US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT1076

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 001076 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI AND S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, KISL, KMDR, PINR, KU, ISLAMISTS 
SUBJECT: EXTREME ISLAMIST JABER AL-JALAHMA SHARES WORLDVIEW 
IN RARE INTERVIEW WITH KUWAITI DAILY 
 
REF: A. 04 KUWAIT 1731 
     B. 04 KUWAIT 1661 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (d) 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: Extreme Sunni Islamist Jaber Al-Jalahma, a 
frequent subject of questioning by state security officials 
for his links to militants and for preaching violent jihad, 
granted an unusual and exclusive interview to the Daily Star, 
which ran in the March 12 edition of the Kuwaiti 
English-language newspaper.  During the interview, he spoke 
out about the recent shoot-outs in Kuwait between security 
forces and terrorists, the incompatibility of Islam and 
democracy, his opposition to women's political rights, and 
the incendiary provocation caused by the presence of U.S. 
military forces in the Gulf. Al-Jalahma, a hardline Islamist 
with militant links, was most recently questioned by state 
security last summer in a case involving Kuwaiti youths 
apprehended in Syria en route to Iraq. END SUMMARY. 
 
"Islam Firmly Against Attacking Any Unarmed Person" 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
2. (U) Hardline Islamist Jaber Al-Jalahma granted an 
unusually candid interview to the Daily Star, a Kuwaiti 
English-language daily, in early March.  According to the 
reporter who noted the considerable difficulty in obtaining 
the meeting, the interview with Al-Jalahma took place in the 
diwaniya of Osama Al-Munawer, a well-known attorney and 
defender of Islamists accused of jihad and related 
activities. The interviewer described the session as 
punctuated by long periods of silence, after which Al-Jalahma 
responded to many questions saying, "I do not want to speak 
on this issue." 
 
3. (U) Al-Jalahma began by speaking about the recent 
shootouts and about the acceptable use of violence. 
Al-Jalahma said that the recent violence in Kuwait, in which 
four security officers and eight militants were killed, was a 
result of "the passion felt by a few young men," and said 
that "I am against the way in which these young men chose to 
deliver their message." However, he found equal fault with 
state security for their alleged physical abuse of prisoners, 
and claimed that he had been the victim of torture at their 
hands. 
 
4. (U) Islamic scholars and Kuwaitis who have traveled to 
wage jihad in Afghanistan should be in charge of looking 
after the next generation, Al-Jalahma said. He pointed to 
Hamed Al-Ali, an ex-Awqaf employee and former Secretary 
General of the Salafi Movement and frequent target of 
security interrogations for his alleged role in supporting 
jihad, as a fine example for young Kuwaitis. "The involvement 
of Hamed Al-Ali in Kuwaiti society is a valve of security for 
Kuwait," he said. Al-Jalahma also said that Kuwaiti youths 
should not go to Iraq to wage jihad "without the permission 
of a Kuwaiti religious scholar." 
 
5. (U) Al-Jalahma parsed his words just as carefully in 
discussing the issue of when attacks might be permissible. 
"We should differentiate between attacking military and civil 
targets, given that the latter is forbidden according to 
Islamic teaching. Islam is firmly against attacking any 
unarmed person," he said -- even Ariel Sharon, were he to 
visit an Islamic country.  Al-Jalahma did not comment further 
on attacks against military targets, an action implicitly 
approved in his statement. (Note: The Kuwaitis killed in 
recent incidents and those apprehended in the resulting sweep 
were suspected of plotting attacks on military targets such 
as convoys. End Note.) 
 
Islam Incompatible With Democracy 
--------------------------------- 
 
6. (U) Al-Jalahma bluntly stated his belief in the 
incompatibility of Islam and democracy. "The democratic 
system contradicts Islamic teachings," he said. A democracy 
rests power with the public, he said, "while in Islam, the 
Sharia (Islamic Law) is the divine source of power." 
Al-Jalahma then called into question the participation of 
Islamists in Parliament (note: Islamists of various strains 
maintain a majority in the body), saying their efforts to 
reform the assembly had gotten nowhere, and that their 
efforts would therefore be better spent "in humanitarian work 
and in spreading Islam." 
 
7. (U) On the issue of women,s political rights, Al-Jalahma 
said that it was not permitted on religious grounds, although 
Islam does permit women to express their opinions "in an 
informal way... indoors." Al-Jalahma said that he suspected 
the government,s timing in renewing its push for women,s 
suffrage was aimed at pressuring the Islamists and sending 
them a message in the wake of the shootouts. Al-Jalahma said 
that were women to be granted their rights, "the Islamic 
groups will allow the women in their circle to vote, but not 
to run for Parliament." 
"I Hope The American Forces In Kuwait Will Soon Leave" 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
 
8. (U) The presence of American "occupiers" in the region and 
their conduct is the primary reason for the unrest among Arab 
youths, Al-Jalahma said, "especially after they saw the 
torture being carried out by American soldiers against Iraqi 
citizens."  Al-Jalahma characterized the U.S. presence in the 
region as "imposing democracy by force and occupying some 
Islamic countries," and called it "unacceptable."  "I 
understand the anger of the Kuwaiti youth that stems from the 
American presence, especially as it is accompanied by 
countless killings of Muslims in Iraq and Palestine." 
An Islamist Espousing Intolerence With Militant Links 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
9. (U) Jaber Al-Jalahma is a prominent Sunni Islamist cleric 
with known links to violent extremists, however he rigorously 
avoids the public eye and rarely appears in the press. He was 
tried in November 2002 for broadcasting propaganda and 
praising two extremists, Anas Al-Kandari and Jassem 
Al-Hajiri, for shooting and killing a U.S. Marine on October 
8, 2002 on Failaka Island.  Al-Jalahma was accused of 
publicly describing the attack as legitimate and heroic at 
the funeral of the two assailants who were also killed during 
the attack.  Al-Jalahma defended his actions saying that his 
message was intended for the grieving families of the two 
dead attackers. 
 
10. (S) According to many accounts of his statements at the 
funeral, Al-Jalahma said the attack "was a message to us 
all," and said the two Kuwaitis "were better than us because 
they stood up against infidels bent on usurping our rights." 
He was acquitted of all charges in December 2002.  The court 
ruled that Al-Jalahma had merely expressed his opinion and 
did not pose a threat to military preparations to defend 
Kuwait.  Al-Jalahma later admitted to EmbOff (ref A) that he 
had been wrong to praise the Failaka attackers despite still 
characterizing their intentions as "righteous."  Al-Jalahma 
also admitted knowing Usama bin Laden, whom he refers to as 
"Shaykh Usama," meeting him in Afghanistan during the Soviet 
occupation in the 1980s, where he claims to have provided 
only humanitarian aid.  Al-Jalahma also claimed to have made 
a "deal" with UBL in Kandahar and received a promise that 
Al-Qaida would leave Kuwait alone (ref A). 
 
11. (C) In recent years Al-Jalahma has been arrested or 
detained in Kuwait and several other Arab countries including 
Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the UAE.  Yemeni authorities 
arrested Al-Jalahma for having "extremist beliefs" in October 
2003 while he was trying to depart Sana'a by airplane.  In 
the summer of 2004, Al-Jalahma was detained in Saudi Arabia 
and was eventually transferred to a prison in Riyadh.  The 
Saudis reportedly held him on suspicion of involvement in 
recruiting Kuwaitis to fight coaltion forces in Iraq. 
Al-Jalahma was purportedly detained, questioned, and charged 
by the Kuwaiti public prosecutor in August 2004 for allegedly 
recruiting jihadi fighters for combat in Iraq.  It was 
reported that Al-Jalahma was handed over to Kuwaiti 
authorities by Saudi security officials.  He denied the 
charges and was released in November 2004 without trial.  He 
has been a vocal critic of Kuwait State Security (KSS), which 
he accused of torturing him and numerous young Kuwaitis, 
motivating them to further acts of violence. 
 
12. (C) A well-connected liberal Embassy contact informed 
EmbOffs that after the shoot-outs between militants and 
security officials in January, KSS director Shaykh Athbi 
Al-Fahd Al-Sabah telephoned Al-Jalahma and fellow firebrand 
Islamist cleric Hamad Al-Ali to tell them to "calm things 
down."  It has been asserted by some Embassy contacts that 
Shaykh Athbi uses the two extremist clerics as go-betweens to 
communicate with Islamic militants. 
 
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LEBARON