INVITATION TO AMBASSADOR VERVEER TO VISIT MALAYSIA

UNCLAS KUALA LUMPUR 000640 SIPDIS STATE FOR AMBASSADOR VERVEER AND EAP ASSISTANT SECRETARY CAMPBELL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON OEXC OSCI PREL SCUL SENV SOCI TNGD TSPL KPAO, MY, KISL SUBJECT: INVITATION TO AMBASSADOR VERVEER TO VISIT MALAYSIA REF: A) KUALA LUMPUR 608 -- B) STATE 71325 ¶1. In the weeks since President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech to the Muslim world, many Malaysian Muslims have welcomed an opportunity for new dialogue and engagement with the U.S. based on partnership and mutual respect. The advent of the new administrations in Washington and in KL has introduced a positive shift in views toward the U.S. Post is renewing engagement with Muslim audiences in government, education, civil society and elsewhere in Malaysian society. We believe one avenue for progress is a series of interactions between Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Verveer and our key Muslim contacts. To that end Ambassador Keith extends an invitation to Ambassador Verveer to visit Malaysia at a convenient date. ¶2. Ambassador Keith spoke recently at a historic gathering of over 200 dynamic Muslim women activists from around the world who gathered in Kuala Lumpur for the Cordoba Initiative's Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) conference entitled Muslim Women: Building Institutions, Creating Change conference. WISE Founder Daisy Khan saw the conference as an opportunity to build on the change President Obama highlighted in his speech in Cairo. The goal of the conference was to build a network of Muslim women to challenge distorted interpretations of Islam and increase the social-economic self-determination of Muslim women worldwide. ¶3. The organizers had invited Ambassador Verveer to speak at the WISE conference. While the Ambassador's schedule precluded her attendance this time, we hope to put the organizers in touch with Ambassador Verveer and would like to invite her to Malaysia to speak to audiences in support of innovative grassroots initiatives supporting Muslim women. If Ambassador Verveer were to come to Malaysia, we would organize meetings and speaking events for her with post contacts in the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development, NGOs working on programs to increase women's access to education and health care, and educational institutions that ensure that women's rights are fully acknowledged. We hope that Ambassador Verveer will find time in her calendar to schedule a trip to Malaysia in the very near future to assist our efforts in partnering with a moderate Muslim-majority country to support the advancement of women. KEITH