GRAND MUFTI CONDEMNS REP. TANCREDO COMMENTS, SAYS

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001720 SIPDIS SIPDIS R FOR U/S HUGHES; NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2017 TAGS: PREL KISL KIRF PGOV KWBG IS SUBJECT: GRAND MUFTI CONDEMNS REP. TANCREDO COMMENTS, SAYS LACK OF POLITICAL PROGRESS IS FANNING RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. At an August 14 meeting with PolOffs in Jerusalem, Grand Mufti Muhammad Hussayn (with Supreme Islamic Council member Adnan Hussayni) said Rep. Tom Tancredo's remarks (rebroadcast on al-Arabiya television) about possible retaliation against Mecca and Medina were hurtful to Muslims. He said such remarks reinforce Muslim perceptions of U.S. hostility to Islam and threaten to recast political disagreements as religious struggles. PolOff gave the Mufti a copy of A/S McCormack's August 5 remarks calling Rep. Tancredo's statement "simply outrageous" and said the U.S. and Palestinian Muslim leaders share a responsibility to encourage religious tolerance and dialogue and to condemn religious incitement and violent responses to such incitement. Hussayn said most Muslims will measure President Bush's historical legacy by his efforts at Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking and it is better not to have international meeting on Palestinian matters than to have a meeting without serious results. Bio note at para 4. End summary. Tancredo's Remarks "Hurtful to Muslims" -------------- ¶2. (C) Grand Mufti Muhammad Hussayn told PolOffs that Rep. Tancredo's remarks about possible nuclear retaliation against Mecca and Medina was hurtful to Muslims, and said he is concerned that someone holding public office and running for U.S. President would make such comments. He said such remarks reinforce Muslim perceptions of U.S. hostility to Islam and threaten to recast political disagreements as religious struggles. He said the U.S. has a responsibility to preserve harmony and deter elected officials from hurting the feelings of millions of Muslims. PolOff gave the Mufti a copy of A/S McCormack's August 5 remarks calling Rep. Tancredo's statement "simply outrageous," and said the U.S. and Palestinian Muslim leaders share a responsibility to encourage religious tolerance and dialogue and to condemn both religious incitement and violent responses to such incitement. High Palestinian Expectations for International Meeting -------------- ¶3. (C) The Mufti said most Muslims will measure President Bush's historical legacy by his efforts at Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, not by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Palestinians will view an unproductive international meeting as proof of Hamas predictions and as the moderates' final failure. "Solving the injustice here will destroy al-Qaeda's roots and defeat those who want to use religion to justify violence." Bio Note -------------- ¶4. (C) Bio Note: Grand Mufti Muhammad Ahmad Hussayn was appointed by President Abbas in July 2006, replacing the Arafat-appointed Ekrima Sabri. He was born in the Jabal Muqabr neighborhood of Jerusalem in 1950, schooled in Jordan in Islamic Studies, and in 1982 (at age 32),was appointed Director and Head Preacher at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, delivering the main Friday sermons. A respected Muslim scholar and quiet man, Hussayn generally has avoided the inflammatory rhetoric of his predecessor. While openly critical of Israeli restrictions on Palestinian Muslims and excavations at the Mughrabi Gate, he has consistently advocated interfaith dialogue and respect for Christian and Jewish beliefs. He faces significant internal pressure to adopt hard-line positions from Hizb al-Tahrir and other radical Jerusalem/West Bank Muslim elements as well as from Israeli-Arab cleric Ra'ed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement's Northern Branch in Nazareth and Umm al-Fahm. DUFFY