US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN1264

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBLIN 001264 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/PPD (ACERVETTI) 
EUR/UBI (NNOLAN) 
NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PINR, KPAO 
SUBJECT: IRISH/IRAQI SHI'A MUSLIMS WELCOME AMBASSADOR TO 
IFTAR 
 
REF: A. DUBLIN 1216 
 
     B. DUBLIN 1161 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JAMES C. KENNY, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B), (D) 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
1. (C) Summary.  On October 8, the Ambassador and two emboffs 
received a warm welcome at an Iftar celebration at the local 
Shi'a mosque in Dublin.  Dr. Ali A. A. Al-Saleh, the Imam of 
the predominantly Iraqi Mosque, spoke out publicly in strong 
support of USG policy, stating that U.S. intervention in Iraq 
is changing the political landscape of the region.  He 
criticized the governments of neighboring countries (except 
Iran), stating that corrupt regimes feel threatened by an 
increasingly democratic Iraq.  He added that the world will 
see the determination of the Iraqi people in the upcoming 
constitutional referendum and the December 31 general 
election.  The Irish Times (Dublin's newspaper of record) 
attended the event at the request of the mosque and reported 
favorably on comments made by the Ambassador and the mosque 
hosts.  End Summary. 
 
Warm welcome at the Mosque 
--------------------------- 
 
2. (C) On October 8, the Ambassador, econoff, and poloff 
visited the Ahlul Bait Islamic Center (a predominantly Iraqi 
Shi'a mosque in Dublin) to participate in Iftar celebrations. 
 The Imam Dr. Ali A. A. Al-Saleh (Irish, Iraqi, Saudi 
citizen) and prominent leaders of the Shi'a community invited 
embassy staff to attend the event as a follow-on to the 
previous week's meeting of Muslims at the embassy (ref A). 
The Imam and approximately 150 members of the Mosque warmly 
received the Ambassador.  The Shi'a community present at the 
service are mostly Irish citizens but hail from Iraq, 
Lebanon, Iran and Gulf countries.  Ethnic backgrounds 
included Arab, Kurd, Azeri and Turkomen.  During the service, 
the Imam spoke out in strong support of USG actions in Iraq 
and Afghanistan, publicly echoing most of the sentiments 
expressed in ref A. 
 
Building Democracies 
-------------------- 
 
3. (C) Al-Saleh told the Mosque audience, with press in 
attendance, that before U.S. intervention in Iraq, Muslims 
wondered if Islam was compatible with democracy.  Now, 
though, Iraqis are saying that one cannot have Islam without 
democracy.  The Irish Times reported the event in its October 
10 edition and cited Al-Saleh's remarks on how U.S. 
involvement in Iraq is positively changing the political 
landscape of the Middle East. Khalid Ibrahim, an Iraqi Kurd 
human rights activist, was also quoted by the Irish Times as 
saying, "I believe that we are working together to build real 
democracies." 
 
Domino Effect 
------------- 
 
4. (C) In side-bar conversations with the Ambassador, several 
members expressed strong concern regarding perceived Syrian, 
Jordanian and Saudi complicity with the terrorists in Iraq. 
Citing ties between Syrian and Iraqi Ba'athists, they 
highlighted reports of jihadists' easy access into Iraq 
through Syrian borders and alleged that Syrian border guards 
could be bribed for as little as ten USD.  Members of the 
community expressed outrage that Muslims from countries as 
far off as Indonesia and the Philippines allegedly travel to 
Iraq to kill Shi'as.  The group said that Muslim countries, 
notably Saudi Arabia, want Iraq to fail, because success in 
Iraq will create an impetus for change and will challenge the 
rule of all regional non-democratic governments.  Notably 
absent from the conversation was criticism of Iran. 
 
Constitution and U.S. Presidential Election 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
5. (C) Al-Saleh noted the timing of this event as key for two 
reasons: 
 
--In a week's time, he reminded the audience, Iraq is to 
return to the polls to vote on the constitution and then in 
December for the general election.  Al-Saleh said that the 
Iraqis, especially the Shi'as, would once again prove to the 
world their desire for democracy.  He said that since Grand 
Ayatollah Al-Sistani approves of the constitution, the 
clerics will support it.  He added that, on this and other 
issues such as women's rights, the key to success is 
convincing the clerics to forego tradition for the sake of 
progress. 
--Al-Saleh said that this time last year, Iraqi Muslims spent 
Ramadan praying for the re-election of President Bush, 
commending him as the candidate with the will to support 
Iraq's efforts towards democracy. 
 
Real Sacrifice 
-------------- 
 
6. (C) Al-Saleh and others made a point that they have lost 
loved ones, but that the struggle for democracy in Iraq must 
continue.  Two days previously, two of Al-Saleh's 
brothers-in-law were killed in a suicide attack in Hilla. 
The group remarked that Iraqi Shi'as will continue to support 
democracy and fight terrorism at all costs. 
 
7. (U) Text of Irish Times October 10, 2005 article:  US 
needs to listen to world's Muslims, says envoy at Shia event. 
 By Deaglan de Breadun, Foreign Affairs Correspondent. 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
The United States needed to "listen and learn" from Muslims 
around the world, US ambassador James C. Kenny told members 
of Dublin's Shia Muslim community in a speech after a prayer 
ceremony in the Milltown mosque at the weekend, Deaglan de 
Breadun. 
 
Several hundred Shia Muslims living in Ireland, along with 
some Sunnis, greeted the ambassador and his aides on their 
arrival. The ambassador attended prayers to mark the holy 
month of Ramadan and stayed for a meal afterwards. He invited 
his listeners, many of them of Iraqi origin, to attend a 
reception at his residence in the Phoenix Park in the near 
future. 
 
In his speech, Mr Kenny said it was &a great opportunity to 
listen and learn8. A group from the Shia Muslim community 
had come to the US embassy in Ballsbridge for a meeting two 
weeks ago, "to start and build a dialogue between your 
community and ours". 
 
"We think that's essential for our future, to go forward 
together. The Americans have to sit down and listen and learn 
and understand and at the same time you will hear our voices, 
you can hear what we're talking about and what we hope we can 
do for each other in the future. That's what we want to do." 
 
Stressing that he had been "very, very impressed with the 
honest dialogue that we have had at the embassy", he said he 
would "love to be invited back in the near future". He 
brought special greetings from President Bush for Ramadan. 
 
The ambassador told The Irish Times earlier that the meeting 
with the Shia Muslim group was "absolutely one of the best 
days we've ever had in an American embassy and particularly 
in Ireland". 
 
"It is a day that we will remember and we're going to want to 
do more of them. It energised the people that were on our 
side of the table, it energised myself. I want to learn more 
and listen and I think America needs to do more of that, of 
listening and learning. And I want to bring that back to 
America." 
 
Iraqi-born Imam Ali Al-Saleh, head of the Shia Muslim 
community in Ireland, said he had lost two brothers-in-law in 
an attack by suicide bombers on a mosque at Hilla, south of 
Baghdad, last week. 
 
Dr Al-Saleh said the majority of people in Iraq and 
Afghanistan looked on the Americans as "our friends because 
they helped us in getting rid of the Taliban and getting rid 
of Saddam". He added: "They are really sacrificing a lot now 
to help us in resisting and stopping the terrorism which is 
going on in the Middle East and especially in Iraq. What is 
happening in Iraq now is a turning-point in our mentality." 
Khalid Ibrahim, an Iraqi human rights activist living in 
Dublin, said: "I believe we are working together to build 
real democracies." 
END TEXT 
 
8. (C) Comment:  We leave evaluation of our Iftar Hosts, 
comments on Iraq to the experts.  The press coverage in the 
Irish Times was totally positive.  When taken together with 
an article two days later quoting visiting Egyptian FM Ahmed 
Aboul Gheit to the effect that the U.S. should not pull out 
of Iraq, the article gave Irish readers a different 
perspective on Iraq than the one they usually get. 
KENNY