designation and has provided detailed reasons in their channels. ¶8. (S) With the exception of LegAtt, post argues against designating al-Mabarrat at this time. Such a move could bolster Hizballah by hitting a more mainstream alternative. It could also damage USG relations with al-Mabarrat's founder -- Lebanon's top Shia spiritual leader -- and, consequently, with the Shia community in Lebanon. Designating al-Mabarrat might also damage relations with Iraqi Shia, to the extent that the designation is perceived as a move against the "Najafi" Fadlallah. ¶9. (S) Finally, a designation that is wide of the mark could weaken USG efforts to convince European countries to designate Hizballah's true subsidiary organizations. In addition, sanctioning al-Mabarrat would not likely have any substantial impact on Hizballah's resources or effectiveness. It seems unlikely that al-Mabarrat would be in a position to provide financial support to Hizballah even if its leaders were so inclined, as it appears to rely on small contributions from charitable giving. Hizballah, on the other hand, is generously funded by state sponsors of terrorism. FELTMAN