QATAR FORGES ITS OWN "WAHABI" PATH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 001052

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF KISL QA
SUBJECT: QATAR FORGES ITS OWN "WAHABI" PATH

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael A. Ratney,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Qatar's brand of Islam, according to three
sources, is both traditional and progressive. It is
traditional in that it is based on scripture and standing
interpretations, but progressive in its tolerance for various
Islamic schools of thought and moderate social strictures.
Even though Amirs of Qatar have referred to themselves and
their subjects as "Wahabi," use of this term is increasingly
pejorative in Qatar today. While most Qataris, if pressed,
would identify themselves as Salafis, they generally do not
label themselves as anything other than Muslims. The tone
for the country, and its religion, emanates from the Amir.
The current Amir several years ago made a point of using the
Wahabi term as a descriptor in public, but his director of
communications at the time believes he did so to make clear
to Saudi Arabia that Qatar alone would dictate the terms of
its religious practices and the vocabulary used to describe
them. In comparison to its Saudi neighbors, Qatar has
increasingly chosen to define its religious practices in
progressive and inclusive terms. End Summary.

QATARIS: TOLERANT AND MODERATE MUSLIMS
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2. (C) Frequent reference is made in the press and on the
Internet to Qatar's brand of Islam as Wahabi, the prevailing
current in Saudi Arabia. Yet Qatari society is starkly
different from its Saudi neighbor. Qatari women in large
numbers cover their faces and hair, but they are not required
by law to do so. They are allowed to drive cars. Alcohol is
available in hotels and at state liquor outlets, and even
during Ramadan can be found in hotel minibars. Restaurants
and stores remain open during the call to prayer. Women and
men work alongside each other in the workplace. In short,
Qatar looks anything but Wahabi when compared to Saudi
Arabia. What should we make of the differences, and how do
Qataris see themselves as Muslims?


3. (C) Imam Abdulsalem Basyoni of the Al-Fanar Islamic
Center has lived and worked in Qatar for 19 years. Egyptian,
he grew up in a Christian neighborhood of Cairo and works to
build bridges between different religions and Muslims
themselves. Basyoni told P/E Chief October 31 that Qataris
see themselves first and foremost as Muslims. In his
experience, they are also strongly moderate and are tolerant
of their Muslim brothers and sisters whose Islamic school of
thought may not be their own. Basyoni does not believe it is
accurate to characterize Qataris in general as Wahabi in
outlook.


4. (C) Majid Al-Ansari of the Al-Balagh Society, which
operates Islam Online and two other Internet sites,
BiblioIslam and Reading Islam, told P/E Chief October 28 that
Westerners have a tendency to oversimplify the religious
outlook of Muslims. Rather than describe Qataris as Wahabis,
it is more accurate in his view to refer to the vast majority
of them as Salafi in outlook. Members of this school of
Islamic thought, according to Al-Ansari, are generally
traditional in thinking and understand Islam directly through
the reading of scripture. He observed that although in Saudi
Arabia imams who are very much a part of the government
establishment describe themselves as Wahabi, most Qataris
would describe themselves -- if pushed to categorize their
brand of Islam -- as Salafi. Wahabi as a term, he said, is
increasingly pejorative in Qatar and, thanks to Osama Bin
Laden, carries today very negative connotations.

"ON THE PATH OF OUR AMIR"
--------------


5. (C) Al-Ansari said the more extreme Salafis in Qatar
(like in Saudi Arabia) advocate a strong governmental role
for the mosque. Their numbers, however, are small, and
Al-Ansari underscored that "often the most extreme voices are
non-Qatari." Some Qataris are becoming more "Americanized,"
or liberal in their Islamic views, though most remain
"traditional but tolerant." In this sense, he would not
currently describe the Qatari community as Salafi. That
said, non-Qataris have often perceived Qatar as Salafi
because Amir Abdullah bin Jasim Al Thani (the
great-grandfather of the current Amir) pronounced himself to
be one. The current Amir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in
Al-Ansari's view, tries to maintain balance between Qatar's
traditions and modernity. In this way, the Amir can ensure
that Qatar is a friend of the U.S. without provoking the
populace. The Amir, he said, is very careful to maintain
historic architectural styles and traditional activities like
camel racing even as Western-style advertising, Starbucks,
and McDonald's have rapidly established themselves over the
past five years.


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6. (C) The Qatari people are peaceful, observed Al-Ansari,
who noted that in recent years two Amirs had been overthrown
without bloodshed, much less vocal resistance. The current
heir apparent, Sheikh Tamim, replaced his brother Jasim
without an "article of explanation in the newspapers." No
one raised a fuss. Salafis continue to have the most
influence in mosques and religious affairs, but they by no
means have a monopoly. Ultimately, he remarked, Qataris are
traditional and, consistent with the Arab proverb, they "are
on the path of their king." The current Amir (king) Hamad
has tried to be practical in bringing about change, said
Al-Ansari. The introduction of alcohol, for example, was
seen as practical given the increasing presence of foreigners
in Qatar. The government gradually and quietly allowed
alcohol in five-star hotels and over time people grew
accustomed to it, and its distribution expanded. Despite the
large number of automobile accidents that can now be
attributed to alcohol, according to Al-Ansari, the government
has not sought to clamp down on its sale and distribution.
Rather, it has kept quiet about the role that alcohol plays
in traffic accidents. He said this conspiracy of silence,
aimed at promoting tolerance, is the Qatari way.

SAUDI ARABIA WILL NOT DEFINE QATARI TERMS OF REFERENCE
-------------- --------------


7. (C) Small businessman (and until recently university
professor of communications) Adel Al-Malki, in an October 29
conversation with P/E Chief, concurred with Al-Ansari on the
important role the Amir plays in setting the national tone,
especially on matters of religion. Al-Malki, who headed the
information section in the Amiri Diwan from 1989-1999 under
both the current Amir and his father, said there is much
national pride among Qataris in Qatar's progress under the
current Amir. Al-Malki echoed Al-Ansari's comment that
"Wahabi" has a negative connotation for most Muslims these
days and that the term "Salafi" is better suited to
describing the religious tendencies of most Qataris.
According to Al-Malki, it would be even more accurate to
describe Saudis and Qataris as followers of the Hanbali
school of Islamic thought. He opined that the primary
differences between Qatar and Saudi Arabia with respect to
the practice of Islam are the different outlooks of the
populations. According to Al-Malki, the Saudis are "bedouin
traditionalists," whereas the Qataris are more modern and
progressive. This progressivism, he stated, is reflected in
Qatar's tolerance and accommodation of different religious
currents in Islam. In contrast, the Saudis are beholden to
upholding the Salafi tradition.


8. (C) In Qatar, according to Al-Malki, all schools of
Islamic thought are represented. In this respect, he
observed that Qataris are proud of being different from their
Saudi neighbors. Al-Malki explained this difference in
outlook was from Qatar's location on the Persian Gulf, which
facilitated commerce and trade with foreigners vis-a-vis the
land-locked deserts of Saudi Arabia. He said it is important
to understand the rivalry on the progressive/traditional
continuum between Saudi Arabia and Qatar to understand the
context of the current Amir's statement some years ago (when
Al-Malki was heading the information section of his office).
The Amir publicly declared at the time: "I am Wahabi, and
Qatar is a Wahabi country." Al-Malki said it was never clear
why the Amir made the statement, but Al-Malki interpreted the
statement as an effort by the Amir to put a modern face on
the religious currents generally shared at the time between
Qatar and Saudi Arabia. When the Amir made his statement,
the Saudis were pressing Qatar to follow the Saudi lead in
matters of religion. The Amir's statement, said Al-Malki,
was most probably the Amir's way of saying, "Thank you very
much, but we Qataris will do things our way."


9. (C) COMMENT: We believe there is much truth to
Al-Malki's assertion that Wahabi references to Qatar need to
be seen in the context of the Amir's reserving the right to
carve out a progressive, modernist path for Qatar -- even
when it veers from religious traditions long shared with
Qatar's Saudi brethren of the Hanbali school. Judging by the
extent to which Qataris seek to distance themselves from
Saudi Arabia in all spheres, it should come as no surprise
that even in religion Qataris define themselves by how they
differ from their Saudi neighbors and yield to no one the
right to define the terms or vocabulary by which Qataris
live.

RATNEY