PROMOTING MODERATE ISLAM IN SOUTH AFRICA:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 002509

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS S/SRMC FARAH PANDITH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2119
TAGS: PGOV KISL KDEM SCUL EAID SF
SUBJECT: PROMOTING MODERATE ISLAM IN SOUTH AFRICA:
AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH FORMER WESTERN CAPE PREMIER
EBRAHIM RASOOL

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Donald M. Gips for reasons 1.4
b and d.



1. (C) Summary: In a December 2 courtesy call on the
Ambassador, former Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool and
his Special Advisor Tahir Saleh discussed South Africa's
Western Cape Muslim community as a political base and as a
model for a Muslim path of moderation within a culturally
diverse society. Rasool commented on his own rise and fall
within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and
described plans to call on Muslim intellectuals through the
"World for All" foundation to look to the Koran for guidance
on broadening the intellectual space for Muslims to interact
in a secular world. Project proposal to be pouched and
e-mailed separately to S/SRMC Farah Pandith. End summary.

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Militant But Non-Violent; Radical But Not Extreme
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2. (C) Introducing himself, Rasool recounted his early days
as a pro-democracy activist under apartheid with the United
Democratic Front and said he remained a non-violent Islamic
militant, a non-fundamentalist revolutionary, and a
non-extremist radical. Rasool said the Muslim community of
Western Cape, his political base, had succeeded collectively
in establishing an "abode of peace" which avoided the
dichotomy between the "abode of the faithful" and the "abode
of hostility" pushed by some extremists. Rasool claimed that
the community's success in charting a middle space for itself
within society helped influence the drafting of South
Africa's progressive constitution and, he argued, pointed the
way toward a new orientation for Islam in the world.

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Pre-empting Fundamentalism by Tackling Crime
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3. (C) Rasool said when he took over as premier of Western
Cape (2004),he challenged emerging fundamentalist groups,
such as PAGAD, who cleverly marketed extremism as a fight
against gangsterism, by making sure the ANC took the lead in
the fight against corruption and crime. He told the
Ambassador that he also orchestrated the drafting and
delivery in every mosque in Western Cape of a sermon
denouncing extremism. Rasool recounted the financial,
security, and legal measures he took to prevent extremism
from securing a foothold in Western Cape. The Ambassador
observed that Rasool had let the steam out of an emerging
extremist challenge. Rasool agreed, saying his aim had been
to make the Western Cape a home for all, a "Dar Amn wa
Salaam."

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Western Cape a Hub for Muslim Investment
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4. (C) Western Cape's success in creating a model of moderate
Muslim stability not only attracted investment in the
province but also international interest in its particular
brand of moderate Muslim leadership, according to Rasool. He
said the richness of Cape Islam as it contributes to the
range of democratic choices for South Africa was the theme of
his two-hour conversation with then-Senator Obama in 2006.
He stressed to the Ambassador the importance of
distinguishing between assimilation and integration, which he
characterized as a situation in which the whole respects the
integrity of the parts and the parts contribute to the
Qintegrity of the parts and the parts contribute to the
integrity of the whole. Rasool said that Cape Muslims had
learned to accept multiple identities and had thereby avoided
the fate of Muslims who acknowledge only one identity and are
willing to die for it.

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Turmoil within Western Cape ANC
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5. (C) On his fall from grace with the ANC, Rasool said that
when "ruptures took place" in 2008 (when the ANC replaced him
as Western Cape Premier with Lynne Browne) he had been ready
to step aside. In response to the Ambassador's question on
what happened, Rasool said that his "redeployment" was due to
the fact that the "national majority is a regional minority,"
suggesting that the ANC's national black majority grew tired
of preferences given to the large colored and Muslim

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population in Western Cape. He stressed that those who
gravitated to the ANC for leadership opportunities were
impatient. He commented that some ANC leaders were
suspicious of the growing Muslim investment in Western Cape.
Concluding, he said Western Cape's lack of a black middle
class resulted in perceived inequalities as white and colored
businesses outpaced their black-owned competitors for
government contracts. Looking back, Rasool said he had erred
by trying to contain all of his political enemies within the
provincial cabinet.

6: (SBU) Biographical Note: Ebrahim Rasool served as
Premier of Western Cape from 2004 to 2008. He was
"redeployed" (i.e. required to resign and accept another
position) by the ANC in 2008 and served as an advisor to
President Motlanthe until April 2009 elections. Rasool was
elected to Parliament in April and served until November
2009, when he was "recalled" (i.e., required to resign) by
the ANC following a dispute with other senior Western Cape
ANC officials over who was to blame for the party's loss of
the province to the Democratic Alliance party. Rasool's
tenure was tarnished by allegations of corruption, including
alleged payoffs to journalists to write stories harmful to
his rivals within the ANC.

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Rededication to Forging a Path for Moderate Islam
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7. (C) Rasool said a politician cannot always choose when to
leave power, but he can choose how to leave. He said he
decided to take up a seat in Parliament after losing the
premiership to keep his ANC anchor while he began work to
establish the "World for All" foundation. In creating the
foundation, he said it was his conviction that Islam needs to
be "a comfortable shoe." Rasool said he wanted to help
Muslims find a way to practice Islam in an environment where
they "don't make the rules." According to Rasool, rules
established in the Koran were conceived when Muslims were in
charge, leaving Muslims with a body of rules that can only
fit ideally when "they are the rules that make the world."
Rasool said this situation leaves modern Muslims in a state
of perpetual yearning for the place of Islam -- Dar ul-Islam,
in which the rule of law is the rule of the Koran.


8. (C) Rasool said he is dedicated to helping Muslims find an
abode of peace within a tolerant secular state. As an
illustration, he said that Muslims in the UK were outraged to
learn he supported South Africa's acceptance of civil unions
for gays. He had responded to them that, in a secular
multi-cultural society, each individual had to follow his own
moral code, not try to impose it on others through the law.
According to Rasool, "World for All" is an alien concept for
much of the Muslim world, but he is encouraged that a
tolerant model of Islam is on the rise. Rasool said what is
needed is a paradigm shift.


9. (C) The Ambassador asked whether Rasool had been attacked
for his views on Islam. Rasool answered that the office had
helped him deflect attacks, and he added that his knowledge
of the Koranic scripture helped him respond to criticism and
explain his ideas on steering a middle ground between
orthodoxy and extremism. In contrast, Rasool said Saudi
Arabia is not learning to adapt. Rasool argued that Turkey,
QArabia is not learning to adapt. Rasool argued that Turkey,
by contrast, is adapting "wonderfully." He said Turkish PM
Erdogan has strengthened his military's support for EU
accession, believing that bringing the military into the EU
will help keep it on a democratic path while at the same time
undercutting the claims of religious extremists.

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Plans to Sponsor International Colloquium
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10. (C) The Ambassador asked abut next steps for the World
for All Foundation. Rasool said the Foundation is opening an
office in Cape Town January 14-15 and is planning to sponsor
an international colloquium in Istanbul. Rasool said the
purpose of the colloquium would be to reposition the Ummah
(global Islamic community) to overcome inertia and orthodoxy
and avoid extremism. He said it is necessary to develop new
approaches to Sharia and to debate the relationship between
democracy and the rule of law. Rasool said he also wanted to
stress tolerance, compassion and solidarity, in part through
the messages to raise awareness of the religious holidays of
all faiths, a practice he instituted in the Western Cape as

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Premier.


11. (C) The Ambassador said the work of building bridges
between different faiths is critically important. Rasool
credited President Obama for opening space in the world for a
new paradigm and said he would be happy to forward an
electronic description of the World for All foundation to the
appropriate people in Washington. The Ambassador said he
welcomed advice from Rasool and Saleh on outreach to the
Muslim community in South Africa, particularly the Somali
community. Rasool and Saleh assured the Ambassador that they
would remain in touch and would be available for consultation
at the Ambassador 's convenience.

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Comment
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12. (C) Rasool is looking for a job following the latest and
presumably decisive blow to his political career. Although
Rasool is seen within the ANC as compromised politically, his
idea to sponsor a "third way" conference for Muslim
intellectuals and NGO's may have merit. We remain in contact
with Tahir Saleh, who is a longtime friend of the Embassy and
former International Visitor grantee and can work with Saleh
to pare down the proposal if need be, should there be
interest in Washington. End comment.

GIPS