US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3330

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003330 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2012 
TAGS: KISL, PHUM, PGOV, JO 
SUBJECT: SHARIA PROFS DISMISSED, SOME REINSTATED; MYSTIFIED 
JORDANIANS BLAME THE USG 
 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM.  REASONS: 1.5 (B) AND (D). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY.  Three Jordanian universities recently 
dismissed 8 professors, most of whom were Sharia professors, 
without explanation.  Most suspect the professors were 
dismissed because of their political views and/or their 
background as Saudi-educated 'Salafi' proponents.  Media 
reports and embassy sources indicate that four of those 
dismissed have since been reinstated.  As there is no clear 
explanation for the dismissals or subsequent reinstatements, 
the Jordanian academic and political communities have been 
left mystified, with many pointing, by default, to the USG as 
somehow responsible.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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PROFESSORS DISMISSED FROM SHARIA FACULTY 
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2. (C)  At the beginning of June, Jordan University, Mu'tah 
University and Yarmouk University dismissed a total of seven 
professors from their Sharia faculties (JU dismissed a 
professor from its school of humanities as well).  All of the 
Sharia professors dismissed were trained in Saudi Arabia in 
the Salafi school of thought.  Fawzi Samhoury (protect) a 
long-standing and reliable human rights contact, reports that 
despite media characterizations of the group as 'moderates', 
in reality several of the professors had been preaching a 
markedly virulent and anti-USG strain of Salafi thought prior 
to their dismissals.  A few, such as Dr. Ali Al-Otoum (fired 
from Yarmouk University) have long-standing ties to the 
Muslim Brotherhood.  That said, not all of the 8 professors 
could be characterized as political extremists.  Predictably, 
Jordanians who are stridently anti-USG are more likely to 
characterize the group as 'moderates'.  In a June 13 meeting 
with POLOFF, an anti-USG, US-educated sociology professor 
reported that the group as whole was moderate, and that a 
couple of the dismissed professors were so docile that many 
had believed them to be "operatives" of the GOJ.  (NOTE: 
This contact, after a short discussion of the dismissed 
professors, used the remainder of the meeting as an 
opportunity to revel in a hyperbolic rant against the USG). 
 
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REACTION: UNCLE SAM DID IT 
-------------------------- 
 
3. (C)  As is usually the case with government intervention 
in the universities, the dismissals received scant media 
coverage, but have become a major topic of conversation in 
political circles.  Dr. Ahmad al-Awayishah (dismissed from 
JU) was quoted by the IAF weekly al-Sabil, saying "We will 
continue to say that the people who carry out the martyrdom 
operations are martyrs, who will be rewarded by almighty 
God".  Both contacts above reported that, without a clear 
explanation for the dismissals, people by default blame the 
USG war on terrorism for the actions, with a conspiracy 
theory now afloat that points the finger at the CIA.  A 
well-connected and Islamic-leaning newspaper editor told us 
the dismissals "clumsy" and ill-informed, and noted that more 
radical voices in the university had not been touched.  Like 
most Jordanians, he assumed the U.S. was somehow behind the 
dismissals. 
 
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REINSTATEMENT, FOR FOUR 
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4. (C)  In yet another twist, during the third week of June, 
four of the professors (3 from JU and 1 from Mu'tah) were 
'reinstated'.  Samhoury confirmed that those reinstated were 
the most moderate of the group, and the ones whose dismissals 
had left him most confused.  Still, he remained concerned 
that there has been no formal explanation about why any of 
the dismissals or reinstatements occurred.  The IAF called 
for the immediate reinstatement of the four who remain 
ousted, and questioned the constitutionality of their 
dismissals in the June 18 issue of al-Sabeel.  As a result of 
these seemingly arbitrary dismissals/reinstatements, 
professors report a sharpened concern about government 
intervention and intimidation within the academic community. 
 
 
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COMMENT 
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5. (C)  The fact that all 8 professors were dismissed at the 
same time and from different universities has predictably 
raised suspicions that this is part of an orchestrated 
campaign to rid the academic community of undesirable, 
extremist voices.  This, coupled with animosity toward USG 
policies in the region, has led many critics to conclude that 
the USG is in some way involved in the dismissals. 
 
 
Gnehm