US embassy cable - 02AMMAN2432

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002432 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, KISL, SOCI, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: SENIOR ISLAMIC FIGURES PRAISE CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM 
COOPERATION, BUT SHOW DEEP MISTRUST OF ISRAEL AND JUDAISM 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for Reasons 1.5 (B)(D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  The Chief Justice of the Sharia Court and the Mufti 
of the Kingdom recently expressed to us their strong 
condemnation of Israeli violence in the West Bank and of 
suicide bombings, but asked that the U.S. adopt a "more just" 
position defending the rights of Palestinians against Israeli 
occupation.  Both praised the piety and religious tolerance 
of Americans, noting that their offices spend much of their 
time dealing with the personal problems of expatriate 
Jordanians living in the West.  Both emphasized 
Christian-Muslim understanding and cooperation in Jordan. 
Unfortunately, both also drew on Quranic verses and popular 
myths about Judaism to underscore their mistrust of Israel. 
End summary. 
 
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YES TO PALESTINIANS, NO TO TERRORISM 
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2.  (C)  During recent separate meetings with PolCouns, the 
Chief Justice of the Sharia Court, Sheikh Izzeddine 
al-Tamimi, and the Mufti of the Kingdom, Sheikh Said 
al-Hijjawi, both flagged the continuing Israeli occupation of 
the West Bank and Gaza and recent "aggression" into 
Palestinian cities as the most important political issue 
facing their flock.  Both Tamimi and Hijjawi asserted that 
Israel's use of U.S.-provided F-16's, Apache helicopters, and 
missiles have convinced average Jordanians and Muslims that 
the U.S. supports Israeli killing of Palestinians.  Hijjawi 
argued that the U.S. must use the principles of religion to 
develop a "more just" policy that supports the rights of 
innocent Palestinians against Israeli occupation. 
 
3.  (C)  Both were quick, however, to reject the killing of 
civilians in the name of Islam, quoting verses of the Quran 
which call for the protection of civilians in times of war. 
The Quran does not permit suicide bombings against innocent 
civilians, Tamimi argued, although he said that the U.S. and 
Israel must understand that the long Israeli occupation has 
convinced many Palestinians that they have no other way to 
oppose the occupation.  Hijjawi strongly rejected the 
philosophy of Osama Bin Laden, saying that Bin Laden had 
hijacked the peaceful spirit of Islam and used it to 
implement his violent, hateful agenda.  The West, and 
especially the U.S., should not mistake Bin Laden's misdeeds 
for the true Islam, which respects the three monotheistic 
religions:  Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. 
 
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ISLAM IN THE U.S. 
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4  (C)  PolCouns explained that, despite the secular nature 
of the U.S. government, religious faith is an important and 
deeply rooted element in American society.  Americans are 
free to worship in the way that they choose, and the vast 
majority of Americans also respect that others have the same 
right.  It is this religious freedom and tolerance that have 
permitted Islam and other religions to flourish in the U.S. 
 
5.  (C)  Both Tamimi and Hijjawi expressed admiration for the 
religious freedom enjoyed in the United States.  Tamimi said 
that Jordanian Sharia courts deal extensively with Islamic 
centers in the United States to obtain or verify birth, 
death, marriage, and divorce records.  He praised the 
professionalism of American Islamic Centers, noting that 
nearly all of these centers comment favorably on their close 
and cooperative relations with local American governmental 
authorities. 
 
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ISLAM IN THE MODERN WORLD 
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6.  (C)  The Chief Justice said that Jordanian Sharia courts 
deal largely with personal status issues (marriage, divorce, 
death, inheritance) for Muslim citizens.  These issues have 
become more complicated as Jordanian Muslims have traveled 
abroad, and met and married people of other faiths in civil 
ceremonies.  In contrast, the Mufti explained that his office 
has a broad -- in fact, borderless -- mandate:  to provide 
proper Islamic guidance to average citizens who have 
questions about how to deal with personal problems.  Most 
questions -- the proper way to treat new relatives in a 
marriage or the need to maintain personal financial 
discipline -- are easy to link to the Quran and the hadith 
(the collected sayings of the Prophet Mohammed).  However, 
the Mufti admitted, the researchers in his office spend a lot 
of time answering e-mailed questions from Jordanians living 
in the West about typically modern problems -- for example, 
what to do about incorrect credit card charges, regulating 
their children's viewing of cable or satellite television, 
and non-Muslim peer pressure on teenage Muslims to date and 
drink alcohol. 
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TOLERANT OF CHRISTIANITY, LESS SO OF JUDAISM 
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7.  (C)  Both Tamimi and Hijjawi emphasized the strong 
Jordanian tradition of tolerance and understanding between 
Muslims and Christians.  Hijjawi commented that he and a 
prominent activist Eastern Catholic (Malkite) priest (who is 
well and favorably known to the Embassy) were 
"co-conspirators" on several projects to promote 
Muslim-Christian understanding.  Tamimi, too, talked of the 
long-standing cooperation between Christians and Muslims, 
saying that the Christian sects who control Jerusalem's 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher have entrusted the keys of the 
Church to a Muslim. 
 
8.  (C)  Unfortunately, these positive feelings were not 
nearly as strong with regard to Judaism.  Why is it that Jews 
demand a "Jewish state" in Jerusalem, Hijjawi asked, when 
there is no archeological proof that a Jewish temple ever 
existed under the Haram al-Sharif (the Muslim complex 
containing the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque on top of 
Temple Mount)?  From there, Hijjawi wove a familiar web of 
suspicion of Israel based on half-truths and popular 
misconceptions.  Tamimi, as well, criticized "Zionist 
extremists" for perpetuating the "Jewish occupation" of the 
West Bank and Gaza, and cited verses from the Quran advising 
that Muslims use great caution in dealing with Jews. 
PolCouns responded that Arabs and Muslims would have to deal 
with Jewish beliefs just as they asked Israel to deal with 
Islamic beliefs. 
 
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COMMENT 
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9.  (C)  Both Tamimi and Hijjawi are moderate, establishment 
Islamic figures who represent mainstream Jordanian Sunni 
thought.  Both expressed admiration for the piety and freedom 
of Americans, are strong advocates for Muslim-Christian 
understanding in Jordan, and publicly condemned (and continue 
to condemn) the September 11 attacks as un-Islamic.  Hijjawi 
recalled his experience leading a delegation of Muslim 
officials to pay respects to the Ambassador at the Embassy's 
condolence tent after the attacks. 
 
10.  (C)  However, even while rejecting Bin Laden's message 
against Christians and Jews, both revealed in a matter of 
fact way their suspicion of Israel based both in Quranic 
passages critical of Jews and popular misconceptions of 
Judaism and Israel.  This attitude on the part of the two 
most senior Islamic officials in Jordan gives some indication 
of how deep this current runs in Jordanian society. 
Gnehm