VATICAN VIEWS ON SAUDI GOVERNMENT REFORMS; DIALOGUE WITH

S E C R E T VATICAN 000042 E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/17/2029 TAGS: PREL KIRF PHUM VT SA SUBJECT: VATICAN VIEWS ON SAUDI GOVERNMENT REFORMS; DIALOGUE WITH EGYPT REF: A. RIYADH 302 ¶B. RIYADH 356 ¶C. 08 VATICAN 77 CLASSIFIED BY: Julieta Valls Noyes, CDA, EXEC, State. REASON: 1.4 (b) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Vatican's Arabian Peninsula Director said the Holy See considered recent Cabinet changes in Saudi Arabia significant but "oversold". The decision to include all schools of Sunni jurisprudence in the Council of Senior Ulamas was far more meaningful. The Vatican still expected "a gesture" from Saudi Arabia related to religious freedom, in return for Cardinal Tauran's participation in the Saudi-proposed inter-religious dialogue meeting at the UN last fall. Cardinal Tauran has asked one of his deputies to press the Saudis on this issue. Turning to Egypt, Ortega confirmed that the tenth annual round of talks between the Vatican and Al Azhar University resulted in an agreement to review textbooks for religious affronts. Though controversial, the accord has no implementation mechanism so is unlikely to produce many results. Still, the Vatican was pleased with other aspects of the joint declaration from the talks, which avoided a direct reference to the Palestinian situation but included one on freedom of religion. End Summary. SAUDI ARABIA: Ulama Council Picks; Expecting Gesture to Rome -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) At a meeting on March 11, Msgr. Alberto Ortega, the Holy See's director for relations with the Arabian Peninsula, discussed with CDA the recent changes in the Saudi Cabinet. The Holy See welcomed the sidelining of some religious hard-liners in that shake-up. Still, the Vatican considered the first-ever appointment of a female to a sub-Cabinet position (ref a) to be a benign publicity stunt rather than an indication of real change. ¶3. (C) Ortega said the Vatican was far more impressed that the Saudis had opted to include all schools of Sunni jurisprudence on the Council of Senior Ulamas (ref b),which controls religious laws. That, he said, was truly transformational. While the Vatican would like to see Shi'ites on the Council, since they represent 10-15 percent of the Saudi population, that is asking too much. King Faisal is too worried that Iran may influence them to allow that now. ¶4. (S) On the topic of Saudi-Vatican relations, Ortega confided that the Holy See is still waiting for a Saudi gesture in response to Cardinal Tauran's --head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue-- attendance at the Saudi-proposed inter-faith discussions at the UN last fall (ref c). The Saudis put "a lot of pressure" on the Vatican for representation at his level, and hinted that there would be something in it for the Holy See. The Vatican would like a gesture related to religious freedom for Christians in the Kingdom. In a separate meeting on March 17, Cardinal Tauran himself told CDA that he had instructed Monsignor Khaled Akasheh, Head Officer for Islam at the Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, to press the Saudis for a real follow-up to the UN meeting. EGYPT: Talking to Al Azhar but Expecting Few Immediate Results -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Turning to Egypt, Ortega described the outcome of --and reactions to-- the February 24-25 dialogue session in Rome between the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Al Azhar University of Cairo. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran headed the delegation for the Vatican, and Professor Cheikh Ali Abd al-Baqi Shahata led the Egyptian delegation. Ortega indicated that this was the tenth annual occasion of the formal dialogue with Al Azhar. It was more positive than some previous rounds, as evidenced by the fact that both sides were able to agree on a joint declaration (not always possible previously). Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the document required very careful negotiating to make it acceptable to both sides. ¶6. (C) One aspect of the agreement, regarding the need to review textbooks to ensure that they do not "contain material which may offend the religious sentiments of other believers, at times through the erroneous presentation of dogmas, morals or history of other religions," has drawn much criticism in Egypt, according to the press. Ortega revealed that this statement was far less difficult to negotiate than others in the declaration. The Vatican was still not surprised by the negative reaction from some, including several other Al Azhar scholars, whom Ortega characterized as hard-line Muslims. Asked whether the participants in the dialogue had discussed concrete means to carry out the review of school texts for offensive language, Ortega said they had not. The dialogue lays out aspirational goals, then each side must find ways to carry them out - or not. ¶7. (C) The most difficult portion of the statement to negotiate, for the Holy See, was the section that refers indirectly to the Palestinian situation. The Vatican preferred not to comment specifically in a joint document with Muslims on that situation. In the end, participants agreed on a carefully worded text: Quote: Mindful of the suffering endured by the peoples of the Middle East due to non-resolved conflicts, the participants, in respect of the competence of the political leaders, ask to make use, through dialogue, of the resources of international law to solve the problems at stake in truth and justice. End Quote. (Note: This is a Vatican translation.) ¶8. (C) The portion of the agreement which the Vatican most valued, however, was in the point on human rights and peace, which gives "special attention" to the "defense of the dignity of the human person and his/her rights, especially regarding freedom of conscience and of religion." The Holy See considers this statement to be doubly successful because it references both the rights of women and freedom of religion. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) Comment: Ortega's attaching far greater significance to changes in the Council of Senior Ulamas over ministerial reshufflings underlines the Vatican's long-term approach to religious freedom and inter-religious dialogue. Religious freedom --which for the Vatican must be recognizable in incremental yet concrete measures-- is not only important for the very small and largely foreign Christian minority in the Kingdom; it is also very important for Christians in Muslim-majority countries where conservative Islamic parties and opinion-makers look to Saudi Arabia as a model of Muslim orthodoxy. It is for this reason that the Vatican believes changes to the Council so crucial. An "open-minded" Council of Senior Ulamas can be a long-term ally, or at least not a foe, in fighting religious intolerance worldwide. End comment. NOYES