CONTROLLING THE MESSAGE: THE SAG PUSHES RELIGIOUS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 001615

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PASS TO NEA/ARP FOR JHARRIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PTER SA
SUBJECT: CONTROLLING THE MESSAGE: THE SAG PUSHES RELIGIOUS
ESTABLISHMENT TO EMBRACE TOLERANCE

Classified By: CDA David Rundell for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S) (Summary) The Ramadan season in Saudi Arabia saw prominent
media coverage of controversial religious opinions that focused
attention on the harsh and unyielding interpretations of Islam that
have for so long permeated the thinking of the country's religious
establishment. Over the past few weeks, however, local and
Saudi-owned international media have accorded front-page coverage to
statements by senior SAG officials and the Grand Mufti calling on
Saudi society to embrace tolerance and resist extremist influence.
Although this message is not new, the intensity and talking-point
consistency of this commentary has been striking, and appears to
reflect government confidence that they now have the upper hand in
forcing more moderate perspectives on the country's religious
establishment: an idea confirmed by a Riyadh editor with close ties
to senior members of the royal family, who told us in no uncertain
terms that King Abdullah brooks no opposition from the country's
ulema in pursuit of his reforms. (End summary.)

//A Holiday Message from the Supreme Judicial Council//


2. (S) The normally desultory pace of the Saudi media during the
month of Ramadan was interrupted by extensive local and international
media coverage of the answer Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan, president of
Saudi Arabia's Supreme Judicial Council, offered in response to a
call-in question on the popular radio program "The Holy Qur'an," in
which the Sheikh opined that that it would be legally permissible to
execute owners of Arab satellite TV channels for broadcasting
"immoral" programming. The remarks, which Sheikh al-Luhaidan later
said were taken out of context, caused a firestorm of controversy
between those who viewed his comment as a step backwards in the
struggle against Takfiri religious thinking and those who defended
the Sheikh as faithfully interpreting divine scripture. Though never
publicly noted, writ large between the lines of this debate was the
fact that a significant proportion of Arab satellite channels are
owned wholly or in part by members of the Saudi royal family.


3. (S) While al-Luhaidan--sincerely or as a result of government
pressure--later publicly backed away from his remarks, it is worth
mentioning that a Saudi journalist at a PAS-organized Iftar told
emboffs that he had heard that the question to al-Luhaidan was
planted by religious conservatives who anticipated the Sheikh's angry
and uncompromising response. We cannot ascertain if this story is
true, but do note that the host of "The Holy Qur'an" program has been
relieved of his broadcasting duties by the Saudi Ministry of
Information.


4. (SBU) Soon after the al-Luhaidan controversy, the media was again
shaken by international reaction to the comments of Sheikh Saleh
Mohammed al-Munajjid, a Saudi-based Syrian religious commentator and
in-house Imam for a religious website, who in an infamous
disquisition on the inherent "impurity" of mice and the unseemliness
of permitting Muslim youth to watch cartoons featuring the creatures,
declared that Mickey Mouse would be executed under Shariah law.

//Controlling the Message//


5. (SBU) A more moderate interpretation was not long in coming. On
September 29, Saudi-owned, internationally-distributed Arabic daily
"Al Sharq al-Awsat" carried as it principal front-page story
(carrying over to a full page on the inside) an interview with the
Saudi Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz al Sheikh, in which the grand
Mufti harshly condemned "extremist thinking" and criticized those
Ulema "who appear on talk shows" and issue arbitrary fatwas "on
current issues." Al-Sheikh went on to say that in the early days of
Islam, any member of the Ulema was entitled to issue a fatwa, as the
bulk of these religious dicta generally dealt with non-contentious
issues of religious practice.


6. (SBU) "In these times," however, continued the Grand Mufti, when
religious interpretations can have significant consequences, fatwas
should be issued by a central committee of the Ulema after internal
discussion of the matter at hand. As if to dispel any doubt on the
issue, al-Sheikh went on to present the al-Saud as the "legitimate
leaders of the country, saying that "the senior Ulema cooperate fully
with the al-Saud; we complement each other." The Grand Mufti also
called on Muslims to practice tolerance with those of other faiths,
commenting specifically on the need to have a reasoned dialogue
between Sunni and Shia'a religious scholars.


7. (SBU) This message of moderation has continued apace since the end
of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The official Saudi Press Agency reported
October 15 that the Jeddah-based International Islamic Fiqh (Islamic
Jurisprudence) Academy had issued a statement expressing "its deep
sorrow" for public disputes among Saudi and Shia'a religious
scholars, and denouncing "unauthorized fatwas from unqualified
persons."

RIYADH 00001615 002 OF 002



//From the Fields of Jihad to International Education Week//


8. (SBU) Although unrelated to any fatwa, the enthusiasm for
open-minded embrace of other cultures and perspectives on the part of
a religious community long known for its fierce opposition to such
accommodation was forcefully brought home in comments by former
dissident Saudi religious scholar Dr. Salman al-Awda, alleged
religious mentor to Osama bin Laden who spent five years in Saudi
prisons for extremist activities in the 1990s. Speaking on a recent
broadcast of the MBC program "Cornerstone," al-Awda declared his
support for the acquisition of critical thinking skills by Arab
students (a key element of King Abdullah's educational reform
initiative) and said that the Islamic world has much to learn from
the US and Japan, "which use the latest technologies to increase what
their students learn." He also lauded the salubrious effects of
Australian higher education on Saudi suens hohae studied there.

//The Ruling Family//


9. (S) The issue of the relationship between the Ulema and the Saudi
government was the subject of a discussion between the PAS press
officer and the chief editor of "Al Riyadh" Arabic daily, Turki
al-Sudairi (protect),during an October 14 visit to the paper.
Al-Sudairi, who though not a royal is related by blood to the senior
SAG leadership and is known for his close personal friendships with
the ruling family, told us that King Abdullah "is very tough" with
the Ulema and doesn't back down from confronting them if they step
out of line. When asked about the al-Luhaidan controversy,
al-Sudairi said the king thinks al-Luhaidan is too "mutashaddid"
(extremely strict) in his world view, and much prefers the Grand
Mufti, whom he deems "very reasonable and moderate."


10. (S) Al-Sudairi also referenced a sardonic editorial he wrote for
his newspaper the day of our visit for his newspaper, in which he
ridiculed extreme religious interpretations and asked rhetorically if
Saudi Arabia should declare war on Muslim states that do not impose
the hijab and the veil on women. Had he published the same article
ten years ago, he said, a fatwa denouncing him would have been issued
the same day, and a threat on his life would have been sent the next.
Those days were gone, he said, and hard-liners like al-Luhaidan were
being marginalized.


11. (S) A meeting with the editor-in-chief (protect) of Saudi Arabic
daily "al-Jazeera" on October 21 produced a similar vote of
confidence in the country's apparent new direction. In response to
our question on whether Saudi Arabia's religious establishment
supports King Abdullah's Interfaith Dialogue initiative, the editor,
who has run "al-Jazeera" for thirty years, told us that "the majority
of Saudis, including religious people," understand the need to
counter extremist thinking "and are in favor" of the plan. When
asked about those among the religious establishment who oppose it,
the editor waved his hand in the AIR and asserted that such
nay-sayers were a minority, as the image of Islam as a religion of
"peace and justice" was resonating deeply with the Saudi public, who
he characterized as weary of having Islam connected to atrocities
such as the bombing of residential housing compounds in Riyadh a few
years back.


12. (SBU) On October 17, The English-language Arab news carried
comments of Saudi Arabia's minister of interior, Prince Naif bin
Abdulaziz, during a seminar on Human Rights at Uum al Qura University
in Mecca on October 15. Characterizing the imams of Saudi Arabia's
15,000 mosques as "failing miserably" in the fight against extremism,
Naif urged intellectuals in Saudi universities to battle against the
influences of extreme religious ideology, saying that "intellectual
security is no less important than public security." Naif's comments
came two weeks after a meeting he held in Jeddah with a cross-section
of Saudi society, including religious leaders, on the importance of
keeping up with what young Saudis are hearing. "You must take
responsibility for your sons," he warned, lest the state be forced to
take that responsibility itself.

Rundell