OIC SYG PRAISES PRESIDENT,S CAIRO SPEECH, URGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000266

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, IO, EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2014
TAGS: KISL PGOV PHUM PREL CH SA
SUBJECT: OIC SYG PRAISES PRESIDENT,S CAIRO SPEECH, URGES
"MORE ASSERTIVE" STANCE ON THE UIGHURS, HOPES TO MEET
SECRETARY AT UNGA

REF: JEDDAH 0257

Classified By: CG Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) During July 13 meeting with Charge (Ambassador
Erdman),Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu praised the
President,s Cairo speech and the new tone set by his
administration toward the Muslim world; hoped to see the
Secretary at this fall's UNGA; and expressed his desire to
work with us and others at the UN on a broadly acceptable
resolution on defamation of religion. He also expressed
disappointment that the U.S. had not reacted more strongly to
Chinese violence against Muslim Uighurs. Charge said that we
had publicly expressed concern about violence against the
Uighurs and that, with China, quiet dialogue on human rights
was often more effective than sharp public criticism. On a
defamation of religion resolution, Charge noted the "no"s and
abstentions had outweighed "yes" votes at the 2008 UNG; said
this reflected genuine and growing concern that such a
resolution could be used to justify limits on freedom of
speech and religion; and urged that any new resolution focus
positively on the need for tolerance, mutual respect, and
religious freedom. End Summary.

OIC SYG PRAISES PRESIDENT'S CAIRO SPEECH,
HOPES FOR MEETING WITH SECRETARY AT UNGA
--------------


2. (C) In a July 13 meeting with Charge, OIC Secretary
General Ihsanoglu praised the President's Cairo speech, the
tone set by the new administration, and the President's
support for a fresh approach to the Muslim world. He
underscored the OIC's wish to see the appointment of a new
U.S. special envoy to the OIC, noting the U.S. was aware of
what his organization was looking for in such an envoy. He
also hoped it would be possible to meet with the Secretary on
the margins of the UN General Assembly this fall.

OIC HAD HOPED FOR MORE ROBUST
U.S. RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE AGAINST UIGHURS
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3. (C) Ihsanoglu expressed disappointment that the U.S. had
not taken a "more assertive" stance in the face of Chinese
government violence against Uighurs in China. He specifically
requested more USG assistance to facilitate access of the
religious minority to mosques, which have been closed
(reftel). Charge told OIC Secretary General that the U.S. had
expressed concern over the situation, in response to the
violence. While noting that he was not an expert on the
issue, he said we were looking at the situation in the
context of a government using violence against its own
citizens, rather than through a religious prism per se. The
U.S. supported freedom of worship and minority rights as a
matter of principle, Charge added, and almost certainly had
covered these issues in its annual Human Rights and Religious
Freedom reports.


4. (C) Ihsanoglu said he was worried that the U.S. "regularly
reports on human rights violations though does not always
take action." Charge said he would convey this concern to
Washington, while noting that it was also true there were
times, in dealing with human rights and religious issues,
when "quiet diplomacy," pursued over time, was more effective
than sharp public criticism. Charge pointed to the 1975
Helsinki Agreement, which endorsed human rights issues as a
legitimate subject for bilateral discussion (i.e., not
"interference in internal affairs"),as an example of an
approach that over time had led to concrete progress in
addressing human rights concerns in the Soviet Union.

IHSANOLGU FIRST ELECTED HEAD OF OIC
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5. (C) Ihsanoglu discussed the development of the OIC as an
institution since its inception in 1969, emphasizing its
ability to move its 57 member countries on different issues.
He said he was only the ninth OIC Secretary General, was now
serving his second term, and was the first "elected" leader
of the organization. For his first term beginning in 2005, he
had originally been appointed, having been nominated by then
Turkish Foreign Minister Gul. Since there had been no

JEDDAH 00000266 002 OF 002


consensus as to who should lead the organization at the end
of his term, he had recommended a democratic electoral
process and had been elected in 2009 to serve a second
four-year term.

OIC-SUPPORTED UNGA RESOLUTION ON
DEFAMATION OF RELIGION PROBLEMATIC
--------------


6. (C) Charge, noting he had served as the senior advisor for
the Middle East with US Mission USUN during the 2008 General
Assembly, recalled OIC efforts, along with those of Egypt and
Pakistan, to pass the Defamation of Religions resolution.
While their efforts had succeeded, it was notable that the
combined "no"s and abstentions during the 2008 vote had
outweighed the positive votes. This outcome reflected genuine
and growing concern in much of the world that governments
would find justification in this kind of resolution to limit
freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Ihsanoglu
dismissed this idea, arguing that governments that took this
kind of action did not need to rely on a UN resolution.
Nonetheless, it was important to establish that insults and
defamation against Islam were not acceptable, and the OIC
wanted to work with the U.S. and others to find suitable
language for a new resolution at the 2009 UNGA. Charge dryly
noted that we had heard the same message last year, but only
very minor changes had been made and the resolution in the
end had contained highly problematic language.

OIC SHOULD FOCUS ON POSITIVE RESOLUTION
ENCOURAGING TOLERANCE, MUTUAL RESPECT
--------------


7. (C) Charge said the U.S., as a multi-racial,
multi-cultural, multi-faith society, found insults to any
religion or group offensive. Without tolerance and mutual
respect, U.S. society simply would not work. That said, we
had an equally strong commitment to freedom of speech and a
very high legal standard as to what constituted "incitement."
Namely, there had to be an "imminent" likelihood of violence
stemming from inciteful or defamatory language. Under the
circumstances, rather than focusing on "defamation," where it
would be hard to find common ground, it would be far better
to have a positive resolution that focused on the need for
religious freedom, tolerance and mutual respect. Ihsanoglu
seemed to take the point but avoided a direct response,
noting only that the OIC wished to cooperate on this year's
resolution.

RESPONSE TO MUSLIM RADICALS--HELP THE MODERATES
-------------- --


8. (C) Ihsanoglu expressed regret that Muslim
"radicalization" over the past few years "had moved from
being an anomaly to presenting a huge setback in the
development of modern Islam." He complained that Mahmoud
Abbas was "trying so hard" to maintain his credibility with
Palestinians, but needed "a push from the U.S. to help him."
The situation with the Palestinians, he said, was one in
which Arab sons no longer believe in their fathers and
strongly urged "America to talk seriously to Israel." Charge
said the U.S. agreed on the need to support Palestinian
moderates, especially Abbas, so there would be a Palestinian
partner able to negotiate peace with Israel. In passing, he
also commented disparagingly about Iranian President
Ahmadinejad's particularly negative behavior at the 2008 OIC
Summit in Dakar.


9. (U) Ambassador Erdman has cleared this cable.
QUINN