US embassy cable - 04AMMAN3225

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003225 
 
SIPDIS 
 
CONFIDENTIAL 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARN, NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958 DECL 04/27/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SOCI, KPAO, US, JO 
SUBJECT: ABU MAHJOOB MEETS BART SIMPSON AND NEMO 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: DCM, DAVID HALE FOR REASON 1.5 (A AND B) 
 
1.(U) SUMMARY:  Emad Hajjaj, Jordan's premiere cartoonist 
and originator of the popular "Abu Mahjoob" characters, 
accompanied King Abdullah II on his most recent US visit, 
during which the King actively promoted Hajjaj with 
Hollywood luminaries of Pixar Studios and the Simpsons 
cartoon series.  This support, coming barely a week after a 
Hajjaj cartoon lampooning the Prime Minister was first 
delayed in publication and then published after endorsement 
by the PM, offers an intriguing sidelight on how Jordan's 
leadership is dealing with "freedom of the press" issues. 
It may also lead to a joint business enterprise between 
Jordan and one or more U.S. partners; the King has actively 
promoted expanded ties with the U.S. television and film 
industry.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.(U) Emad Hajjaj is a talented cartoonist whose "Abu 
Mahjoob" characters detailing typical  nd now iconic 
East Bank Jordanians have resulted in several printed 
collections and inspired a graphic design/public relations 
agency.  His political cartoons are regularly featured in 
major Arabic news publications and have been exhibited in 
art galleries throughout the region.  Never one to shrink 
from controversial issues, Hajjaj frequently submits 
cartoons which are rejected or delayed by newspaper editors 
worried about potential fallout from the Jordanian 
political establishment.  (Note: Hajjaj's cartoons are also 
posted daily on the Abu Mahjoob website, www.mahjoob.com.) 
While his cartoons often cover local issues, Hajjaj is a 
not-infrequent critic of U.S. policies in the region, 
particularly the U.S. presence in Iraq. 
 
3.(C)In recent weeks Hajjaj extended his notoriety with a 
cartoon lampooning Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez by 
depicting him in "mugshot" photos with and without a beard, 
reminiscent of wanted posters recently published in 
connection with the aborted Zarqawi terrorist plot in 
Amman.  (The cartoon depicted the PM as "wanted for driving 
booby-trapped car and raising prices.") Abu Mahjoob 
Company's owner recited to CAO the story behind the 
cartoon's delayed publication: it was held up by editors 
who feared controversy.  Abu Mahjoob Company, in addition 
to publishing it on their website, emailed it to a "very 
high-ranking" address list and sent SMS notices to some 
13,000 mobile phone recipients.  Within some 36 hours the 
office received a phone call from a staff aide to the Prime 
Minister, offering reassurance that the PM had no objection 
to the cartoon's publication.  The cartoon appeared in the 
newspapers the next day. 
 
4.(C) Hajjaj noted that he also received a personal phone 
call from the Prime Minister, who complained that Hajjaj 
had done him a bad turn by "making me look so ugly" in 
caricature.  Hajjaj promised that "next time" he would do 
his best to make the PM "look like Amr Diab" (a notedly 
handsome Arab heartthrob).  However, AMC's owner later 
remarked that although the PM's advisors had originally 
argued for publication, other advisors were now after-the- 
fact cautioning the PM that he had erred in being so 
tolerant, and "we're waiting to see where it all comes 
out." 
 
5.(C) In this context, King Abdullah's almost immediate 
selection of Emad Hajjaj to accompany him to the U.S. is 
being read as a clear signal of support for a more liberal 
press policy.  Hajjaj returned "as if from a dream" after 
the King arranged dinner and a meeting for him with Pixar 
and the Simpsons team, and enthusiastically endorsed 
Hajjaj's dream of "creating the Jordanian Simpsons" with 
his Abu Mahjoob characters.  If, as Hajjaj hopes, some 
viable partnership results from these meetings, it would 
also be in line with King Abdullah's stated goal of 
reviving Jordan as a prime international film and 
television location and as a breeding ground for industry 
technical and creative talent. 
 
Gnehm