US embassy cable - 05MANAMA1292

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001292 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR R, ECA, IIP, NEA, NEA/ARPI, NEA/PI, NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KISL, KPAO, OEXC, SCUL, BA 
SUBJECT: ISLAMIC AFFAIRS OFFICIAL PROMOTES MODERATION, 
REQUESTS EXPANDED EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH U.S. 
 
REF: MANAMA 468 
 
Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Ministry of Islamic Affairs Under Secretary Dr. 
Fareed Al Muftah told the Ambassador September 4 that he 
welcomed USG support for exchange programs to promote the 
concepts of tolerance and moderation in Islam.  The Ministry 
would assist in programming American speakers on Islam in the 
United States and requested the establishment of programs to 
send groups of Bahraini clerics to the U.S. to exchange ideas 
with Americans on the role of religion in the modern world. 
Al Muftah has launched initiatives to provide standard 
language to imams for their Friday sermons with themes of 
tolerance and coexistence, and a council to provide 
mainstream guidance on Islamic principles to combat extremist 
trends.  End Summary. 
 
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Programming on Islam in the Modern World 
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2.  (C) Ministry of Islamic Affairs Under Secretary Dr. 
Fareed Al Muftah opened the September 4 with the Ambassador 
by expressing his condolences for the losses caused by 
hurricane Katrina.  He said he talked about this tragedy 
during his Friday sermon on September 2.  The Ambassador 
expressed his gratitude for Bahrain's generosity in donating 
$5 million for the relief effort.  The Ambassador stated that 
a key aim of the United States was to promote the common 
values of moderation and tolerance through outreach efforts. 
He cited as an example that Under Secretary of State for 
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Hughes had met recently 
with American Muslim leader to enhance relations and 
understanding.  Recalling previous comments by Al Muftah, the 
Ambassador said the United States would like to support his 
efforts to spread awareness of Islam as a tolerant and 
moderate religion, and passed him information on possible 
American Muslim speakers.  (Note:  Post is planning to 
program a speaker on this subject early in FY-2006, to be 
requested septel.) 
 
3.  (C) Al Muftah welcomed the United States' interest in 
supporting his campaign and said he would like to program any 
speakers the U.S. sends to discuss Islam.  He said they could 
provide needed perspective to Bahrainis about living 
side-by-side with people of other religions and explain the 
way they practice Islam in the U.S.  He is organizing a 
conference in December to bring together Bahraini imams, both 
Sunni and Shia, to discuss Islam and the modern world.  Those 
who don't understand the Koran, Al Muftah said, think it 
tells them to carry out jihad against those of different 
faiths.  This is wrong, and the conference will deal with 
these types of questions and provide accurate guidance and 
interpretations.  The intended result is that Friday sermons 
contain clearer ideas and a more modern interpretation of the 
religion.  In response to the Ambassador's suggestion, Al 
Muftah welcomed the concept of American speakers 
participating in the conference. 
 
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Expanding Cultural Exchanges 
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4.  (C) Al Muftah asked about the possibility of Bahrain and 
the United States signing a bilateral protocol to promote 
cooperation in the field of religion.  His idea is to use an 
agreement to systematize programs on religious/cultural 
understanding via lectures, speeches, conferences, exhibition 
and workshops.  He also suggested sending groups of Bahraini 
Sunni and Shia clerics to the United States to exchange ideas 
with Americans on the role of religion in the modern world. 
(Note:  Post will consult with ECA to determine if funding is 
available beyond that already allocated for the FY-2006 IV 
candidate slate.  A proposal for a special single country IV 
program will come septel.) 
 
5.  (C) Al Muftah said that he was working on the formation 
of a council at the Ministry to educate religious scholars on 
tolerance and moderation.  The idea comes as a result of an 
exercise over the summer when the Ministry gave imams 
standard language for use in their sermons that combat the 
incorrect concept that non-Muslims are infidels.  The 
Ministry is preparing a second set of points on the 
relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims and the 
treatment of non-Muslims in Islamic countries.  Al Muftah 
said that most imams welcomed these ideas; those who did not 
agree chose not to use the language rather than criticize it. 
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Islamic Guidance and Personal Freedoms 
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6.  (C) The proposed council would coordinate the efforts of 
highly educated clerics to talk with citizens in a setting 
other than Friday prayers about moderation and tolerance. 
The Ministry has forwarded its proposal to the Cabinet which, 
upon approval, will send it to parliament for funding.  The 
Ministry intends to send a delegation to parliament to lobby 
for the appropriation. 
 
7.  (C) Al Muftah said that some conservative Sunnis in 
parliament, led by independent Salafi MP Jassim Al Saeedi, 
have advocated the formation of a security organization with 
powers to enforce Islamic law, a "virtue and vice" group, as 
exists in Saudi Arabia.  Al Muftah deeply opposes this and, 
as an alternative, has proposed that the Ministry council 
provide guidance "in a modern way" that does not conflict 
with personal freedoms.  He warned that an extremist trend 
exists in Bahrain and he and his Ministry are dealing with it 
in a serious way. 
 
8.  (C) As an example, Al Muftah told the Ambassador that the 
Ministry had suspended a Sunni preacher in early August who 
had made outrageous accusations against the United States, 
Iran, and Bahraini Shia during a sermon.  Al Muftah called in 
the cleric and warned him about making accusatory 
generalizations about anyone or anything.  The preacher 
agreed to strive to do better and, since he returned to his 
mosque, his sermons have improved a bit, Al Muftah said. 
 
MONROE