US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD6

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000006 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/19 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, KISL, IZ 
SUBJECT: SHIA CLERIC SEPARATES RELIGION FROM POLITICS 
 
CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT S. FORD FOR REASON 1.4 
(D). 
 
1. (C) Summary: We have met twice in the past two weeks with 
Shia cleric Saayid Ayad Jamal Ad-Din who warns that the forces 
of ideological and religious extremism will dominate the new 
National Assembly without Coalition support to educated 
moderates and liberals such as himself.  He claimed that despite 
his own personal plea to join with moderates, many 
representatives to Muqtada Al-Sadr have now sided with the 
United Iraqi Alliance and some 25 members are now on this list 
tipping the balance even more for extreme elements of the Shia 
community.  While this cleric says religious parties won't fare 
well in the Shia heartland, he himself seems more interested in 
meeting Iraqi communities located in Britain and the U.S.  This 
is especially odd as he has personal stature as a cleric and 
descendent of the prophet that would enable him to raise the 
delicate issue of separating religion and politics in a way that 
other liberal politicians cannot.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) Saayid Ayad shared with PolOff on December 21 his concern 
that Iranian intervention is affecting Iraqi internal issues. 
He suggested that Iran is backing major parties like Da'wa and 
the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), 
providing millions of dollars for media coverage and public 
influence.  Ayad said he had received an invitation to go to 
Iran to meet with Iranian leaders, but after seeing some of his 
interviews on Al-Arabiyya TV attacking Ali Khamanei, the 
Iranians withdrew their offer.  Ayad went on to say that he has 
spent many years overseas arguing for a secular Iraq.  While 
recognizing the sanctity of Islamic beliefs, he felt those 
beliefs should be kept in the private realm, separate from 
politics.  Ayad said he hopes that with additional support, he 
can convey this message to the Iraqi public who he believes 
would welcome this with open arms. 
 
3. (C) Ayad told PolOff that he has joined Iraqi National 
Congress member Saad Saleh Jabor's Nation's Party list which has 
67 names running for the National Assembly and about 17 names 
for the Provincial Council in Karbala.  Their hope is to capture 
a maximum of 50 seats and no less than 20.  According to Ayad, 
the party is highly dependent on the overseas vote, as many of 
its party members live in exile.  Ayad hopes to appeal to 
overseas Iraqis who want to see a new, democratic Iraq similar 
to the western, largely democratic countries they are now living 
in. 
 
4. (C) According to Ayad, the United Iraqi Alliance list was 
headed towards a significant disappointment in the elections 
until they agreed to allow Muqtada Al-Sadr representatives to 
join the list.  Ayad believes that this decision was approved by 
Ayatollah Sistani himself to bolster the list's popularity among 
younger, less educated people.  Ayad explained that most of the 
25 names associated with Muqtada's following are relative 
unknowns.  Of these 25 names in the list, he said three are in 
the first ten and ten names are in the first fifty.  Ayad claims 
he obtained this information from a trusted go-between working 
with Muqtada Al-Sadr's camp and Mohammed Reda Al-Sistani's 
office.  To counter this effort, Ayad said he tried to recruit 
several Muqtada followers to the Nation's Party, including 
spokesperson Ali Semaysom.  Semaysom reportedly turned down the 
offer stating that he is not permitted to participate as a 
religious figure himself. 
 
5. (C) Comment: It is interesting to hear a cleric like Ayad 
explain how he has attempted to lure radicals like Ali Semaysom 
to his party with the intent of reducing the overall influence 
of religion in politics.  While he insists that religious 
parties will not fare well in the Shia heartland (he comes from 
Najaf himself), we have no indication he has gone to southern 
Iraq to campaign.  Instead, he told us on December 30 that he 
wants to meet Iraqi communities in Britain and the U.S.  In a 
separate conversation December 30, Jamal Udeen stressed to us 
that the United Iraqi Alliance list will promote religious 
involvement in laws relating to personal and communal conduct as 
well as national politics.  He alleged there is more than 
financial support binding Iran to the religious parties featured 
on the Alliance candidate list.  Jamal Udeen, in some ways, 
would be the ideal liberal politician to raise the delicate 
issue of separating religion from politics.  As a cleric and 
"sayyed" - a descendent of the prophet Mohammed - it would be 
harder for Islamists to criticize him as irreligious.  End 
summary. 
 
6. (U) Minimize considered. 
 
NEGROPONTE