US embassy cable - 05AMMAN8944

UNCLAS AMMAN 008944 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, KISL, JO 
SUBJECT: PUBLIC DIPLOMACY RAMADAN EVENTS 
 
 
(NOTE:  THIS MESSAGE WAS DRAFTED PRIOR TO THE 11/9 AMMAN 
BOMBINGS.) 
 
1. During Ramadan, Embassy Amman made a comprehensive and 
vigorous effort to demonstrate American respect for Islam 
and to further public understanding that Islam and 
respect for religion are a part of mainstream American 
life.  All mission elements' public statements during the 
month began with traditional Ramadan greetings.  The 
Public Affairs section, with the support of post 
management, successfully encouraged Embassy officers to 
fully participate in the busy Ramadan social season. 
Several mission elements hosted Iftar dinners and 
traditional Ramadan evenings ("umsiyat") for a variety of 
contacts.  By reaching out as widely as possible, the 
Embassy shared the public diplomacy message with the full 
range of our contacts in Jordan, reaching out beyond the 
usual VIP front office and public diplomacy program 
spheres of influence.  To help reinforce that message, 
PA's information resource center created and distributed 
at all the Mission's Ramadan events full-color brochures 
featuring Washington File stories about Administration 
iftars in Washington and public statements from the White 
House and the Department marking Ramadan. 
 
2. The Ambassador hosted an Iftar dinner for leaders in 
the interfaith dialogue movement in Jordan, as well as 
numerous returned IV and other exchange visitors whose 
programs focussed on Islam in the U.S. and on interfaith 
dialogue.  A number of sharia law students who 
participated in exchanges are now teaching sharia and 
Islam at Jordanian universities, and particularly 
appreciated the opportunity to renew their ties with the 
Embassy.  The chief Mufti of Jordan and several senior 
sharia judges also attended the Iftar and spoke, 
underscoring the need for such interfaith opportunities 
to focus on our shared values. 
 
3. In order to reach another important but non- 
traditional audience, PA hosted an Iftar for the students 
at our American Language Center who participated in the 
Ramadan intensive course.  Some thirty students, mostly 
university students or recent graduates, attended.  PAO 
thanked them for attending, and for making learning 
English with us such an important priority that they 
continued it even during the month of Ramadan. 
 
4. PA also hosted its now traditional annual Ramadan 
event for the media, this year organizing an "umsiya 
ramadaniyya" or Ramadan evening, instead of the more 
formal and briefer Iftar.  This relaxed four hour event 
allowed journalists to loosen their ties, play cards, 
smoke sheesha, and share gossip and political opinions 
with members of the country team and the PA press staff. 
Nearly 150 journalists stopped by to share in the Ramadan 
fellowship. 
 
5.  We also reached out beyond these audiences, and made 
our Ramadan events a mission-wide effort, to help spread 
the message of respect to the widest possible range of 
embassy contacts.  The economic section hosted one Iftar 
in honor of a Washington State University delegation here 
as part of a bilateral program to help the private sector 
work more closely with universities, and another Iftar 
with senior government officials working in fiscal 
policy.  The political section hosted an Iftar for 
members of Parliament, and another for key Iraqi contacts 
here in Amman.  The RSO hosted an Iftar for a broad range 
of security contacts in honor of DS A/S Griffin.  The CAO 
hosted an Iftar for key working level cultural contacts. 
FCS hosted an Iftar for a group of Jordanian and Iraqi 
company representatives traveling to a U.S. trade show. 
 
6. During Ramadan, PA Amman also provided a public 
diplomacy grant to the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence 
Research Center to carry out an international workshop on 
King Abdullah II's Amman Message on moderate Islam.  At 
this year's meeting, partially sponsored by the PA grant 
and carried out under the patronage of the King, the 
Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center invited 
Muslims, Christians, and Jews from the region, Europe, 
and the U.S. to discuss interfaith dialogue and 
tolerance, issuing a final joint communique stressing the 
importance of dialogue and mutual understanding. 
HALE