SHI'A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY FEELS UNDER THREAT IN

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000415 SIPDIS RIYADH PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP; DEPARTMENT FOR JLIEBERMAN IN DRL/NESCA; DEPARTMENT FOR AGOMBIS IN DRL/IRF; E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2018 TAGS: KIRF KISL PGOV PHUM SCUL SOCI SA XF SUBJECT: SHI'A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY FEELS UNDER THREAT IN JEDDAH REF: 08 RIYADH 853 Classified By: Consul General Martin Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) SUMMARY. A Jeddah-based Shi'a Imam details government attempts to suppress free religious expression. Another prominent Shi'a in Western Saudi Arabia explains that the community lives in a constant state of discrimination and insecurity. Both individuals support interfaith dialogue and the Imam regularly participates in a discussion group between Muslims sects. The accounts echo the well-documented challenges that the Shi'a are known to face in the Eastern Provinces. END SUMMARY. Shi'a Community faces Discrimination -------------- ¶2. (S) On August 25th, Poloff met with Mohammad A., a Shi'a Imam based in Jeddah. He expressed concern for his security as a result of speaking to a USG official, asking if "we are allowed to meet." Poloff explained that all measures would be taken to protect his name. Mohammad lectures on religion in the afternoons after his normal teaching duties. The meetings he conducts often bring in several hundred members of the local Shi'a community and focus on prayer and discussion of religion including the analysis of particular fatwas. ¶3. (S) In April 2008, Mohammad was called in by the Ministry of the Interior. He received a phone call, was given an extension number, but no name, and told to report to the Ministry. With no indication as to who or why he was being summoned, Mohammad waited nearly 1.5 hrs in the scorching sun before finally being admitted. Mohammad reflected, "Perhaps they were trying to test me to, to see what kind of a person I am." He was told by the official that Shi'a religious gatherings "should only happen in the East" and was interrogated about the nature of the meetings. He explained to the official that he is not proselytizing and is merely trying to pray, inviting the official to come and observe for himself. Mohammad says that he gets called in every year or so for exactly this reason. The meetings are continuing and so far have not been disrupted by force. ¶4. (S) In a subsequent meeting on September 11, Mohammad was accompanied by Abdul-Aziz, a member of the Jeddah Shi'a community and a successful pilot and trainer. Abdul-Aziz conveyed his candid views of life for the Shi'a in Saudi Arabia, explaining that they are victims of routine discrimination in all aspects of life. Abdul-Aziz agreed that rising tensions in Iraq and Iran are impacting the situation and noted that there is a widely-held and false assumption that Shi'a are all controlled by the Iranian mullahs. He emphasized that it was only through extremely hard work that he was able to gain his position in life, noting that his promotions and appointments were often gained only after arguing that he was equally or more qualified than a rival Sunni candidate. ¶5. (S) Abdul-Aziz bemoaned the inability to change the situation for the Shi'a and feels that the US has an important role to play in moving the Saudi leadership towards making changes. He laments that the rule of law is basically absent and that fundamental legal reform needs to take place in order to protect the Shi'a, listing the Ministry of the Interior and Prince Naif as primarily responsible for obstructing change. Abdul-Aziz agreed that changes might be easier to effect at a local level, but clearly stated country-wide systemic reforms are preferred. ¶6. (S) Abdul-Aziz asked, "What should we do if one of us is taken away in the middle of the night?" Although Abdul-Aziz gave no indication such action is likely, he maintains that the Shi'a live in a perpetual atmosphere of insecurity where basic protections from the state are not insured. He pointed out a recent example of a Shi'a sheikh in the East who was arrested simply for running a prayer service. Abdul-Aziz volunteered to keep the US Mission informed of any significant events occurring within the Shi'a community. Two Leading Western Shi'a Support Interfaith -------------- Dialogue -------------- ¶7. (S) Mohammad expressed his support for inter-faith dialogue and was himself part of the first inter-faith dialogue in Mecca. He believes that King Abdullah is truly in JEDDAH 00000415 002 OF 002 favor of dialogue, but his example may not be translating well at other levels of government such as the Mutawwa (Commission for the Promotion of Vice and Virtue AKA the Religious Police). Mohammad is very much in favor of meetings with Christians and Jews, participating every week in a small committee of Muslims of different sects to discuss religion. Mohammad claims there has been no crack-down on this group because it is chaired by a Sunni. ¶8. (S) Abdul-Aziz stressed the value of inter-faith dialogue, drawing a distinction between inter-faith initiatives organized by the King (such as the gathering recently held in Madrid) and the internal dialogue set-up among Sunni, Shi'a and other Muslim minorities. He claimed that the latter efforts have not been effective so far in changing the situation for the Shi'a in Saudi Arabia. ¶9. (S) COMMENT. It is well documented that Saudi Shi'a in the Eastern Provinces are often treated as 2nd class citizens and are routinely denied full freedom of expression(REFTEL). Conversations with two prominent Shi'a in Jeddah indicate that discrimination is country-wide, likely occurring due to inadequacies in the legal structure protecting Muslim minorities. The Jeddah Shi'a are said to number less than ten thousand and therefore may be even more vulnerable. The conversations support recent reporting which has suggested the Shi'a could be strongly supportive of initiatives toward inter-faith dialogue. END COMMENT. QUINN