US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3384

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003384 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR 
ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KPAO, KISL, PTER, KU, ISLAMISTS 
SUBJECT: ISLAMISTS OFFER CRITIQUE OF U.S. POLICY, ADVICE ON 
PROMOTING MODERATION 
 
Ref: State 121757 
 
1. SUMMARY AND COMMENT: On July 26, CDA hosted a gathering 
of Kuwaiti Islamists from the media, academic, religious 
and political fields for the purpose of engaging Kuwait's 
religious leaders and opinion makers in a formal dialogue 
about U.S. policy and world events. The guests, some of 
whom expressed their surprise at being invited to such an 
event and praise for the quality of the invitees, politely 
but firmly offered critiques of U.S. policies and 
approaches in the region, particularly regarding Iraq and 
Guantanamo Bay. They also took advantage of the informal 
meeting to share ideas about how best to reclaim Islam from 
extremists. While the discussion largely highlighted 
differences, participants agreed on the value of continuing 
to engage in dialogue between U.S. officials and Islamists. 
The Kuwaiti participants appeared genuine in their desire 
to continue contacts. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
"This is Humiliating and Only Creates Enemies" 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
2. Many of the attendees, while polite, expressed highly 
unfavorable opinions of the United States and U.S. 
policies. Bassam Al-Shatti, a professor at Kuwait 
University's College of Sharia (Islamic Law) and the 
editor-in-chief of Al-Furqan, a Salafi weekly magazine, 
described American society as "racist" and engaged CDA in a 
lengthy critique of U.S. policy. He found particular fault 
with U.S. treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and the 
U.S.'s policies towards Israel. Al-Shatti cited U.S. visa 
policies as evidence of bias against Muslims and argued 
that humiliating procedures were leading many Muslims to 
conclude that the U.S. did not want to engage Muslims. 
 
3. Salem Al-Nashi, the spokesman for the Traditional Salafi 
religious current, admonished Emboffs about the Department 
of State Human Rights Report. He complained that the report 
criticizes Kuwait for policies such as inheritance law, 
which the Department finds discriminatory but which, 
according to him, are determined by Islamic law and 
therefore not negotiable. He also questioned the report's 
focus on violence against women. While he conceded that 
domestic violence was an isolated problem in Kuwait, and 
everywhere, he argued that the U.S. would be better served 
focusing on more pressing international problems. 
 
4. In contrast to Al-Nashi, Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghanem, a 
Salafi professor of international relations at Kuwait 
University, said that the U.S. should expand its focus on 
human rights, but that it must tread carefully in its 
promotion of democracy. Al-Ghanem agreed with the premise 
that as political opportunity increased, the lure of 
extremism was likely to decrease, but cautioned, "Don't 
push democracy too quickly." 
 
5. U.S. conduct in Iraq was a particular sore point for Dr. 
Ibrahim Al-Hadban, a moderate Islamist professor of 
political science at Kuwait University. Al-Hadban said that 
raids and arrests across Iraq by U.S. troops served only to 
alienate and anger the Iraqis, especially when innocent 
people are the victims of such treatment. "This is 
humiliating and only creates enemies," Al-Hadban said. 
 
The Challenges of Promoting Moderation 
-------------------------------------- 
 
6. On the issue of encouraging moderate Muslims to combat 
extremism, no consensus emerged on how best to do this, and 
this, in conjunction with the widely divergent definitions 
among the attendees of "moderation," highlights the 
difficulties of such a proposition. Al-Hadban, who agreed 
that moderate Islamists must speak out, offered the example 
of well-known Kuwaiti moderate Islamist Dr. Tarek Al- 
Suwaidan. Al-Suwaidan, who recently sat on a panel of Arab 
commentators speaking on the issue of women's rights and 
Islam broadcast on the BBC, is named as a co-conspirator in 
a 9-11 lawsuit. Al-Hadban argued that the average citizen 
views moderate positions and policies as ineffective when 
their supporters, like Al-Suwaidan, are accused of backing 
extremist views. He urged that the U.S. and other Western 
countries not condemn as terrorists those viewed as voices 
of reason among Arabs. 
 
7. That suggestion then requires the definition of 
"moderate" and "extreme" - a difficulty inadvertently 
highlighted by Shi'a scholar Abdul Hussain Al-Sultan. Al- 
Sultan agreed that Kuwaiti moderates must speak loudly in 
condemning violence and encouraging moderation. But asked 
by IO to identify such moderates, he offered Dr. Mohammed 
Al-Tabtabaei and Dr. Mohammed Al-Awadhi. Al-Tabtabaei, the 
dean of the College of Sharia, has written newspaper 
columns outlining when and how it is appropriate to beat 
one's wife, and Al-Awadhi was involved in 2004 in the 
creation of a political group, Hizb Al-Tahreer (Liberation 
Party), whose stated goal was the creation of a universal 
Islamic caliphate. 
 
8. Even if moderate voices can be found, Dr. Humoud Al- 
Hattab said that such intervention is too late. A former 
Muslim Brotherhood member and 24-year employee of the 
Ministry of Education, during which he held the post of 
general supervisor for Islamic Education, Al-Hattab said 
that a revamped curriculum, which taught young people 
moderation and tolerance, combined with active parents 
promoting the same message, could prevent extremism. 
 
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