US embassy cable - 05MANAMA328

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000328 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2015 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, KPAO, BA 
SUBJECT: CRITIQUE OF SISTANI CREATES DEBATE ON FREEDOM OF 
EXPRESSION 
 
 
Classified By: DCM Susan L. Ziadeh for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Columnist Sameera Rajab's February 16 article on the 
Iraqi elections that criticized Ayatollah Sistani created an 
intense debate on freedom of expression.  The controversy 
continues to make headlines almost daily.  Rajab, a columnist 
for Akhbar Al Khaleej, wrote that Sistani was an American 
general who was wrong to support the electoral process. 
Fellow journalists, members of parliament, clerics, charity 
organizations, and others spoke out against Rajab and said 
that people should not publicly criticize or insult religious 
leaders.  The outcry led to a counter-reaction, with many 
denouncing what they viewed as calls for restrictions on 
freedom of expression.  This episode demonstrates that many 
Bahrainis value freedom of expression, but they are coming to 
grips with whether freedom of expression permits others to 
denigrate religious leaders held in high esteem.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Rajab: "General Sistani" Legitimizes U.S. Actions 
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2.  (SBU) Akhbar Al Khaleej, a Bahraini daily, published an 
opinion piece on the Iraqi elections written by columnist 
Sameera Rajab February 16.  In the column, Rajab gives a 
detailed analysis of the situation in Iraq, and includes a 
short section in the end about Sistani's role in legitimizing 
the January 30 elections.  She argues that without the 
support of "General Sistani," the American leadership 
("representatives of the Great Satan") would be dealing with 
a different scenario in Iraq now. 
 
3.  (SBU) Sameera Rajab is a regular columnist with Akhbar Al 
Khaleej and a known Baathist sympathizer.  Her articles often 
focus on the United States and are marked by fiery criticisms 
of USG officials and policies.  She comes from a prominent 
Bahraini Shi'a family, but is married to a member of the Al 
Khalifa ruling family. 
 
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Religious Leaders Should Not Be Insulted 
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4.  (SBU) Rajab's article generated a hot debate on freedom 
of speech and respect for religious leaders.  Numerous 
columnists, mostly in the independent newspaper Al Wasat, 
spoke out against Rajab.  Al Wasat's Reem Khalifa wrote that 
any columnist who used the word "general" to describe a 
religious figure showed a lack of respect and did not belong 
to the liberal school of thought.  Also in Al Wasat, 
columnist Sayed Dhiya Al Mousawi claimed that Rajab's 
commentary planted the seeds of sectarianism in the region. 
He demanded that the GOB and elected leaders take a stand 
against those who insult religious leaders.  Al Mousawi added 
that Rajab and her fellow Baathists were still in shock from 
the fall of Saddam, and he advised them to move on and play a 
productive role in Iraq's transformation.  No Bahraini 
columnists, other than Rajab's editor, wrote in favor of her 
or her rights as a journalist. 
 
5.  (SBU) Several of the most prominent clerics have focused 
on the Rajab controversy in their Friday prayers.  Shi'a 
Sheikh Isa Qassem warned that those who insult religious 
leaders are attempting to destroy the religion itself.  Sunni 
Sheikh Juma Tawfeeq criticized the GOB for keeping quiet on 
the Rajab article and said freedom of speech does not include 
the right to slander religious figures and Shari'a judges. 
(Note:  In September 2003, Akhbar Al Khaleej published 
accusations of corruption in the Shari'a courts.  End Note.) 
Shi'a Sheikh Abdulla Al Ghuraifi demanded that the Ministry 
of Information do something to stop the slander of religious 
officials "before the anger of the public erupts and causes 
something in this country that we would not like to see." 
 
6.  (SBU) More than twenty charities, mosques, and community 
centers joined together to fund several advertisements in Al 
Wasat against Rajab.  A prominent businessman who owns a 
number of American franchises in Bahrain also paid for a 
large advertisement criticizing Rajab. 
 
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Freedom of Expression Must Be Protected 
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7.  (SBU) Al Tajamo' Al Qowmi, the local Baathist party and a 
member of the alliance that boycotted the 2002 parliamentary 
elections, issued a statement in support of Rajab.  The 
statement said that "intellectual terrorism" was destroying 
freedom of expression in Bahrain, and that Rajab was "an 
honest writer who has refused to accept the American 
occupation in Iraq."  The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society 
also issued a statement to express its solidarity with Rajab, 
underscoring the importance of protecting freedom of 
expression.  The Bahrain Journalists Association appealed for 
calm and a constructive dialogue on the Rajab article, which 
it feared was dividing the press and religious institutions. 
 
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Reactions from Parliament 
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8.  (C) In a luncheon with visiting NEA/ARPI Director Alan 
Misenheimer February 21, three Shura Council members and two 
MPs discussed the Rajab controversy.  All of them agreed that 
Rajab's comments were offensive and that Akhbar Al Khaleej 
should not have printed them.  Shura Council member Faisal 
Fouladh (who helped establish the Bahrain Human Rights Watch 
Society) stated that despite the ignorance of her views, her 
freedom to express those views must be protected. 
 
9.  (C) MP Jassim Al A'Ali, a member of the Economic bloc, 
told PolOff that Rajab did not have the right to say what she 
did.  He praised the civilized way that people reacted to the 
article, and said that if she had said the same thing in some 
other countries she could have been killed.  He could not 
imagine how the GOB would have reacted if she had made such 
strong statements against the Prime Minister or another 
member of the royal family. 
 
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Akhbar Al Khaleej Responds 
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10.  (SBU) Akhbar Al Khaleej editor Anwar Abdulrahman wrote a 
front page article February 23 regretting that the Rajab 
piece had angered religious scholars.  He said that anyone 
who engaged in political activities was subject to critique, 
and that Rajab was justified in analyzing Sistani's role in 
Iraq.  He reiterated that his newspaper would never instigate 
sectarianism, and that it had always called for one religion 
and one people without discrimination.  Abdulrahman noted 
that 80 percent of Akhbar Al Khaleej's staff is Shi'a.  He 
confirmed that he and Rajab support Sistani and appreciate 
his role in Iraq.  He added, "All the writer did was analyze 
the political situation.  The goal was not to defame the 
reputation of Sistani or insult him." 
 
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Comment 
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11.  (C) Rajab's article touched on a number of enormously 
sensitive issues in Bahrain - religion, the sectarian divide, 
U.S. policy in Iraq, and freedom of expression.  She is a 
controversial and divisive person and no doubt knew that the 
article would cause a flare up in tensions.  Her writing for 
some time has been supportive of Saddam and the insurgency 
and has denigrated the Shi'a role in Iraq, and Bahrain's 
Shi'a were looking for an opportunity to discredit her. 
Although she is now portraying herself as a champion of 
freedom of expression, the reaction to her crude attacks on 
Sistani demonstrates that Bahrainis are not in agreement 
whether this freedom should include insulting criticisms of 
religious leaders held in high esteem. 
 
12.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
MONROE