US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3957

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003957 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KPAO, PREL, KU, KATRINA AID 
SUBJECT: TFUSO1: SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION: KUWAITIS EXTEND 
UNPRECEDENTED CHORUS OF SUPPORT FOR AID TO KATRINA VICTIMS 
 
Ref: A. 3951 
 
1. Summary: Kuwaitis from all sectors of society and across 
the ideological spectrum have joined in praising the 
Government of Kuwait's decision to offer $500 million in 
aid to Hurricane Katrina victims, and effusive pledges of 
support covered the front pages of nearly every Kuwaiti 
newspaper. Kuwaiti Islamists, including Minister of Awqaf 
and Islamic Affairs Abdullah Al-Matooq and Sharia College 
Dean Dr. Mohammed Al-Tabtabae, offered some of the 
strongest support for the GOK's offer, a chorus likely 
designed to offset isolated extreme Islamist voices 
pronouncing Hurricane Katrina a divine punishment of 
America. End Summary. 
 
PRAISE FOR THE GOVERNMENT FROM PARLIAMENT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2. Acting National Assembly Speaker Abdul Wahab Al-Haroun 
led a number of MPs in congratulating the GOK for its offer 
of assistance. "We cannot forget the tremendous role of the 
United States in standing by us during the invasion of the 
Saddam Hussein regime of Kuwait," Al-Haroun told Kuwait 
News Agency (KUNA), the state newswire. "Kuwait's donation 
to victims of Hurricane Katrina is in line with the 
international outpouring of help to the American people in 
their current time of difficulty." 
 
3. Other MPs, from across the political spectrum, joined in 
offering their support. Islamist MP Musallem Al-Barrak, a 
frequent critic of U.S. policy, told one daily newspaper, 
"We are deeply moved by what has happened to our ally. We 
have to help them because they stood by us during our 
tribulations." Pro-government Islamist MP Ali Al-Hajeri 
praised the GOK "for doing the right thing," saying to an 
Arabic daily that, "the United States stood shoulder to 
shoulder with us during the Iraqi invasion." Moderate MP 
Issam AL-Dabbous added, "It is our duty to offer help to 
Americans." Pro-government MPs Mohammed AL-Fajji, Barrak 
Al-Noun, and Abdullah Al-Fahma also offered public 
statements in support of the GOK offer. 
 
THE ISLAMIST RESPONSE: "$500 MILLION IS THE LEAST WE CAN 
OFFER" 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
4. Perhaps responding to the Ambassador's strongly-worded 
letter of rebuke to a newspaper which ran a column by an 
Islamist writer and Ministry of Awqaf official claiming 
that Hurricane Katrina was a divine punishment of America 
(reftel), the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, 
Abdullah Al-Matooq, told Al-Watan Arabic daily, in a 
statement carried on the paper's front-page, that "Gloating 
is not part of Islam and is not Kuwaiti behavior, and $500 
million is the least we can offer to America." 
 
5. Other isolated Islamist comments speculating that the 
hurricane was divine punishment provoked similar rebukes. 
Responding to such a statement by extreme Islamist and 
Sharia College professor Hamed Al-Ali, who rejected the 
GOK's offer of aid to the U.S., Sharia College Dean Dr. 
Mohammed Al-Tabtabae said, "Islam urges Muslims to help the 
needy. Reservations regarding these donations are 
baseless." Islamist lawyer and respected human rights 
activist Mubarak Al-Mutawa also rejected Al-Ali's 
statements, and urged Kuwaitis to feel sympathy for the 
victims of the hurricane. Bader Al-Nashi, the Secretary 
General of the Islamic Constitutional Movement (Muslim 
Brotherhood) called on all public and private groups to 
extend assistance to America, and asked for parliamentary 
approval of official support. 
 
LIBERALS AND OTHERS REBUKE GLOATING, PLEDGE HELP 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
6. Calls by leading liberal groups and individuals consumed 
the front page of Arabic daily Al-Qabas. Chair of the 
National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee MP Mohammed Al- 
Saqer said that the hurricane "is an occasion for audacity" 
in assistance. Ahmed Bishara, the Secretary General of the 
National Democratic movement, called for more support for 
America. And National Democratic Alliance Secretary General 
Khalid Al-Mutairi rejected those who opposed sending aid. 
 
ONLINE OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE 
--------------------------- 
7. Kuwaiti bloggers also joined the chorus, rudely rebuking 
the few Islamists who rejected aid offers from the GOK and 
calling for support for the hurricane victims. A blogger 
known as "Kuwaiti Chopper Dude" wrote: "I wished sooo [sic] 
hard that I could be on a plane to go help these people, 
but me thousands of miles away with family obligations is 
not permitting me to do the only humane thing, instead, I 
did the only thing I could. I donated, and if you have the 
heart, you would too." Another blogger, known as 
"Desperately Wandering," wrote: "Tonight I'll pray for [the 
victims], and for their families because in their 
frightened faces I see my own family. Should I become a 
victim of a disaster. an American will be saying a prayer 
for me too." 
 
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LEBARON