MOSQUE DISPUTE RAISES SECTARIAN TENSIONS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002599 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2019 TAGS: KIRF KISL PGOV PHUM SOCI IZ SUBJECT: MOSQUE DISPUTE RAISES SECTARIAN TENSIONS IN BAGHDAD NEIGHBORHOOD Classified By: Political Counselor Yuri Kim for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) . ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: An ongoing dispute over whether a mosque located in the Salman Pak neighborhood of southern Baghdad rightfully belongs to the Sunni or the Shia Endowment is raising sectarian tensions and undermining economic reconstruction efforts in the area. The Prime Minister has appointed a high-level committee to examine Sunni claims that the mosque was inappropriately transferred to Shia control in ¶2006. However, Sunni leaders are not optimistic that the mosque will be returned to their control and warn that the situation could become dangerous if the Shia Endowment chooses to sell lands surrounding the mosque on which Sunni homes and businesses are currently situated. END SUMMARY. -------------- Salman Pak: Sunni or Shia? -------------- ¶2. (C) On September 2, Poloff met with Sunni Baghdad Provincial Council (PC) member Essam Mustafa to listen to his concerns on the Salman Pak mosque (also known as the Salman Farsi mosque),which is located in the area of Baghdad that he represents on the PC. Mustafa described the Salman Pak neighborhood as predominantly Sunni and as the "gate to the south" because of its location along the road from downtown Baghdad to the predominately Shia southern provinces. According to Mustafa, the area was relatively quiet until 2006 when militia members associated with the Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) took control of the mosque from local residents. The JAM then controlled the mosque until they were expelled by Coalition Forces, but in the interim, the mosque was transferred administratively from the Sunni Endowment -- which had oversight of the mosque for years -- and placed under the direction of the Shia Endowment. Explaining the transfer, moderate Shia MP Radhwan Hussein Abbas al-Killidar (INL),explained in July that for many Shia leaders the word "Farsi" (Persian) in the mosque's name was clear proof that the mosque was Shiite. The mosque is also co-located with the Arch of Ctesiphon, the site of the former capitol of the Persian Empire. ¶3. (C) Sheikh Dr. Mahmoud al-Sumaydai, Deputy Director of the Sunni Endowment, told Poloff on September 15 that the Salman Pak dispute is of particular concern because it involves not just the mosque building itself, but also the thousands of dunums of land surrounding it which are also the property of the Endowment. (NOTE: One dunum is the equivalent of 14,500 square feet. The lands associated with the mosque make up virtually the entire neighborhood. END NOTE.) Mustafa stated that a majority of the residents of Salman Pak have constructed homes and businesses on these lands with the permission of the Sunni Endowment, but do not have legal title to them. The Sunni residents believe that the Shia Endowment's plan is ultimately to sell the lands to Shias and expel the Sunnis. Mustafa warned that if this scenario were to take place, the situation would become "very dangerous." Al-Sumaydai stated that extremist elements had already offered their services to retake the mosque violently, but that he had told them violence would accomplish nothing. Moreover, al-Sumaydai noted that the Salman Pak mosque was not the only dispute between the Sunni and Shia Endowments. ¶4. (C) Asked whether it would be possible for the heads of the Sunni and Shia Endowments to sit down and find a solution, both Mustafa and al-Sumaydi stated that larger political forces were at play. Both said that the head of the Shia Endowment, Saleh al-Haydari, was sympathetic to the Qthe Shia Endowment, Saleh al-Haydari, was sympathetic to the Sunni case, but that he was under pressure to keep the mosque Shia. On August 31, al-Haydari (who rarely meets with USG officials) met with MNF-I chaplains, but refused to discuss the Salman Pak issue other than to say that he worked well with his counterpart at the Sunni Endowment. Asked who was putting pressure on al-Haydari, Mustafa and al-Sumaydi insinuated that unspecified Shia political forces were behind the effort in an attempt to remove the remaining group of Sunnis separating the Shia south from Baghdad. -------------- Finding a Peaceful Solution -------------- ¶5. (C) According to al-Sumaydai, the Sunni Endowment has raised the Salman Pak issue with the Prime Minister, within the Parliament and within the Iraqi court system in attempts to resolve it peacefully. Al-Sumaydai stated that the PM had established a high-level committee two months ago in order to examine the evidence and to make recommendations for a fair solution. Al-Sumaydai listed some of the committee members to include Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Rafi al-Issawi, the President of the Sunni Endowment Dr. Abdul Ghafoor BAGHDAD 00002599 002 OF 002 al-Sammaraie, and General Secretary of the Cabinet Ali al-Alaq. Despite the star power, al-Sumaydai stated that he was not overly optimistic that the committee would find a just solution. Both he and Mustafa described how the Sunni Endowment was hedging its bets by initiating action in the Parliament and the courts, but were equally pessimistic about their chances in those venues given Shia domination of the former and the fear any Iraqi judge would experience at having to rule against the Shia Endowment. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: The Salman Pak dispute is a significant test case for the GOI's desire to promote reconciliation, which is key to national development. While sectarian tensions in the Salman Pak area have not led to violence so far, they are undermining PRT Baghdad's efforts to initiate economic development projects in the area as key leaders are focused exclusively on the mosque issue to the detriment of other concerns. That the PM has appointed a committee to find a just solution is a welcome development, but whether it can deliver is another issue. END COMMENT. HASLACH