US embassy cable - 04SANAA1690

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 001690 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PTER, PREL, PGOV, PINR, KISL, YM, COUNTER TERRORISM, HUMAN RIGHTS 
SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS GUIDANCE CONFERENCE CALLS FOR MODERATION 
 
REF: SANAA 359 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Nabeel Khoury 
for reasons 1.5 (b and d) 
 
 1. (U) Summary:  After several delays (reftel), Sanaa was 
the venue for a significant religious gathering June 20-24, 
the "Mutamar al-Irshad al-Awal" (First Guidance Conference), 
which brought together Muslim clerics, scholars, and 
ministers of religious affairs from Arab and Muslim states. 
The main purpose of the conference was to promote the 
moderate and tolerant aspects of Islam and to disassociate it 
from ideas of extremism and terrorism.  The ROYG Prime 
Minister Ba Jammal addressed the participants at the opening 
session, while President Saleh addressed them upon receiving 
them at his palace.  The conference made a number of 
recommendations at its conclusion (see para 6), demanding, 
among other things, the convening of an international 
conference to define the phenomenon of terrorism, its causes, 
and means of tackling it.  ROYG Deputy Minister of Awqaf 
(Endowments) and Guidance presented a booklet titled 
"Terrorism: Its Threats and Means of Combating It" (see para 
7).  End Summary. 
 
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Conference Proceedings 
---------------------- 
 
2. (U) More than 270 Muslim clerics, thinkers and some 
ministers from the Arab and Muslim world attended the 
four-day conference (June 20 - 24), which was organized by 
the ROYG Ministry of Awqaf and Guidance after several delays 
because of regional developments (reftel).   Speeches 
delivered at the opening session by prominent figures, such 
as the Chairman of Al-Azahar University, Sheikh Tantawi and 
the Sudanese Minister of Awqaf and Guidance, called for 
underscoring the true teachings of Islam that are based on 
tolerance and acceptance of the other.  The two scholars also 
criticized extremist ideas and acts of violence that are 
carried out in the name of Islam and asserted that these acts 
are alien to Islam and that Islam totally rejects them.  The 
Al-Azahar Chief, at one point, harshly attacked the acts of 
beheading (without specifically mentioning AmCit Paul 
Johnson, whose beheading took place in the same week) and 
said these acts fatally defame Islam and Muslims. 
 
3. (U) Over the course of the conference, topics discussed 
included the unity of the nation and ways of achieving it; 
crisis of contemporary thought and the inevitability of 
modernization; missionary work and Islamic thought; 
regulations of recompense in Islam; and differentiation 
between the concept of terrorism and the legitimate struggle 
(see para 6). 
 
4. (U) According to the GPC ruling party weekly newspaper May 
22, during one session, Sheikh Abdul-Majeed al-Zindani, the 
Head of the Shura Council of the opposition Islah Party and 
Chairman of al-Iman University, expressed his reservations 
regarding the condemnation of terrorism.  Zindani explained: 
"Terrorism is using weapons beyond the Shari'a and the law, 
but using weapons within the framework of the Sharia and the 
law is not considered an act of terrorism." 
 
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President Saleh,s Remarks 
------------------------- 
 
5. (U) Hosting the participants at his palace, President 
Saleh lectured them on the effects of what he said was a 
misinterpretation of Islamic teachings.  He harshly attacked 
those Ulema (Muslim clerics) who mobilized Muslim youth 
wrongly and said the foreign intervention in the affairs of 
Islamic world is a result of this wrong education.  According 
to government daily al-Thawra newspaper, President Saleh said 
"the support that was rendered at certain periods to the 
extremist schools was to confront the expansion of communism 
in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East region.  However, 
peoples are paying the price."  He also said that "when we 
notified the young men that their ideas were wrong, they told 
us why didn't we ask the ulema or clerics who taught them and 
that they were only victims." 
 
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Conference Recommendations 
-------------------------- 
 
6. (U) The conference came up with the following main 
recommendations: 
 
-- Adoption of a scientific method to define the phenomenon 
of terrorism, its causes and ways of dealing with it through 
an international conference that will differentiate between 
terrorism and the rights of peoples to resist occupation; 
 
-- Rebuff of terrorism in all its forms for the threats it 
brought to the world in general and the Muslim world in 
particular; 
 
-- The need for adopting perceptive guidance based on the 
Quranic evidence, clarification, and persuasiveness in 
spreading Islamic religion; 
 
-- Consolidation of human rights awareness that has been 
conveyed by Islam and the need for giving attention to 
women,s rights and issues; 
 
-- The need for a rejuvenation of Islamic thoughts. 
 
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Deputy Minister of Awqaf and Guidance Paper On Terrorism 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
7. (U) Post received a booklet written by Sheikh Yahya Ahmed 
al-Najjar, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and 
Guidance called "Terrorism: Its Threats & Means of Combating 
It" published by the Ministry.  Post will pouch both the full 
text Arabic original and the 15-page English translation done 
by Post to the desk.  Intended to promote moderation and 
combat terrorism, the five-part paper covers the following 
topics: 
 
-- Part One attempts to define terror and terrorism from 
several sources, including the Quran, Arab language 
dictionaries, academic analysis, English encyclopedias and 
dictionaries, the Arab League and the United Nations; 
 
-- Part Two describes the characteristics of terrorism and 
its motives, using five different terrorist acts (including, 
for example, Oklahoma City and 1995 Khobar Towers) to draw 
conclusions; 
 
-- Part Three describes why terrorism is bad, i.e., the 
threats of terrorism on religious, political, economic and 
security in the Muslim and Arab world; 
 
-- Part Four covers Islam's position on terrorism, including 
historical descriptions of war in Islam, quotes from Shari'a 
and the Quran and detailing seven specific human rights 
afforded by Islam; 
 
-- Part Five outlines the means of combating terrorism, 
including listing the treatment of political, economic and 
social problems necessary, detailing specific suggestions on 
how to combat it and providing six guiding principles for the 
role of preachers and religious institutions. 
 
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Comment 
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8. (C) This conference is part of efforts by the ROYG to 
promote its brand of reform and moderation through the 
convening of international conferences, such as the January 
2004 conference on Democracy, Human Rights and the Role of 
the International Criminal Court.  While it remains to be 
seen whether there is additional practical follow up, the 
ROYG has been engaged since before 9/11 in promoting 
moderation in religious schools.  Recently the ROYG also 
announced it will be closing unlicensed religious schools and 
that schools may not deviate from a government-approved 
curriculum (septel).  End Comment. 
HULL