US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT4503

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 004503 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, INR/NESA, INR/B 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2013 
TAGS: KISL, SOCI, PGOV, PINR, KU 
SUBJECT: (U) ISLAMISTS PROTEST SUPERSTAR CONCERT 
 
REF: AMMAN 5339 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard H. Jones for reason 1.5 (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: A small gathering of Islamists, members of 
the National Assembly among them, protested the Sept. 18-19 
"Superstar" pop music concert held in Kuwait as "unIslamic." 
The protest highlights a major division in Kuwaiti society, 
and could backfire given the popularity of such entertainment 
among Kuwaitis.  Islamists have their sights on the liberal 
Information Minister, Mohammed Abulhasan.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) On the evening of September 18, fifty Islamists, led 
by former Secretary-General of the Salafi movement, Hamed 
Al-Ali, gathered at Kuwait's Mishref Fair Grounds to 
demonstrate their opposition to the Arab "Superstar" concert 
being held there.  According to local daily The Arab Times, 
the protestors "tried in vain to convince people not to 
attend the concert, as hundreds of people rushed into the 
hall.8  The show was completely sold out that night and the 
next, despite ticket prices of KD 15, 20 and 25 (a range of 
roughly $50-83 per ticket). 
 
3. (U) The concert featured 12 male and female Arab singers 
who had competed in a popular Lebanese television show 
entitled, &Superstar8 for the title of the 'best Arab 
singer in the world' (reftel).  Islamists opposed it as a 
display of westernized decadence.  They reached for the moral 
high ground by portraying the concerts as an affront to the 
memories of Kuwaiti POW,s in Iraq, whose deaths had only 
recently been confirmed. 
 
4. (U) Members of the parliamentary Islamist Bloc, led by MP 
Dr. Faisal Al-Mussallam Al-Otaibi, have since requested a 
meeting with PM Shaykh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah to air their 
grievances against Minister of Information Mohammed 
Abulhassan, for having allowed the concert to proceed. 
Abulhassan was already under attack from Islamists in the 
National Assembly for refusing to ban books they deem 
unacceptable from an upcoming bookfair, and for briefly 
having Kuwaiti TV show pictures of Kuwaiti mosques at prayer 
times, instead of pictures of the Holy Mosque in Mecca and 
Prophet's Mosque in Medina. 
 
5. (C) Despite the objections of Islamists, it appears Kuwait 
may see more such concerts and cultural events.  An official 
of Kuwait's government-sponsored Touristic Enterprises Co. 
told Embassy PAO that PM Shaykh Sabah feels the GOK has 
enough support from the Kuwaiti public to ignore Islamist 
protests and has authorized Abulhasan to do so. 
 
6. (C) Comment: Islamist MP,s have been casting about for 
opportunities to challenge the new government, and in 
Abulhasan they have found a tempting target.  Abulhasan is a 
member of the Shia minority, an ardent liberal and someone 
they can definitely tar with the &American8 brush  (Until 
this year, he was for many years Kuwait,s PermRep at the 
U.N.).  By railing against "Superstar," the Islamists may 
have picked the wrong cause: Kuwaitis followed the Lebanese 
show avidly, and some local dailies described the turnout for 
the two shows as "unprecedented."  Boredom is a huge problem 
in this rich little desert emirate, and "Superstar" at least 
had the merit of featuring Arab performers and a winner more 
traditional than some of the other contestants. 
JONES