US embassy cable - 05AMMAN5760

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005760 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL, KPAO, PREL, PTER, JO 
SUBJECT: SPEAKING WITH MUSLIM LEADERS ABOUT TERRORIST ACTS: 
JORDAN 
 
REF: A. STATE 131453 
     B. STATE 121757 
     C. AMMAN 5456 
     D. AMMAN 5387 
 
1. (SBU)  Post continues to deliver ref B points as part of 
its regular engagement with the Government of Jordan and 
Jordanian religious leaders, underscoring the importance of 
countering extremism, terrorism, and incitement to violence 
and intolerance.  One of our strongest allies on the 
counterterrorism front, Jordan has taken a leading role in 
the region by publicly denouncing terrorism in Iraq, Israel, 
and worldwide, and in devising cooperative strategies to 
combat it. 
 
2.  (U)  Immediately after the July 7 London bombings, King 
Abdullah strongly condemned the attacks in remarks that were 
widely covered by the local media. "Islam condemns the 
killing of innocents and rejects all forms of violence and 
terrorism," he said in a statement issued by the Royal Court. 
 The King also expressed Jordan's "solidarity with the 
British people and denounces the criminal acts that killed 
dozens and wounded others.  Everyone must close ranks and 
unite efforts to fight all forms of terrorism, the forces 
that support it and those who stand behind it," he added. 
King Abdullah later reiterated these points during interviews 
with BBC and CNN on July 8 and 9.  He told CNN: "It's so 
painful" that terrorist crimes, including the London 
bombings, are allegedly committed in the name of Islam. 
Noting that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, he said 
he was relieved that Muslim communities in the UK and the US 
had also strongly condemned the attacks that targeted 
innocent civilians.  The King's comments were featured 
prominently in all local papers on July 10. 
 
3.  (U) In response to ref A, Charge spoke with King Abdullah 
immediately upon his return from Africa on July 17 to urge 
him and the GOJ to continue to speak out publicly against 
terrorism.  The King noted the July 6 communique of the Amman 
Islamic conference (see para 6), and said Jordan would 
continue to speak out.  When asked about the possibility of 
further statements by the signatories of the communique, the 
King noted that the conference established no permanent 
secretariat to coordinate further joint actions, but he 
 
SIPDIS 
believed the GOJ could persuade some of them to do so. 
Charge is following up with Prince Ghazi, who is managing the 
conference process. 
 
4.  (U)  Jordan regularly and strongly condemns acts of 
violence and terrorism in Iraq and in Israel.  In part due to 
the proximity of Jordan to the events unfolding to its east 
and west, reports of suicide attacks and car bombings receive 
prominent coverage in the Jordanian press.  Likewise, these 
attacks are always followed by condemnation from the King and 
other leaders in Jordan.  For example, after the killing of 
Egypt's ambassador to Baghdad, the Jordanian government 
strongly condemned the murder as a "heinous crime."   DPM 
Marwan Muasher told a press conference on July 6 that despite 
the attack, Jordan was "determined" to name an ambassador to 
Iraq as soon as possible.  In a statement carried by Petra, 
Jordan's state news agency, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry 
condemned the Netanya bombing as a terrorist act that will 
only breed more violence.  (On July 17, DPM Muasher agreed to 
Charge's request for additional statements supportive of Abu 
Mazen's efforts to crack down on extremists, and to note that 
attacks on Israelis are also attacks on the interests of the 
Palestinian people.) 
 
5. (SBU)  The three-day Islamic conference in Amman (ref C) 
was attended by over 170 religious scholars and clerics, 
including representatives from nearly all of the Arab states. 
 In his opening address to the conference, King Abdullah 
called on the attendees to unify the global Muslim community 
against threats to its integrity. Among these threats, the 
King specifically cited acts of violence, killing, and 
terrorism in the name of Islam, as violations of the spirit 
of true Islam.  Jordan's Foreign Minister, Farouq Qasrawi, in 
a meeting with the Charge (ref D) further explored the 
opportunity for more U.S.-Jordanian cooperation on promoting 
moderate Islam through increased programming at organizations 
like the Brookings Institute, which could host conferences 
and workshops in this vein.  Charge and other emboffs have 
also met with other ministerial level and royal family 
contacts, all of which echoed Qasrawi's statements on the 
importance of the conference and the need to vigilantly press 
forward with a message of moderation.  The King views his 
September trip to the U.S. as a major opportunity to move 
forward with this message. 
 
6.  (SBU)  The conference concluded with a joint statement 
(ref B) by the participants to heal the fractures between the 
different schools of Islam, and to set rules on the issuance 
of religious edicts in an effort to reduce the incidents of 
hard-line fatwas being issued by illegitimate "leaders," such 
as Zarqawi or Bin Laden.  It also endorsed the "Amman 
Message," first issued by King Abdullah through Jordan's 
chief religious authority Grand Mufti Shaykh Izzeddine Tamimi 
to promote Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance.  See 
ref B for the full text of the statement.  Jordan's Minister 
of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Salam Abadi, the 
coordinator and official spokesperson of the conference told 
press after the event that Jordan will exert all possible 
efforts towards implementing the recommendations adopted by 
the conference through seminars to be held in Islamic 
countries and abroad. 
7. (SBU)  Post continues to meet regularly with local 
religious leaders to promote a moderate message and increase 
understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, in Jordan and 
internationally.  For example, post sponsored an 
International Visitors Program last year in which Shaykh 
Tamimi and other Muslim leaders traveled to the U.S. under 
the auspices of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research 
Center (JICRC), to meet with American leaders of the three 
monotheistic faiths.  Post is currently engaging in a 
dialogue regarding future proposals of JICRC to organize more 
of these exchanges.  A group of Shari'a Court judges is 
scheduled to travel to the US on a similar exchange program 
in September.  The Public Affairs Office and Political 
Section maintain solid and ongoing relationships with a 
number of local civil society and political leaders committed 
to interfaith dialogue and tolerance.  Charge is also seeing 
the Awqaf Minister soon to explore ideas. 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE