Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MANAMA554
2007-06-14 13:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Manama
Cable title:
BAHRAINI GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS SAMARRA MOSQUE BOMBING
how-toVZCZCXRO5219 OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK DE RUEHMK #0554 1651311 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 141311Z JUN 07 FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6922 INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000554
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2017
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS BA REGION
SUBJECT: BAHRAINI GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS SAMARRA MOSQUE BOMBING
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000554
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2017
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS BA REGION
SUBJECT: BAHRAINI GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS SAMARRA MOSQUE BOMBING
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (U) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
June 13 issued a public statement denouncing and condemning
the "criminal aggression" on the Samarra mosque earlier the
same day. He said that targeting holy and religious places,
whether those of Muslims or other faiths, is a brutal crime
against the Iraqi people and all humanity. He considered the
attack a "cowardly terrorist act" aimed at harming the Iraqi
people and the country's unity. Shaikh Khalid called on
Iraqis to exert self-control and not be dragged into
abhorrent sectarian violence that would further shake the
country's stability and security.
2. (U) Two processions took place in downtown Manama, a
mostly Shia area, the evening of June 13. Hundreds
participated in the marches, which were peaceful and
well-organized with security forces and local (unarmed)
community police providing security. Most of the slogans
called on Muslims to unite and denounce terrorism and the
"takfeer" mentality (normally used to describe the views of
some extremist Sunnis who consider Shias to be infidels). No
organization claimed credit for organizing the marches. They
appear to have been grassroots expressions of citizens'
concern.
3. (U) Many religious, political, and civil society
organizations issued statements criticizing the attack. All
used similar language in denouncing terrorism and calling on
Muslims to unite. However, the statements from Shia groups
focused on the destructive effect of the takfeer attitude,
while Sunni organizations implied that coalition forces
(referred to as occupation forces) were at a minimum
indirectly responsible for the bombing. A parliamentary
deputy representing the Al Asala (Sunni Salafi) political
society said publicly that acts like the attack promote the
occupation's goal of inciting sectarianism. A Bahraini
cleric representing the Al Azhar (Sunni Egyptian) Islamic
trend went further, accusing the White House and Iraqi
government of being responsible for the attack.
4. (U) The only columnist to address the attack was Aqeel
Mirza from Al Wasat newspaper, which covers events from a
Shia perspective. He says it was neither Sunnis nor Shias
who bombed the mosque, implying that coalition forces were
responsible. He asserts, "The destruction of the two
minarets has nothing to do with Islam and has no other goal
but to throw Iraq into a sectarian crematorium to burn the
body of Iraq like fire burns wood."
5. (C) Comment: The refrain that coalition forces were
somehow responsible for the bombing is also something we
heard in Bahrain in February 2006. In the aftermath of that
attack, Bahrainis held a very large but peaceful
demonstration, with both Shias and Sunnis participating, that
had as one of its central themes the idea that the United
States was to blame. We expect to continue to hear such
charges for the near term.
********************************************* ********
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/
********************************************* ********
MONROE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2017
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS BA REGION
SUBJECT: BAHRAINI GOVERNMENT CONDEMNS SAMARRA MOSQUE BOMBING
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (U) Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
June 13 issued a public statement denouncing and condemning
the "criminal aggression" on the Samarra mosque earlier the
same day. He said that targeting holy and religious places,
whether those of Muslims or other faiths, is a brutal crime
against the Iraqi people and all humanity. He considered the
attack a "cowardly terrorist act" aimed at harming the Iraqi
people and the country's unity. Shaikh Khalid called on
Iraqis to exert self-control and not be dragged into
abhorrent sectarian violence that would further shake the
country's stability and security.
2. (U) Two processions took place in downtown Manama, a
mostly Shia area, the evening of June 13. Hundreds
participated in the marches, which were peaceful and
well-organized with security forces and local (unarmed)
community police providing security. Most of the slogans
called on Muslims to unite and denounce terrorism and the
"takfeer" mentality (normally used to describe the views of
some extremist Sunnis who consider Shias to be infidels). No
organization claimed credit for organizing the marches. They
appear to have been grassroots expressions of citizens'
concern.
3. (U) Many religious, political, and civil society
organizations issued statements criticizing the attack. All
used similar language in denouncing terrorism and calling on
Muslims to unite. However, the statements from Shia groups
focused on the destructive effect of the takfeer attitude,
while Sunni organizations implied that coalition forces
(referred to as occupation forces) were at a minimum
indirectly responsible for the bombing. A parliamentary
deputy representing the Al Asala (Sunni Salafi) political
society said publicly that acts like the attack promote the
occupation's goal of inciting sectarianism. A Bahraini
cleric representing the Al Azhar (Sunni Egyptian) Islamic
trend went further, accusing the White House and Iraqi
government of being responsible for the attack.
4. (U) The only columnist to address the attack was Aqeel
Mirza from Al Wasat newspaper, which covers events from a
Shia perspective. He says it was neither Sunnis nor Shias
who bombed the mosque, implying that coalition forces were
responsible. He asserts, "The destruction of the two
minarets has nothing to do with Islam and has no other goal
but to throw Iraq into a sectarian crematorium to burn the
body of Iraq like fire burns wood."
5. (C) Comment: The refrain that coalition forces were
somehow responsible for the bombing is also something we
heard in Bahrain in February 2006. In the aftermath of that
attack, Bahrainis held a very large but peaceful
demonstration, with both Shias and Sunnis participating, that
had as one of its central themes the idea that the United
States was to blame. We expect to continue to hear such
charges for the near term.
********************************************* ********
Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/
********************************************* ********
MONROE