US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT3546

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, KU, IZ, IR 
SUBJECT: SHIITE LEADER SAYS GOK FEARS ISLAMISTS, URGES U.S. 
TO APPROACH IRAN 
 
Classified By: DCM Matthew H. Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: In a recent meeting with Poloff, Shiite 
religious cleric Sayed Mohammed Bakr al-Mohri, an outspoken 
advocate for Kuwait's Shia population and a vocal critic of 
the GOK, lamented that although Kuwait's Shia had recently 
made great gains, the GOK was "fearful" of conservative Sunni 
elements.  Accordingly, the GOK is loath to allow significant 
reform.  Al-Mohri also shared his thoughts on the situation 
in Iraq, and suggested the USG actively engage Iran in an 
effort to stabilize Iraq.  End Summary. 
 
Gulf States Placation of Sunni Conservatives Dangerous 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
2. (C) The head of Kuwait's Shiite Clerics Association, Sayed 
Mohammed Bakr al-Mohri, told Poloff that he was disappointed 
with the rebuke he received from Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah 
during the latter's much-publicized meeting with newspaper 
editors on September 22, following al-Mohri's demands that 
the GOK allow the teaching of the Shiite (Jaafari) system of 
jurisprudence in Kuwait's schools and universities.  Noting 
his surprise at the admonition, in which Shaykh Sabah 
criticized him for making "sectarian" statements, al-Mohri 
said the GOK's public criticism of him reflects the fact that 
the government is "fearful of Salafi Islamists."   He said 
this was just one example of the many ways in which the GOK 
was placating Sunni conservative elements in society and 
subsequently crippling its own reformist agenda.  Another 
example of this, he said, was Kuwait's tolerance for a 
website belonging to firebrand, anti-U.S. cleric Hamad 
al-Ali, which he claimed taught people to make bombs. (Note: 
Although Shaykh Sabah stated he would summon al-Mohri to 
discuss his demands, the Prime Minister has yet to do so, 
which suggests his remarks were only for public consumption. 
End Note.) 
 
3. (C) Al-Mohri linked these examples to a larger, "dangerous 
trend" in which Gulf Arab Sunnis were increasingly falling 
under the sway of mainstream clerics who advocated violence 
against nonbelievers, and had even gone so far as to condone 
the killing of U.S. civilians in Iraq.  Al-Mohri said 
extremists were still actively raising funds from Gulf States 
for terrorist activities, although the U.S. orchesterated 
crackdown on religious charities had reduced the amount of 
aid extremists could funnel to terrorist organizations like 
Al-Qaeda.  Al-Mohri heaped particular scorn on Qatar-based 
Egyptian cleric Yousef al-Qaradawi, whom he said has a large 
following and routinely "calls for terrorism."  He said four 
Kuwaiti jihadis who had been returned to Kuwait from Syria 
after attempting to cross into Iraq to fight Americans had 
been influenced by al-Qaradawi's fatwas. 
 
Shia Making Gains in Kuwait: Motivated By U.S. Attention 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
4. (C) Al-Mohri said the Shia population in Kuwait had 
achieved much over the past few years and he is optimistic 
that they will continue to do so.  Praising the State 
Department's Human Rights Report, al-Mohri said knowing that 
the United States is taking note of the plight of Kuwaiti 
Shia had encouraged him to continue pushing for reforms, even 
though the Shia had already made significant gains during the 
year. (Note:  Shia celebrated Ashoura with a public 
reenactment of the battle of Karbala for the first time this 
year.  In addition, the year saw the establishment of a 
Shiite Waqf (endowment) and the approval of numerous 
long-standing building permit applications for Shiite mosques 
and Husseiniyas.  End Note.) 
 
5. (C) Responding to Poloff's query, al-Mohri said that Yaser 
al-Habib, a Shiite who had been accused of 'sedition' for 
remarks he made on a widely distributed cassette tape, had 
fled the country after being erroneously pardoned in late 
2003. 
 
Iraq Shiites Appreciate U.S. Liberation 
--------------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Al-Mohri said the majority of Iraqi Shiites still 
follow the teachings of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, whose 
moderate views have been instrumental in limiting bloodshed 
there.  He pointed out that Sistani had issued a fatwa 
prohibiting the bearing of arms against coalition forces. 
Al-Mohri also said that Iraq's Shia population is still 
grateful to the U.S. for having liberated it from the tyranny 
of Saddam Hussein. 
 
Iranian Leaders Seek Stability in Iraq and View U.S. as Key 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
7. (C) Al-Mohri said he meets with the "highest religious 
authorities" whenever he visits Iran, up to and including 
President Khatami.  He said all of these officials stressed 
that regional stability was a priority, particularly in Iraq, 
where a stable regime would facilitate cross border 
pilgrimages to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.  That 
said, the situation in Iraq was unlikely to stabilize without 
the political backing of the U.S., Iran, Syria and Saudi 
Arabia.  Al-Mohri said he had heard that U.S. officials had 
approached Iran seeking Iranian support for stabilization 
efforts in Iraq.  He urged the U.S. to continue these back 
channel approaches.  Although he conceded that Iran feels 
threatened by the U.S. presence in Iraq, especially in light 
of ongoing IAEA investigations into Iranian nuclear 
activities, al-Mohri said that even Iran's most conservative 
leaders are not as hardline as they once were, and they are 
willing to engage in dialogue. (Note: Al-Mohri's comments do 
not coincide with open source and other reporting indicating 
that Iran is sparing no effort to keep Iraq destabiized.  End 
Note.) 
 
8. Comment:  While al-Mohri may have some legitimate insights 
into the thoughts of the Hawza in Iraq and the public views 
of leaders in Iran, his claim that he is the voice of Grand 
Ayatollah Sistani in Kuwait is belied by the persistency with 
which it is made.  Al-Mohri, in his capacity as 
self-appointed mouthpiece for the Shiite community in Kuwait, 
will nonetheless continue to push the GOK, slowly forcing it 
to cede ground on rights previously denied Kuwait's Shiite 
minority.  End Comment. 
 
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