US embassy cable - 05MANAMA703

UNCLAS MANAMA 000703 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO; P; PA; NEA/PPD; SA/PPD; NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KISL, OIIP, KPAO, BA 
SUBJECT: OUTREACH FOLLOWING NEWSWEEK'S RETRACTION OF ITS 
STORY ALLEGING KORAN DESECRATION - BAHRAIN SUBMISSION 
 
 
1.  PAS Manama has widely distributed to all Bahraini 
media outlets all official texts and statements on this 
issue.  On May 17, Bahrain's media provided full coverage 
of Newsweek's retraction of its story alleging Koran 
desecration at Guantanamo.  Daily newspapers carried wire 
stories with the Newsweek retraction and Bahrain radio 
included updates on its hourly news broadcasts.  We 
expect Bahrain Satellite Television to carry the Newsweek 
retraction during its widely watched 15:00 afternoon 
newscast today, May 17. 
 
2.  On Friday, May 13, Bahrain Tribune carried Secretary 
Rice's statement on the front page.  On May 14, Al Wasat 
newspaper reported that Shaikh Salah Al Jowder had 
commented on the story during his Friday sermon, and had 
called for "a peaceful condemnation to the American 
administration about this violation."  Press coverage of 
Friday sermons indicate that the issue was not raised in 
other sermons in Bahrain. 
 
3.  This issue has not had much traction in Bahrain. 
There have been no protests or demonstrations to date and 
press coverage has focused almost entirely on official 
texts distributed by the Embassy and wire stories.  Two 
editorials have been written about the issue to date, one 
critical of the U.S. and one stating that these actions, 
if they did take place, were isolated incidents and did 
not reflect the will of the American people.  Today's 
papers included statements by two political societies 
"denouncing the unethical act of defaming the Koran" and 
demanding that "the U.S. Administration punish the 
perpetrators."  One of the societies asked for an apology 
from the U.S.; neither statement called for 
demonstrations. 
 
4.  Akhbar Al Khaleej reported on May 17 that a Sunni 
Islamist bloc in Parliament is discussing the possibility 
of issuing a statement calling for respecting and 
defending the Koran and asking the U.S. Administration to 
speed up its investigations and issue an apology to all 
Muslims.  It is unclear if the statement by the 
parliamentary bloc will now be issued given the Newsweek 
retraction. 
 
5.  Our interlocutors, including several ministers, have 
not raised the issue in meetings with the Ambassador or 
other members of the country team thus far.  The PAO and 
APAO spent half the day at the University of Bahrain on 
May 15 in meetings with faculty and students and the 
issue was not raised.  Barring the issuance of a 
statement by a bloc in the Parliament, it is post's view 
that this story will not gain further momentum in 
Bahrain. 
 
Monroe