CHAD'S GRAND IMAM REQUESTS HELP TO INVESTIGATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NDJAMENA 000149

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C, EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT (NELSON)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2017
TAGS: KTFN CD PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: CHAD'S GRAND IMAM REQUESTS HELP TO INVESTIGATE
TERRORISM FINANCING

REF: NDJAMENA 00130

Classified By: PAO Arthur Bell for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Post calls attention to the following request from
Chad's Grand Imam, Sheikh Hissein Hassan Abakar, conveyed in
a February 7 meeting with the Ambassador (reftel). In the
meeting, Abakar requested assistance from Post and the USG to
investigate and interdict possible terrorist and extremist
financing in Chad. The Grand Imam named a prominent Chadian
Muslim leader, Dr. Ahmat Mahamat Haggar, as a primary conduit
for funds from at least two individual Saudis -- Khaled
al-Touwil and Saleh bin Omar Badahdouh -- and from the World
Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY). In addition to WAMY, the
Imam also named three organizations that have been
attempting, for some time, to bring extremist Islamic
ideologies and practices to Chad: 1) the Two Holy Mosques
Foundation; 2) the "Mecca Mukarama" Foundation; and 3) the
Islamic Forum. Dr. Haggar, who has served as president of
the Chadian branch of Ansar Al-Sunna, operates an
Arabic-language radio station and a newspaper, and is also
active in promoting a network of Islamic schools and mosques
in Chad, especially in N'Djamena and Moussoro (NOTE: Haggar
is an ethnic Kreda from the Moussoro region. END NOTE),but
also in the southern cities of Pala, Bongor, and Bebidja.
Haggar is reported to operate a large Muslim student
dormitory in N'Djamena called the 'Foyer des Etudiants.'


2. (C) Comment: Post notes that Government of Chad security
and intelligence services are among the appropriate partners
in investigating and interdicting terrorism financing, not a
religious leader such as the Grand Imam. At the same time,
Post judges the Imam's request to be well-informed and worth
passing on. The Imam has long been a voice for moderation
and religious tolerance in Chad and is a close contact of the
Embassy, always ready to lend his strong support to Post's
Muslim Outreach programs.
WALL