US embassy cable - 04AMMAN6356

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006356 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KISL, JO 
SUBJECT: GOJ PROMISES TO CLAMP DOWN ON RADICAL CLERICS, ACT 
ON OTHER PRIORITIES 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 06215 
 
     B. AMMAN 06213 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for Reasons 1.5 (b),(d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez pledged July 22 to 
take action on unaccomplished goals identified by King 
Abdullah.  In accordance with the King's directive to 
"improve the living standards of citizens," Fayez promised to 
hold a national conference on poverty and unemployment in 
September and announced a national recruitment database to 
help match job seekers and employers.  Fayez further promised 
to dismantle barriers to investment, streamline public 
administration, and enhance government accountability.  In 
response to concerns over religious extremism, the Ministry 
of Islamic Affairs will continue efforts to "guide" clerics 
in promoting tolerance, while the Ministry of Interior plans 
to crack down on unlicensed preachers who give sermons that 
"challenge" the state or "slander" individuals.  The degree 
of public airing of the regime's concerns about extremist 
Islam within Jordan is unusual, and underscores the 
seriousness of this threat.  End Summary. 
 
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HEEDING THE KING'S CALL 
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2.  (U) Reacting to a letter from King Abdullah prodding the 
government to move forward on his priorities (see ref b), PM 
Fayez issued a public response July 22 pledging to take steps 
to meet the King's expectations.  To implement the King's 
mandate to "improve the living standards of citizens," Fayez 
said the government would hold a national conference on 
poverty and unemployment in September.  He also announced the 
launching of a "national recruitment center" which would use 
a computerized employment database to help match employers 
with those seeking jobs.  Additional foreign investment will 
be attracted, according to Fayez, by "restructuring" 
investment-related institutions and promoting greater 
transparency in business deals. 
 
3.  (U) Fayez said that a ministerial committee had been 
formed to set up a program to implement the King's calls to 
modernize the public administration system, decentralize 
authority, and enhance government accountability on the use 
of public funds.  The GOJ plans to conclude a medium-term 
strategy on administrative reform in September and will 
conduct a comprehensive internal evaluation in November, 
Fayez stated.  On June 26, the Prime Minister's office 
announced the establishment of two new bodies:  1) a 
"Secretariat for the Council of Ministers," which will work 
to ensure better cooperation between ministries and 
streamline government decision-making; and 2) a "Monitoring 
and Evaluation Unit" which will track the government's 
performance through the preparation of regular reports. 
 
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COMBATING EXTREMISM 
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4.  (C) Regarding the King's admonition to promote "true 
Islam," Fayez announced that the Ministry of Awqaf and 
Islamic Affairs would use its Preaching and Guidance Council 
to "encourage" mosque preachers to reinforce the ideas of 
tolerance and dialogue.  In a June meeting with PolOff and 
former Ambassador, Minister of Awqaf Hilayel stressed that 
his ministry was busy training Muslim preachers in every 
governorate to help "guide" them in delivering a "proper" 
message.  "We know without practice and preparation they may 
go off on tangents and make mistakes," Hilayel said. 
 
5.  (U) In a closely related move, a Ministry of Interior 
circular distributed June 25 issued instructions to governors 
to crack down on sermons by unlicensed preachers, 
particularly those that "challenge" the state and "slander" 
people.  Minister of Interior Habashneh advocated taking 
legal measures against offenders under applicable legal 
codes, both criminal and civil. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6.  (C) Fayez will have to back his promises with concrete 
action if he is to avoid another admonishment from the King. 
A renewed focus on reducing the stubbornly high unemployment 
rate should appeal strongly to rank and file Jordanians, 
while steps to prevent incitement in mosques target palace 
concerns over extremist Islam (see ref b). 
HALE