MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DISMISSED EIGHTY THREE EMIRATI TEACHERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 001440


FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREF SOCI AE
SUBJECT: MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DISMISSED EIGHTY THREE EMIRATI TEACHERS

REF: A) 07 ABU DHABI 1567, B) ABU DHABI 1037

Classified by Ambassador Richard Olson, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In 2007, eighty three Emirati teachers were
unexpectedly reassigned from the Ministry of Education to other
ministries for alleged Islamist tendencies. In a recent conversation
with PolOff, two of the teachers lamented the dismissal of Emirati
nationals from a school system dominated by non-native educators, the
perceived failure of Emirati culture to keep pace with the country's
economic growth, and the limitations on democracy. Although these
two teachers' views appear to be moderate -- no advocacy for a
drastic upheaval but strong interest in an open dialogue on the UAE's
cultural and religious heritage and identity -- they do appear to
have Islamist foundations. The case underscores the sensitivity of
the UAEG towards Islamist activists in the school system, and also
highlights tensions which can develop as the leadership here moves to
reform the educational system. It also illuminates the roles and
perspectives of two organizations, to which many of the teachers
belonged, which offer an agenda of reform and change at odds with the
leadership's. End summary.


2. (SBU) On June 15, 2008 the September 2007 reassignment (ref A) of
83 teachers attracted media attention when the teachers, along with
their families, publicly protested their reassignment in front of the
Ministry of Education. They asked that their official complaints be
delivered to President Sheikh Khalifa and Prime Minister Sheikh
Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum for review. The teachers allege that
some of their spouses who also worked in the Ministry had promotions
suspended and that some of their children were denied scholarships.


3. (C).The UAE Government's view on the dismissals is that the
teachers represented a creeping Islamist threat to the UAE's
traditionally tolerant approach to Islam. Minister of Cabinet
Affairs Gergawi told Under Secretary Glassman and Ambassador Olson
that the threat stemmed from the late seventies and early eighties
when an Islamist served as Minister of Education and brought a number
of religious conservatives into the Educational apparatus. Abu Dhabi
Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed repeatedly describes to visitors how
the UAE educational system has been "hijacked" by the Muslim
Brotherhood. The Education Minister, Dr. Hanif Ali Hassan, describes
the current reform program within the UAE as being designed to bring
Islamic studies (which are mandatory for all Emirati and Muslim
students) in accordance with UAE traditions, rather than imported
ones.

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TWO DISMISSED TEACHERS SHARE THEIR STORIES
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4. (SBU) Speaking to PolOff and Pol Specialist October 9, two former
Emirati teachers from the UAE Ministry of Education, Messrs Ahmad
Rashed Al Nuaimi and Salem Moussa Al Tineiji (Al Tineiji is well
known to the PA Section, which considered nominating him for an
internet-based interactive learning projects' grant),suggested that
they and eighty one of their colleagues had been unexpectedly
reassigned from the Ministry of Education to "marginal" jobs in other
ministries because of their participation in the Reform and Social
Guidance Association ("Islah wa Towjih" in Arabic, see paragraph 8).
Both proclaimed that their membership was the only reason they could
think of for their dismissal, since professionally they had all
received "positive job reviews with grades of B+ and above."
According to Mr. Al Tineiji, the Association was established in the
1970s, is sanctioned by the UAEG, and proclaims to limit its
activities to "guidance, advice, and organizing lectures."


5. (C) Many of the reassigned educators see themselves as human
rights activists and political reformists with Islamist leanings. Al
Nuaimi admitted that most of the 83 teachers, if not all, belong to
the Emirates People's Rights Organization (EPRO) which calls for
social and political reform in the UAE (see paragraphs 9 and 10 for
background on EPRO). When asked if they may have been reassigned
because of Islamist leanings, Mr. Al Tineiji replied: "if that was
the case and if some of us had been determined to be extremists, why
not tell us that and deal with the individuals involved instead of us
collectively?" He added: "I am proud to be Emirati. I am proud of
the achievements of my country. I am worried that as our country
grows materially, the culture is not keeping pace and that our
identity is getting lost." Mr. Al Nuaimi felt that the teachers'
"Islamist" views were simply an excuse for their dismissal and that
the UAEG's real agenda was to quash any domestic discussion of
political reform. Interestingly, neither man held the Minister of
Education responsible for their dismissals and instead laid the blame
squarely on State Security (ref B),which Mr. Al Nuaimi claimed acted
on USG policy recommendations to root out Islamists. (Although the
suggestion that the USG somehow played a role in their dismissal was
clear, PolOff did not sense animosity. Al Nuaimi announced during
the conversation that he might even seek political asylum in the
USA.)


6. (C) When asked what may have led to them falling foul of the
UAEG, they said that they had questioned the authenticity and
credibility of the Federal National Council (FNC) as a symbol of
democratic progress in the UAE given that many FNC members were
appointed rather than elected (20 are appointed, with the other 20
elected by an appointed electorate). In addition, Al Nuaimi said he
had questioned the wisdom of allowing ministers to remain in
government without term limits and maintain the same portfolio for
many years. That said, Al Nuaimi claimed to be fully supportive of
allowing the royal family to rule and Al Tineiji repeatedly praised
the strides his country had made in the last three decades. Their
primary concern, they both claimed, was that the country was losing
its identity and they wanted a conversation on that issue to take
place on a national level.


7. (SBU) Both former teachers conceded that their reassignments had
not resulted in reductions in salary. Al Nuaimi opted to retire
rather than accept the job to which he was reassigned, a decision
with lifestyle implications for his family (his retirement benefits
were about a third of what he had earned as a teacher). Al Tineiji
continues to draw a full salary although he no longer works as a
teacher. He pointed out that the Ministry of Education had offered
to re-instate him but that he refused to accept unless his fellow
teachers were extended similar offers or given full explanations for
their dismissals. He lamented the small number of UAE nationals who
taught in a school system which employs many expatriates -- according
to statistics issued by the Teachers' Association, the eighty three
dismissed teachers represent a surprising 10 - 15% of UAE nationals
who teach in the system overall. Al Tineiji pointed out that the
rate of attrition among that small group of nationals was fairly high
and that the Ministry of Education could ill afford the luxury of
dismissing so many teachers who actually wanted to work given the
difficulty it had in retaining national teachers in the first place.
As evidence of their abilities as educators, they presented Teachers'
Association magazines that profiled the contributions that they and
their colleagues had made as teachers.

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BACKGROUND ON REFORM AND SOCIAL GUIDANCE ASSOC
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8. (C) Al Islah Wa Al Tojihi Al Ijtima (The Reform and Social
Guidance Association) was established in Dubai in the early 1980s
with the support of then Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al
Maktoum, father of current Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. We have few details about the
mandate of the organization other than that it was part of a general
desire to support the evolution of Dubai as a modern city embracing
tolerance and acceptance with Islam as a backdrop. In the latter
part of the 1980s the Association appears to have become less
moderate (or the regime may have become more moderate and changed its
perception of the association) and perhaps pushed for a more Islamist
agenda. The association continues to exist with branches in Dubai,
Ras al Khaimah, and Sharjah with public events that are primarily
charitable and social in nature.

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BACKGROUND ON EPRO
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9. (C) The Emirates People's Rights Organization (EPRO or Emirates
Pro) was established in 2004 as an independent human rights
organization by Mr. Hassan al-Diqqi, a trained accountant turned
self-proclaimed political activist and human rights advocate. The
organization sought and failed to receive recognition by the UAEG
which countered its creation by facilitating the establishment of the
Emirates Human Rights Association (EHRA) in 2006 with members drawn
primarily from government or loosely connected to government. (Mr.
al-Diqqi was also an early member of Al Islah Wa Al Tojihi Al Ijtima
who appears to have parted ways with the group, preferring more
Islamist ideas about development.) To underscore the UAEG's
disapproval of EPRO, Mr. al-Diqqi was ordered to shut down his
Emirates Pro website (www . emiratespro . com ) -- a site on which he
denounced the UAE's lack of civil liberties and alleged political
abuses and human rights violations. Post was able to access the
website before it was shut down. It was clear from the website that
al-Diqqi had Islamist views and was vociferous in his criticism of
the UAEG. He criticized the lack of substantive public political
dialogue in the UAE and the non-existence of political parties. He
strongly objected to permitting Christian churches and Hindu temples
to operate in the UAE and to allowing Western universities
(particularly American ones) to establish local campuses -- a trend
that he claimed corrupted Emirati youth and diluted Emirati culture.
He regularly referred to non-Muslims as "non-believers," which runs
against the grain of the UAEG's desire for a tolerant image.

10 (C) From a human rights perspective, al-Diqqi cited cases of
political prisoners and human rights violations, including
incommunicado detentions and torture, that have seen no coverage in
the mainstream UAE press. However, his failure (or refusal) to cite
his sources makes it difficult to confirm these reports. Controversy
continues to cloud the picture: Mr. al-Diqqi was arrested in July
2008 in Sharjah on charges that he raped his maid. The Geneva based
human rights group Alkarama fears that "Mr. al-Diqqi is a victim of a
fraudulent criminal prosecution undertaken by the authorities for the
sole purpose of discrediting a known national human rights activist
and to force him to cease all activity."

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COMMENT
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11. (C) The case of the 83 teachers provides rare insight into the
UAEG's efforts to limit the influence of Islamist thought in key
institutions and, in particular, the government's approach in the
context of its highly sensitive effort to reform the educational
system. Al Tineiji and Al Nuaimi, and the organizations they belong
to, appear to represent a segment of the society grappling with
questions of Emirati identity -- a topic with significant political
overtones because it brings into question the leadership's "vision"
for the UAE. For its part the UAE Government, views itself as being
both Islamic and modern, and views the Islamists as being the
standard bearers for an essentially foreign ideology. Elsewhere in
the region the issues of modernizing versus traditionalist Islamism
have been resolved with considerable violence. Here they are being
resolved by the quiet marginalization of the Islamists.


OLSON