US embassy cable - 04AMMAN7196

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007196 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/PI, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD, 
ECA/PE/C/NEA/AF TJOHNSTON, ECA/PE/V/R/N LMOODY 
NEA/ARN ASCHEDLBAUER, 
NEA/ENA JRUBIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL PREL PGOV PTER KPAL KWBG 
SUBJECT: PAN-ISLAMIC THINK TANK WEIGHS IN FOR 
DEMOCRATIC VALUES, BUT NOT THE U.S. KIND 
 
REF: JERUSALM 02915 
 
1.   Summary.  Under the auspices of Crown Prince 
Hamza, the Aal-al-Beit Foundation held a conference, 
Aug. 20 - 23, on "The Islamic System of Governance and 
Democracy."  About 40 well-known Islamic scholars and 
media personalities, such as Sheikh Yousuf Al Qardawi 
of Al Jazeera fame, affirmed that Islamic principles of 
governance include rule of law, representative 
government and tolerance as well as a commitment to 
equality for all.  King Abdullah met with the scholars, 
and the conference received front-page coverage in the 
local media.   Despite interventions by the PAO, who 
also attended several sessions, the scholars portrayed 
Western democracy, especially the U.S. model, as 
morally bankrupt and arrogant towards other cultures 
and beliefs.  But they also rejected existing 
authoritarian systems in the Arab world and stressed 
the need for political reform.   End Summary. 
 
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Islam: the Real Democracy 
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2.   In the early days, the speakers pointed out, the 
Prophet and his immediate successors emphasized rule of 
law and submission to the rule of the majority as 
expressed by the Shura councils.  Early Islamic 
governance likewise treated all men equally, including 
non-Muslims, and codified tolerance of other religious 
beliefs and practices.  Besides the executive, 
legislative and judicial branches, Islam establishes a 
fourth center of power, they maintained: the divine but 
all-accommodating pillars of the faith. 
 
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Don't Imitate the U.S. 
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3. The scholars appeared to be unanimous in rejecting 
the Western and especially the U.S. model of democracy. 
This system lacks any ethical or moral compass, 
according to several presenters, and suffers from the 
"tyranny of the majority," which can mandate such 
"aberrations" as gay marriage and extramarital sex. 
Several speakers sounded like Marxists from the sixties 
as they decried the "materialist basis" of Western 
democracy, in which the rich buy votes and control the 
media.  Without material prosperity propped up by 
technology, one scholar maintained, Western democracy 
would collapse into chaos. 
 
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The Judeo-Christian "Menace" 
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4. The real proof of the flaws in western democracy, 
several scholars argued, was U.S. policy toward 
Palestine and Iraq and the "Crusade" against Islam. 
How could a government that espouses freedom and 
equality embrace "the racist polices of the Sharon 
government?"  In a session on "the American Position 
towards Religion," a professor who had lived and taught 
in the U.S. claimed that in order to fill the moral 
void, American government and society have adopted a 
"Judeo-Christian" ideology that would inevitably bring 
the U.S. directly into a clash with the Islamic world. 
When the PAO interjected that successive U.S. 
administrations have gone out of their way to express 
respect for Islam and there was no intention of 
imposing any form of democracy on the region, the 
scholar dismissed these statements.  From the days of 
Athens and Rome, he stated, the West has always pursued 
a "With Us or Against Us" policy towards other cultures 
and beliefs.  The only exceptions were brief, cynical 
alliances such as U.S. support for Afghan rebels 
against the Soviets. 
 
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But They Still Want Dialogue 
----------------------------- 
5. Despite the anti-U.S. rhetoric, most of the speakers 
stressed their desire for dialogue and tolerance, both 
to counter homegrown extremism and to improve the image 
of Islam in the West.  They also urged reform and 
progress towards democracy of the Islamic kind in the 
Muslim world.  "The worst form of democracy is better 
than the best dictatorship," one scholar said.  In 
private conversations with the PAO, and with Charg 
over a dinner hosted by Crown Prince Hamzeh, many of 
the participants adopted a much friendlier tone, saying 
that they wanted additional contact and cooperation; 
several were U.S. -bound and seeking assistance with 
their visas.