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