US embassy cable - 04AMMAN7619

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 007619 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KISL, JO 
SUBJECT: GOJ DETAINS, RELEASES UNLICENSED PREACHERS 
 
REF: AMMAN 6213 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  A GOJ crackdown on unlicensed preachers 
over the weekend ignited a furious reaction from Jordan's 
powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which accused the GOJ of 
kowtowing to U.S. demands and restricting public freedoms. 
Intervention from the Prime Minister resulted in the release 
of 11 clerics and a calming of the situation for now.  The 
GOJ's attempt to enforce this controversial law appears to be 
a response to the King's public directive earlier this summer 
to minimize extremist sermonizing from Jordan's mosques. 
However, the reaction and government climb-down illustrates 
again the difficulties Jordan faces in reconciling its 
security concerns with the development of political 
pluralism.  We can expect more such confrontations between 
Islamists and the monarchy.  End Summary. 
 
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ISLAMISTS BLAME U.S. FOR ARRESTS 
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2.  (U)  Jordan's Islamic movement reacted furiously to a 
crackdown on unlicensed preachers which began the night of 
September 8.  They accused the government of "storming" the 
homes of 39 Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members who were accused 
of violating Jordan's long-standing "Sermons and Guidance 
Act."  The law requires all preachers to be licensed by -- 
and made employees of -- the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic 
Affairs before delivering a sermon or religious lessons.  The 
crackdown resulted in the arrest of 11 preachers throughout 
Jordan, including two elderly clerics (one of them former 
Awqaf Minister Ibrahim Zeid Kilani), who were hospitalized 
after authorities presented the summons at their homes. 
 
3.  (U)  As news of the arrests -- some carried out in the 
middle of the night -- spread, the Islamists' leadership 
cried "foul."  The MB issued a statement condemning the GOJ's 
"authoritarian measures" as illegal and heaped blame on the 
United States: "We regard such an action as yet another 
restriction of public freedoms and awareness at a time when 
Islam is under U.S.-Zionist attack and is their first 
target."  MB Comptroller General Abd al-Majid Dhunaybat 
accused the government of implementing a U.S. agenda by 
carrying out such actions.  He warned that the GOJ's actions 
will drive disaffected youth underground.  Meanwhile, the 
MB's political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), 
announced: "This measure is condemned, illegal, and does not 
serve the interests of the country," and called on the 
government to immediately release the detainees. 
 
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PM INTERVENTION CALMS SITUATION--FOR NOW 
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4.  (U)  Interior Minister Habashneh publicly defended the 
arrests, saying the preachers were in violation of a 
long-standing law, and noted that seven had been released on 
September 11 after signing pledges to comply (the two 
hospitalized clerics also were expected to sign).  However, 
the pressure mounted on the GOJ after the two remaining 
detainees (senior MB leaders) refused to sign the agreement. 
PM Fayez, Awqaf Minister Hilayel, and Interior Minister 
Habashneh on September 12 met MB and IAF leaders in an 
attempt to defuse the situation.  The two were released after 
the MB leadership agreed that its members would abide by the 
licensing law.  Stressing the Islamists' commitment to 
Jordan's security and stability, Dhunaybat said: "The meeting 
was positive and has an atmosphere and understanding and the 
case was closed."  For his part, Habashneh said the MB leader 
pledged that in the future its members would not deviate from 
any of the "constants" of the state; would not "defame" 
Jordanian foreign relations, Arab rulers, or friendly 
countries; would steer away from "personal slander and 
accusations of infidelity," and would adhere to the Sermons 
and Guidance law. 
 
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WHENCE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT? 
----------------------------- 
 
5.  (C)  Beyond Islamist circles, reaction to the crackdown 
was mixed.  Noting the hypocrisy of a government that boasts 
of its commitment to political development (and by extension 
loosening its restrictions on free speech), the new Jordanian 
daily al-Ghad published a harsh political cartoon about the 
arrests with the caption "Political Development" in its 
September 12 edition.  It depicted a sinister Interior 
Minister leading three bound and sweating clerics, as he 
tells them to prepare to experience his own brand of 
"political development."  Writing in government-controlled 
al-Rai, political analyst Hamadeh Faraneh criticized the 
Muslim Brotherhood (which the GOJ has coddled for years) for 
confronting the government on this issue, noting that 
Islamists like all other citizens are obligated to comply 
with the laws of the state.  He also slammed Dhunbayat's 
claim that youth will be driven underground, saying the 
Islamists have to accept responsibility for shaping the 
perspective of the young people who attend their mosques. 
Al-Rai's editorial published the same day agreed, and went so 
far as to say force should be used if necessary to bring the 
MB in line with Jordan's laws. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6.  (C)  With recent terrorist events in Iraq, Russia, and 
Saudi Arabia not far from Jordanian leaders' minds, the move 
to enforce the law against unlicensed preaching is in line 
with the King's recent public call on his ministers to better 
monitor mosque preaching and promote a message of tolerance 
and moderate Islam (ref).  The GOJ understands that extremist 
religious messages are increasingly well-received among some 
disaffected sectors of Jordan's society.  The crackdown 
underscores the delicate balancing act Jordan's political 
system faces in maintaining security and advocating true 
political development.  Ironically, the mosque sermons pose 
the lesser of two evils.  Generally tight controls on mosques 
has pushed the most radical preachers, including the 
Salafists, out of that monitored setting and into living 
rooms and informal venues, where far more dangerous messages 
are disseminated, and circles formed which are harder to 
penetrate. 
 
7.  (C)  Comment continued:  This episode also exposes a rift 
between the government and Islamists, who for decades were 
cultivated by the monarchy as a bulwark against radical Arab 
nationalist ideologies.  With radical secular ideologies all 
but exhausted, and the King pushing the country on a 
globalist, integrated path, the Islamists are left as the 
only voice of opposition.  We can expect to see many more 
such clashes as this process plays out, although "mainstream" 
Islamist forces, such as the MB, can be expected to comply 
with regime redlines when pressed to do so -- even at the 
cost of their own credibility.  End Comment. 
 
8.  (U)  Baghdad minimize considered. 
HALE