LEBANON: SHEIKH RAHAL SAYS MAJORITY OF SHIA ARE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIRUT 000560

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SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2018
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SUBJECT: LEBANON: SHEIKH RAHAL SAYS MAJORITY OF SHIA ARE
MODERATE

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

SEPARATING SHIA FROM HIZBALLAH
--------------


1. (C) Independent Shia activist Lokman Slim, in preparation
for May 3-9 visit to Washington by a delegation of moderate
Shia, introduced a member of the delegation, Sheikh Maarouf
Rahal, to the Charge on April 23. Sheikh Rahal, an advisor
to Mufti of Tyre Sayyed Ali al-Amin, has been a practicing
Sharia judge since 1991 in Baabda, Beirut, Byblos, and
Kesarwan.


2. (C) Rahal explained that not all Shia are Hizballah, and
in fact, the majority of Shia are moderate. However, he
added, they need a strong base to refer to in order to break
their silence. He remarked that it is unusual for the Shia
to be leaning towards Iran these days, as historically Shia
throughout the region have paid primary allegiance to their
states.


3. (C) Arguing that the strongest and most-effective defense
against Hizballah comes from a sheikh, Rahal said moderate
clerics are powerful weapons because they are considered
experts and can fight Hizballah using their enemy's own
rhetoric. "Light has to be spread where and how darkness was
spread," he said. In the fight against terroris, Rahal
posited, the Shia grasp this struggle bet when they are
shown by their own sheikhs the alternate, purer vision of
Islam and Shiaism.

U.S. ASSISTANCE VALUABLE,
WHEN NOT CREDITED TO HIZBALLAH
--------------


4. (C) Rahal noted that, while he was appreciative of U.S.
assistance to the south following the July 2006 war, he is
concerned that the aid indirectly helps Hizballah. Sometimes
aid is funneled through NGOs, some of which are linked to
Hizballah, before it reaches the people. Hizballah has even
taken credit for money disbursed by GOL which was provided by
international donors, he added.


5. (C) The U.S. should continue providing aid to southern
Lebanon, but through moderate Shia who are not linked with
Hizballah. Rahal gave the example of a hawaza (Shia
seminary) where he teaches. Run by Sheikh Amin, this school
would be an appropriate funding parners because it is
grooming the next generation of moderate Shia clerics and
giving them to tools to refute extremist Islamic idealogues.


6. (C) Rahal relayed that Sheikh Amin often mentions that
Shia are faced with two choices, or axes, to follow:
American or Iranian. Amin and his followers recognize that
Iran acts out of self-interest -- destroying other countries
in order to acheive their own agendas. When faced with this
choice, moderate Shia will side with the Americans. He
admitted that an independent path is also attractive, as it
speaks to specific Shia interests but also runs in parallel
with the U.S.'s shared interest in sovereignty, democracy,
freedom, and prosperity.

Comment
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7. (C) This was our first meeting with Sheikh Rahal. He
joins this Washington delegation in order to represent the
views of his influential leader, Sheikh Amin of Tyre. His
input, as a religious leader, will nicely complement some of
the other intellectual and media figures that Slim has
brought together for this Washington visit. Rahal seemed
open to working with the USG on future cooperative projects
and he relayed an invitation to the Charge from Sheikh Amin
to visit him in Tyre. End Comment.

SISON