US embassy cable - 05MANAMA347

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAMA 000347 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KIRF, BA 
SUBJECT: GOB REACTS TO OUTWARD SIGNS OF SHIA ACTIVISM 
DURING ASHURA OBSERVANCES 
 
REF: A. MANAMA 344 
     B. MANAMA 281 
     C. MANAMA 273 
     D. MANAMA 270 
 
Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) The GOB has launched a public and private campaign 
complaining of Iranian interference in Bahraini affairs and 
attempts to sow sectarianism in Bahrain.  Interior Minister 
Shaikh Rashed said publicly that some people spread hate 
messages during mid-February Shia Ashura celebrations by 
chanting slogans and hanging posters inciting divisions 
within Bahraini society.  Bahrain is the only GCC country 
that permits widespread public Ashura processions.  The means 
of celebrating the holiday in Bahrain varied depending on the 
participants' school of thought, but those who cut themselves 
are a very small minority in the country's Shia community. 
The processions allow the Shia to push the envelope of public 
expression, and this year in Bahrain the faithful posted 
photographs of Khomeini, Khamenei, and even Hizballah SecGen 
Nasrallah in greater number and size than in previous years. 
The Bahraini government could well be right that Iran is 
fomenting activism in the Shia community, but another source 
of Shia empowerment and public confidence is undoubtedly the 
Shia success in Iraq's elections.  The GOB encourages the 
participation of all sectors of society in its political 
system, but it may not be ready to deal with an increasingly 
assertive Shia population.  End Summary. 
 
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Beware the Iranian Hand 
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2.  (S) Echoing public statements by King Hamad February 26 
(Ref C) and Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammed and Minister of 
State for Foreign Affairs Abdul Ghaffar's private comments to 
the Ambassador (Refs A, D), Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa 
March 6 publicly vowed to crack down on lawbreakers who 
threaten national unity.  He was reacting to Minister of 
Interior Shaikh Rashed's separate briefings for the Cabinet 
and members of Parliament over "violations committed during 
Ashura," saying the government will not tolerate sectarian 
acts.  Shaikh Rashed said some people spread hate messages 
during Ashura by chanting slogans and hanging posters calling 
for divisions within Bahraini society.  The Cabinet issued a 
statement condemning acts that harm the "one-family spirit" 
reinforced by the King's reform program.  Shaikh Mohammed and 
Abdul Ghaffar told the Ambassador that during Ashura, 
pictures of Khomeini and Khamenei proliferated in Manama and 
Shia villages (more and larger than usual, they said). Even 
more worrisome, said Abdul Ghaffar, were camps set up 
offering ideological training to youth.  Calling these camps 
"very dangerous," he said that Bahraini authorities found in 
the camps Hizballah logos as well as numerous American and 
Israeli flags drawn on the ground for people to stomp on. 
Shaikh Mohammed told the Ambassador that the government 
reacted strongly this time, including with a now-public 
protest to the Iranian Ambassador, to nip in the bud this 
activity and ensure that it does not become more pronounced 
during future Ashuras. 
 
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Long Tradition of Ashura Observances 
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3.  (SBU) The Shia-observed holiday of Ashura, commemorating 
the killing of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein in 
Karbala, runs for the first ten days of the Islamic month of 
Moharram.  The holiday reaches its peak on the 9th and 10th 
of Moharram, coinciding with February 18-19 this year.  With 
some 70 percent of its population Shia Muslim, Bahrain is the 
only GCC country that permits widespread public Ashura 
celebrations.  Bahrain's Shia are proud of their unique 
status in the region:  one contact boasted that the Shia had 
carried out their traditions for centuries before the ruling 
(Sunni) Al Khalifa family came to the island. 
 
4.  (SBU) Ashura is best known for images of the faithful 
marching in processions covered in blood from self-inflicted 
sword and knife cuts on their heads and backs (called 
"haidar" in Arabic), symbolizing the suffering of Hussein. 
While this striking and gruesome scene was visible in 
downtown Manama, particularly on the morning of the 10th of 
Moharram (February 19), Bahraini Shia note that there is much 
more to the holiday than blood-letting.  They note that this 
year in particular, Shia assembly halls ("ma'tams") in both 
the capital and smaller towns and villages organized regular 
lectures on the events and personalities surrounding Ashura, 
"passion plays" portraying the suffering of Hussein, blood 
drives to support local hospitals, and papier-mache 
reproductions of Hussein's martyrdom reminiscent of Christmas 
nativity scenes.  On a vacant lot across the street from the 
landmark American Mission Hospital in downtown Manama, Shia 
clerics, at least one of Iranian origin, gave lectures in 
fluent English to interested foreigners. 
 
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Variety Among Rituals of Procession Participants 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
5.  (SBU) Although less bloody, the Ashura processions of the 
evening of the 9th of Moharram, February 18, were nonetheless 
remarkable for their size, variety, and religious fervor. 
With the exception of a group of about 10 young men who 
struck their backs with swords and knives, the many thousands 
who marched did not cut themselves.  Organized by ma'tams, 
most groups (men-only) walked in rows accompanied by 
riderless horses, preachers broadcasting chants via mobile 
speaker systems, drums, banners, and the occasional mock 
coffin.  One group was accompanied by a marching band whose 
members wore identical black satin uniforms with gold sashes, 
similar to the spectacle of a New Orleans Dixieland jazz 
funeral procession. 
 
6.  (SBU) The ma'tams are identified by their location in a 
particular area of Bahrain or by the ethnic origin of the 
members.  There are ma'tams for Shia of Bahraini origin, 
called "Baharna;" of Persian origin but with Bahraini 
citizenship, called "Ajaam" (some of these families have been 
in Bahrain for generations but are considered to be 
Persians); guest workers from the sub-continent, mostly 
Pakistanis; and Saudis from the Eastern Province who can 
practice their faith in relative freedom.  Each of the groups 
performs a particular style of self-flagellation in unison. 
Many tap their chests gently with their right hands; others 
have complex, dance-like rhythmic movements resulting in a 
hard chest smash with both hands; other groups swat their 
backs with strands of chain-link attached to wooden handles. 
There is some measure of "having fun" and teenage 
testosterone-fueled one-upmanship in the enthusiasm some of 
the faithful demonstrate.  Small groups of what appear to be 
brothers, cousins, and best friends urge each other on to 
ever higher frenzies of shouting, praying, and pounding. 
 
7.  (SBU) The route of the procession is lined with stalls 
organized by ma'tams, distributing hot and cold drinks and 
food free of charge to any and all present, including 
(clearly non-Bahraini) Emboffs.  Volunteers at the stalls 
went out of their way to make foreigners feel welcome, 
personally delivering food and drink to those standing in the 
immediate area.  They also walked with participants in the 
processions for short distances, plying them with 
refreshments like spectators passing drinks to marathon 
runners.  Many women and children watch the processions from 
the sides of the street or from windows, adding to the almost 
carnival-like atmosphere. 
 
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Public Displays of Shia Luminaries 
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8.  (SBU) There were numerous photographs, including some 
very large ones, of Khomeini and Khamenei along the 
procession route in central Manama.  Pasted on the walls were 
posters featuring the two Iranians as well as Hizballah 
SecGen Nasrallah.  Although Emboffs did not see any Hizballah 
flags, other spectators did.  Some posters protested Article 
56 of Bahrain's 2002 constitution, which grants a general 
amnesty to, among others, security forces personnel accused 
by Shia of torturing and killing detainees during strife in 
the mid-1990's.  These posters displayed photos of the bodies 
of those killed in clashes with security forces and while in 
detention.  A few participants in the processions wore badges 
saying "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" in Farsi. 
 
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Shirazis at the Extreme 
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9.  (C) According to Shia contacts, the various methods of 
commemorating the death of Hussein reflect different schools 
of thought in the Shia community.  Bahrain's Shia follow many 
different trends within the Shia sect, including those of 
Khomeini/Khamenei, Al Khoei, Fadlallah, Sistani, and Shirazi. 
 In the late 1980's, Khomeini issued a fatwa saying that 
performing haidar, the blood-letting, is "haram," or 
religiously unacceptable.  He recommended that Shia donate 
blood instead.  The large majority of Bahrain's Shia still 
follow this instruction.  However, just two years ago, Grand 
Ayatollah Mohammed Shirazi, the (now deceased) leader of the 
more radical Shirazi movement, disagreed and issued a fatwa 
saying that haidar is religiously acceptable.  His fatwa 
coincided with the greater political openness in Bahrain 
initiated by the King's reform policies, and adherents of the 
Shirazi philosophy moved quickly to resume this bloody 
practice, which many non-Shirazi Shia view with disgust. 
 
10.  (C) The Al Qassab ma'tam in downtown Manama is the 
center for Shirazis in Bahrain.  It is run by the Al Alawi 
family.  Minister of Labor and former exiled dissident Majid 
Al Alawi is from the same family, but he is not close to the 
branch involved in the Al Qassab ma'tam.  Our contacts say 
that almost all the men performing haidar in the Ashura 
processions are members of this ma'tam.  One contact claimed 
that many of the Saudi Shia who come to Bahrain for the 
holidays are members of the Shirazi movement and also cut 
themselves in the processions. 
 
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Comment 
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11.  (C) Bahrain's leadership is becoming increasingly 
nervous about and sensitive to overt signs of Shia activism. 
The government is particularly incensed with obvious displays 
of deference to non-Bahraini religious leaders, many of whom 
the GOB considers to be politicians more than they are 
clerics (i.e., Khamenei and Nasrallah).  While it is Bahraini 
policy to encourage full participation in the political 
system by all sectors of society, the leadership has not yet 
developed a policy to deal with the potential full 
empowerment and possible political success of the Shia 
community.  The source of increased Shia activism inside 
Bahrain could be due to Iranian interference, as the 
government claims.  However, another likely source is the 
impact on Shia identity and confidence brought on by the 
sweeping Shia electoral victory in Iraq.  The GOB wants Shias 
to participate in the system, but it may not yet be 
comfortable with an increasingly assertive community. 
Therefore, the government could be laying down markers -- 
complaining of Iranian meddling, arresting the administrators 
of an opposition website (Ref B), calling for national unity 
and threatening those who promote sectarianism -- that it 
will permit a Shia renaissance to go only so far. 
 
12.  (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
MONROE