ENGAGING CAMBODIA'S MUSLIM MINORITY THROUGH DIALOG

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000270

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO EAP/MLS AND S/CT DAN MAHANTY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV CB
SUBJECT: ENGAGING CAMBODIA'S MUSLIM MINORITY THROUGH DIALOG
AND DIPLOMACY

REF: A. 07 PHNOM PENH 1363

B. 08 PHNOM PENH 968

C. PHNOM PENH 170

PHNOM PENH 00000270 001.2 OF 003


SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Although numbers vary, it is estimated
that there are approximately 400,000 Muslims in Cambodia.
This makes them the largest minority group, accounting for
over 2.5 percent of the total population. Over the past
year, the U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh has been able to focus
attention and added resources on Cambodia's minority Muslim
population, with gratifying and often tangible results.
Through dialog, education, and public outreach such as Iftar
dinners and a recent weeklong series on Islam for law
enforcement, funded by the Ambassador's Fund for
Counter-Terrorism, we have seen an increase in positive
sentiment toward the U.S. coupled with enhanced
understanding. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Background
--------------


2. (SBU) The majority of Cambodia's Muslims, commonly known
as the Cham or Khmer Islam, belong to the Sunni Shafi'i
school of Islam. From 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge ruthlessly
targeted the Cham, annihilating all but a few of the Islamic
leaders, teachers, and scholars. In an effort to rebuild,
Muslim communities eagerly accepted outside assistance.
Cambodia is currently home to several non-profit Islamic
organizations which receive tens of millions of dollars of
support from Saudi, Kuwaiti, and other donors (Ref A). The
Muslim population in Cambodia is viewed as generally moderate
by the Cambodian government and the Cham themselves.
However, Cambodia has all of the elements which the former
Director of the CIA, James Woolsey, considered to be a
"poisonous brew," namely "drug trafficking, links between
drug traffickers and violent extremist groups, smuggling of
illegal aliens, massive financial and bank fraud, arms
smuggling" and "political intimidation and corruption."
Extreme poverty, low education levels, high levels of
illiteracy, poor health indicators, porous borders, endemic
corruption, and weak rule of law all contribute to what
experts believe could make Cambodia a soft target for
extremist groups, as evidenced by the 2002-03 Hambali link
(Ref B).

--------------
Investing in People
--------------


3. (SBU) Over the past year, the embassy has therefore
embarked on an aggressive Muslim Outreach strategy which
includes: high-level contacts with Muslim leaders; military
medical missions and infrastructure development in
predominantly Muslim areas; English language
micro-scholarships; USAID's basic education program which
supports minority population educational access; Embassy
hosted Iftar dinners in Phnom Penh and the provinces, and the
implementation of the Ambassador,s Fund for CT.



--------------
Success Story - Provincial Iftar
--------------


4. (SBU) The traditional Iftar in Phnom Penh, which is
usually held either at the Ambassador's residence or the
Embassy, has been well received over the years. However,
while planning the most recent Iftar, it became apparent that
the Embassy was targeting the same individuals each year who
were already knowledgeable about and supportive of the United
States. PolOff and PAO therefore worked with Cambodia's
Mufti, who is appointed by the King as the Supreme Leader of
all Muslims in the country, to identify a Muslim community in
Cambodia which had received little or no attention from the
Embassy. We then coordinated with the head Imam from this
community in Kampot province to organize a dinner at a local
establishment which could produce a Halal meal for 120
guests, no small feat in the Cambodian hinterlands. During
the planning stages, the Western hoteliers in the area

PHNOM PENH 00000270 002.2 OF 003


expressed skepticism that such an event would have any sort
of impact given the cold and sometimes hostile relations
between Westerners and the Muslim communities in the area.
However, upon subsequent trips to Kampot, those same
hoteliers gleefully relayed to embassy guests a significant
thawing in relations between the two communities, with the
Muslims noticeably more friendly toward the Westerners in
town than prior to the Iftar.

-------------- -
Building on Success - Ambassador's Fund for CT
-------------- -


5. (SBU) The Embassy has built on this success by again
reaching out to Kampot Muslims, as well as other communities
in Kampong Cham province and Phnom Penh, during our weeklong
"Understanding Islam" series for law enforcement sponsored by
the Ambassador's Fund for Counter-Terrorism. Cambodian law
enforcement officers, as well as government officials, Imams,
and Muslim community members took part in seminars and forums
designed to promote a closer relationship between the law
enforcement and Muslim communities in an effort to deter
Islamic extremism in Cambodia. A U.S. expert on violent
extremism, Dr. Sherifa Zuhur, presented both basic concepts
of Islam as well as approaches to violent extremism. Dr.
Zuhur's presentation was complemented by information on local
Muslim history and culture presented by Zakaryya Adam, a
Member of Parliament and the Vice-Mufti, and was paired with
the work of two Indonesian experts who we recruited via APP
Medan (NOTE: APP Medan has been more than generous with their
time, contacts and outreach expertise and was instrumental in
identifying key regional speakers for our program in
collaboration with Embassy Jakarta. END NOTE). The first, a
rector of a large university, addressed the issue of Islam in
the region, and specifically the ways that the Indonesian
government had adapted their educational and legal systems to
address the concerns of the Muslim majority. The second, a
colonel from Indonesia,s famous anti-terrorist Detachment
88, gave an attention-grabbing talk on how Indonesia has
worked to identify and combat extremism in smaller
communities through community policing and law enforcement
reforms. The weeklong event, which the Ambassador opened in
Phnom Penh, received extensive positive press coverage.


6. (SBU) The holistic approach of the "Understanding Islam"
seminar provided the audience, made up of members from the
law enforcement and Muslim communities, a top to bottom view
of Islam in the world and in Southeast Asia, and of the
challenges that law enforcement faces when policing minority
communities. Leaders from both sides commented that this was
the first time that the two groups had ever been brought
together to share their experiences, and also stressed that
additional and more involved seminars were needed to build on
this initial progress.

--------------
Future Needs
--------------


7. (SBU) During the course of the year, there have been two
recurring requests from the Muslim community. One has been
for increased assistance with education to enable them to
more fully contribute to society and the economy (Ref C).
Post will continue to address low education levels through
USAID's basic education and Skills for Life programs. The
second request, repeated during the Kampot seminar last week,
is to develop programs for Muslim women which would allow
them to better understand their rights under Islam. Post
plans to use some of the remaining money from the
Ambassador's Fund, designed for development of publications,
to address this need while also providing law enforcement
with additional information on Islamic beliefs and practices.



8. (SBU) COMMENT: By reaching out on a more grassroots level
to the provincial communities, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh
has been able to positively present America and our values
including tolerance and religious freedom. In the process,
we have also been able to dispense key messages about the
threat of extremism. In every encounter, we have reinforced
the Administration,s policy that the "United States is not,
and will never be, at war with Islam." We have had
encouraging feedback that the programs the U.S. has initiated

PHNOM PENH 00000270 003.2 OF 003


have indeed shown all of Cambodia that our actions are
commensurate with our words. END COMMENT.
RODLEY