US embassy cable - 04AMMAN5476

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 005476 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, JO 
SUBJECT: OF TRIBAL SHEIKHS, ISLAMIC ZANIES AND CRUSADER 
CASTLES: AMBASSADOR VISITS KERAK AND MA'AN 
 
REF: 03 AMMAN 06232 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U) The Ambassador visited the governorates of Kerak and 
Ma'an in a June 23-24 trip that highlighted the regional 
variety in Jordan's history, economy and topography.  The 
Ambassador met with local officials and inaugurated 
USAID-funded clinics in and around the hilly city of Kerak, 
an historic urban area that has produced some of Jordan's 
more prominent families and is crowned by an imposing 
Crusader castle, as well as in arid Ma'an which is more 
infamously known for desert smugglers, rebellious tribesmen, 
Islamic extremists and, more recently, anti-government 
violence.  Along the way, the peculiarities of Jordan's 
tribal culture were on display, revealing just how far 
removed the Western trappings of Amman can be from other 
parts of the country.  End Summary. 
 
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ROAD SHOW 
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2.  (U) The Ambassador departed Amman June 23 for a two-day 
trip to central and southern Jordan.  The first day included 
a visit to one of Jordan's Qualified Industrial Zone 
factories (reported septel), a lunch hosted by a local 
politician in the city of Kerak, and an Embassy-sponsored 
representational dinner in Wadi Musa outside the Petra 
archeological park.  The second day focused on the 
inauguration of four USAID-refurbished health clinics in the 
governorates of Ma'an and Kerak. 
 
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KERAK: HILLS, HISTORY AND ONE HUGE CASTLE 
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3.  (U) The city of Kerak is located approximately 130 
kilometers south of Amman in west central Jordan.  Perched on 
a hilltop roughly 930 meters above sea level amidst rolling 
terrain, it affords a scenic view of the Dead Sea and Jordan 
River valley.  Kerak has a long history dating back to Old 
Testament times and was one of the largest urban centers in 
Jordan when the country was first carved out by the British 
after World War I.  (The city's current populations stands at 
about 170,000.)  It is perhaps best known for the relatively 
well-preserved ruins of its imposing castle, built by 
European Crusaders in the first half of the 12th century A.D. 
and captured by Saladin in 1187, which dominates one's 
attention as you drive into the city. 
 
4.  (U) Commensurate with its history, the city of Kerak and 
surrounding area has produced some of the most influential 
families in modern-day Jordan.  One of these families, the 
Tarawneh clan, claims to number almost 30,000 people 
(including family members in neighboring countries) and is 
known for producing prominent professionals including 
university professors, physicians, lawyers and engineers.  At 
a lunch held in a renovated medieval prison just outside the 
castle, the Ambassador, his party, and local officials were 
hosted by member of Parliament Atef Tarawneh.  Atef's uncle 
and economics professor, Mohammad Tarawneh, proudly announced 
that his daughter had graduated number one in her class at 
the University of Jordan medical school and was studying to 
become a neurosurgeon. 
 
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MA,AN:  INFAMOUS CITY OF THE DESERT 
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5.  (U) In contrast to Kerak, the city of Ma'an is situated 
on a dusty, arid plain approximately 210 kilometers south of 
Amman.  The governorate of the same name is 95% desert and 
rather sparsely inhabited, though it accounts for 37% of 
Jordan's area.  Ma'an city's reason for being has 
historically been to serve the pilgrimage route to Mecca and 
trade.  Located on major caravan routes, many of the city's 
inhabitants made a living transporting goods via camel and 
selling wares to those traveling on the old Hijaz railroad. 
Today, many "Ma'anis," known for their independent spirit, 
still work in transport driving trucks loaded with goods. 
Some of these goods are moved in and out of Jordan legally, 
others are not. 
 
6.  (U) Ma'an's long-standing role in regional trade resulted 
in close ties with Saudi Arabia.  Some tribal groups present 
in Ma'an extend over the Saudi border and intermarriages 
between Ma'an residents and Saudis were once common, though 
less so today.  Consequently, conservative Wahabi religious 
doctrine and traditions, absent in most of Jordan, have made 
limited inroads and contributed to a reactionary Islamic 
movement in the area which chafes at the perceived onslaught 
of Western ways.  At the governorate's co-educational King 
Hussein Ben Talal University, for example, 
ultra-conservatives have repeatedly distributed leaflets 
directing female students to wear the hijab and condemning 
men and women who mix with members of the opposite sex (one 
look at the trendy nightspots in west Amman would probably 
give them cardiac arrest). 
 
7.  (U) Ma'an and the surrounding region is also well-known 
as being the site of four major riots over the last 15 years. 
 The first, in 1989, resulted in a still unclear number of 
dead and was publicly portrayed as a consequence of an 
increase in fuel prices.  The last violent clash in November 
2002 saw the deployment of the army and security forces to 
rein in what the government described as a "band of outlaws8 
headed by fiery Islamic extremist Mohammad Shalabi, better 
known as Abu Sayyaf (who was ultimately arrested in September 
2003 ) see reftel).  Five people, including two policemen, 
died during the several-day military operation. 
 
8.  (U) While poverty and unemployment cannot alone account 
for the history of violence in Ma'an ) indeed there are 
poorer governorates in the country ) the GOJ has nonetheless 
pumped considerable funds into the region since the November 
2002 unrest.  An increase in the transport of goods into and 
out of Iraq (both legally and otherwise) through the area 
since the end of the Iraq war in 2003 has also aided the 
local economy.  Given the city's infamous reputation, PolOff 
and others traveling with the Ambassador were surprised to 
see that Ma'an city did not look appreciably different from 
other urban areas outside Amman.  In fact, the newer area of 
the city appeared quite pleasant in parts with a number of 
handsome new buildings (including government offices). 
Outside of town, large cranes and other construction 
equipment are at work building major new additions to King 
Hussein University which, when finally completed, will be one 
of the biggest educational facilities in Jordan.  Some have 
criticized the project as an example of government excess, 
asserting that the region's relatively small population (less 
than 5% of Jordanians live in the governorate) will not 
produce nearly enough students to fill the university. 
 
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POLITICS TRIBAL STYLE 
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9.  (U) The Ambassador's trip underscored the different style 
of politics in more rural, tribal areas.  In Amman, for 
example, government ministers are insulated by the large 
bureaucracy from rank and file Jordanians and conduct 
business more or less along Western lines.  When these same 
ministers venture outside the capital to tribal strongholds, 
however, this sense of detachment dissolves and they are 
expected to interact promptly and directly with unannounced 
tribal leaders who may come their way.  Minister of Health 
Darwazeh, for example, was approached numerous times during 
the health clinic openings by wizened old men in tribal garb 
who handed him written demands for services and even berated 
him in raised voices about their complaints.  Rather than 
have these men kept away or pushed back by security 
personnel, Darwazeh instead politely accepted their petitions 
(which he then passed on to an aide for undetermined action) 
and listened to their grievances for a short, but appropriate 
length of time. 
 
10.  (SBU) Jordanian tribal society contains its fair share 
of family rivalries and jockeying for position.  Hosting the 
U.S. Ambassador can help enhance one's prestige and/or status 
among tribal peers, leading to numerous invitations from 
sheikhs to the Embassy Front Office.  Within the large 
Huwaitat tribe (think of Anthony Quinn in "Lawrence of 
Arabia" leading his Huwaitat tribesmen against the Ottomans 
in Aqaba), the prominent al-Jazi clan is headed by two 
sheikhs:  Sheikh Sultan al-Jazi and Sheikh Hayel al-Jazi. 
Rather than issue a joint invitation to the Ambassador, the 
"dueling sheikhs" have individually invited the Ambassador 
several times to lunch or dinner with the firm intent of 
being the first to host him.  Not wanting to enflame the 
apparent rivalry, the Ambassador has politely declined these 
offers but invited both sheikhs to the large representational 
dinner on June 23 in Wadi Musa.  Sheikh Sultan, however, 
decided to make one last attempt to better Sheikh Hayel by 
"taking over8 a lunch event on June 24 sponsored by a USAID 
contracting organization.  The Embassy fortunately succeeded 
in dissuading Sheikh Sultan from trying to hijack the lunch 
and, to the surprise of many, Sheikh Sultan and Sheikh Hayel 
not only both attended the June 23 dinner, but sat across 
from each other at the same table and engaged in what 
appeared to be cordial conversation.  For one evening, at 
least, the intra-family competition was put on hold. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman 
 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
GNEHM