ALIGARH'S MUSLIMS WELCOME US EMBASSY OFFICIALS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000475

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI KISL IN
SUBJECT: ALIGARH'S MUSLIMS WELCOME US EMBASSY OFFICIALS

Classified By: DepPolCouns Atul Keshap for reasons 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) Summary: On February 11 Political Officers engaged
in a full day of Muslim outreach in the Uttar Pradesh city of
Aligarh. The Deputy Political Counselor delivered a
well-attended address to students on US - India relations at
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) followed by a lunch with
community leaders and a roundtable discussion with Muslim
intellectuals. The highly engaged students and faculty asked
several questions after the talk, generally expressing their
displeasure with US policy. The lunch at the Nawab's family
seat featured a professional crowd, all of whom were very
interested in the US presidential race. At the roundtable
discussion, most participants criticized US policy without
offering any real solutions. Clearly, the perception that
the US is anti-Muslim remains dominant even in intellectual
Muslim circles. The business elite voiced the fewest
protests, more concerned with their commercial interests than
abstract policy debates. End Summary.

Speech on Indo-US Relations
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2. (U) On February 11 Poloffs traveled to AMU to deliver a
speech to students on US - India relations. Founded in 1875
AMU is the oldest Muslim university in India and considered
the historic intellectual center for Muslims in South Asia.
The Deputy Political Counselor spoke to 150 students and
faculty for twenty-five minutes on the current state of the
US - India engagement, highlighting the civil nuclear
initiative in the context of a deep and broad overall
relationship. When the floor was opened for questions, most
came in the form of mini-speeches detailing supposed failings
of US foreign policy. The civil nuclear initiative, Iraq,
Afghanistan, the Middle East peace process all came in for a
rhetorical thrashing from students and faculty alike. The
attentive crowd was civil throughout -- other than offering
applause after each "question" -- but clearly had fixed ideas
about US foreign policy. The Deputy Political Counselor
offered full rebuttals to each of the questions.

Lunch with Community Leaders
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3. (U) At a lunch hosted by the local Nawab, local community
leaders and businessmen, Poloffs discussed a range of issues.
While US - India relations were mentioned, the US
presidential election dominated the conversation. The
community leaders were very interested to know Poloffs'
thoughts on the Democratic Party primary race and whether an
African-American or a woman could actually win a Presidency.
The leaders were clearly very engaged in the race, not at all
because of any implications it might have to US - India
relations, but out of general excitement.

Roundtable with Local Muslim Intellectuals
--------------


4. (U) Ending the day of outreach, Poloffs met with a group
of Muslim intellectuals. After introductions, the
participants took turns explaining the deficiencies of
current US policies around the world. Most speakers simply
aired grievances rather than suggesting any course of action.
Again the group was very hospitable, but the session was
designed to end before the Poloffs could offer any
substantive response.

Anti-US Sentiment Persists
--------------


5. (C) Comment: The speech at AMU had been advertised on
campus, and the students were obviously well prepared. After
one question about the civil nuclear initiative, US - India
relations did not come up again. The remaining questions
focused on US actions in the Middle East. Despite the Deputy
Political Counselor's forceful defense of US policy, the
perception of the students was that US actions were willfully
anti-Islamic. The students were more inclined to believe in
a clash of civilizations than current stated US policy.

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6. (C) At the roundtable the thinking was more evolved in
some aspects and less in others. The consensus was that
while US policy may not be anti-Muslim, that was still the
perception of many Indian Muslims, thus requiring dialogue.
The participants wanted better relations between Muslims and
the West. But to accomplish this, most wanted the US to pull
out of Iraq and Afghanistan, support Hamas and conclude the
Middle East peace process favorably for the Palestinians and
outlaw all speech defaming Islam. Still seeing sinister
forces at play, one even called for an (another?) inquiry
into the "actual" events of September 11. Fed on a diet of
conspiracy, the Muslims to whom we spoke may never come
around to US thinking, but they appreciated the visit. Just
making the five hour trip to Aligarh and listening to them
generated a large amount of goodwill and puts a personal face
on America for the Muslims of this influential community.
End Comment.
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