US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4907

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004907 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, IZ, United Iraqi Alliance, Elections 
SUBJECT: SMALLER "ISLAMIC COALITION" WAGES A TOUGH CAMPAIGN 
AGAINST THE SHIA ALLIANCE GIANT 
 
Classified By: Classified by Robert S. Ford, for  Reasons 1.4 (B) and ( 
D) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: Several leaders from the "Islamic Coalition," 
list 549, cast their slate as an embattled competitor of the 
dominant United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) in a December 4 meeting 
with Poloffs.  The group, made up of breakaways from the Shia 
coalition led by the Islamic Action Organization, draws its 
legitimacy from two key Shia clerics and a number of 
prominent 
religious families.  The Islamic Coalition has cast itself as 
an honest alternative to what it says is an Iranian-funded 
and undemocratic United Iraqi Alliance.  They are pushing a 
detailed campaign with specific proposals on economic 
programs, 
service improvements, and land reform.  Their platform calls 
for withdrawal of "non-Iraqi" forces from "secured cities." 
They expressed admiration for U.S. values, which they said 
were identical to Shia values, and hoped for a strong 
relationship after the elections.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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The Ticket 
------------------ 
 
2. (C) Leaders of the Islamic Coalition, running as slate 
number 549, provided Poloffs an overview of their ticket 
and their goals in a December 4 meeting.  The Islamic 
Coalition is an umbrella group bringing together several 
small Shia Islamist groups who broke with the UIA after 
running with them in the January elections.  Strongest 
in Karbala, Najaf, Samawa, and Diwaniyya, the group's 
symbol is a sailboat, and its slogan casts it as "The 
Life Boat."  The following are the key groups running 
on the slate: 
 
- Islamic Action Organization 
- Faili Islamic Gathering in Iraq 
- Religious Commonwealth in Iraq 
- Islamic Commonwealth for Iraqi Students 
- Hussaini Cultural Organizations Union 
- Rafah and Freedom Movement 
 
3. (C) The slate's real weight comes from its endorsement 
by leading religious figures and families.  The Islamic 
Action Organization is backed by Ayatollah Muham Taqi 
al-Mudarisi.  The Rafah and Freedom Movement follows the 
legacy of Sadiq Shirazi, a Hawza student and son of the 
great cleric Muhammad Shirazi.  Independent Shia Islamist 
Dr. Muhsin al-Qazwini, currently a TNA member, also leads 
the list and lends the venerated Qazwini family name 
to the ticket. 
 
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The Platform 
-------------------------- 
 
4. (C) The members emphasized several key points in 
laying out their platform to Poloffs: 
 
- PRACTICAL GOALS:  The group passed over campaign literature 
that laid out a serious of electoral goals far more practical 
than most of the platforms being promoted by other lists. 
One flyer said the party aimed to provide farmers land 
ownership, improve pension salaries, distribute land to 
citizens, provide grants to university students, and 
increase real estate loans. A thicker packet went so 
far as to recommend specific plans for better parking 
garages and picnicking areas for Iraqi citizens. 
 
- NO IRANIAN FUNDING:  The leaders contrasted themselves 
with the UIA list, which they said was Iranian-backed. 
They insisted that all of their funding is Iraqi.  They 
also asserted that they were independent from Iranian 
policies and interests. 
 
- UNDER PRESSURE FROM UIA: They said that the UIA list 
saw them as a dangerous rival and that UIA members are 
putting major pressure on their coalition.  Islamic 
Action Organization Spokesman Jawad al-Attar claimed 
that posters had been torn down.  He also said UIA 
leaders were warning that failing to vote for their 
slate would cause the Shia to lose the prime ministership. 
"They are hunting us more than Allawi," he said. 
"They are trying to marginalize us.  But no one can 
monopolize Islam."  Attar said that he feared serious 
fraud on Election Day and urged the deployment of 
international observers, not just local ones. 
 
- "NON-IRAQI" FORCES AND SECURED CITIES:  The list's 
platform calls for legislation that would set a 
schedule for the withdrawal of "non-Iraqi" forces 
from "secured" cities.  The platform does not call 
for a withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. 
- READY FOR STRONG RELATIONS WITH U.S.:  All of the 
men emphasized their respect for the U.S. and interest 
in establishing a strong relationship after the 
elections.  Islamic Action Organization Secretary 
General Ibrahim al-Mutairi went so far as to insist 
that the tolerance and respect for human rights championed 
by the U.S. made America a proponent of Shia Islam. 
"You believe in Shia Islam!" he said.  To prove his point, 
he quoted a famous comment made by Islamic scholar Ayatollah 
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani upon his return from the West. 
Afghani is said to have remarked, "I went to the West 
and found Islam but no Muslims.  I went to the East 
and found Muslims but no Islam." 
 
-------------------------------- 
COMMENT: Post Election Plans 
-------------------------------- 
5. (C) The Islamic Coalition appears poised to pick up a 
few seats in Karbala and Najaf, but it could falter under 
recent calls for Shia to consolidate their vote.  The 
leaders of the group said they had made no decisions 
on with whom they would ally after the elections, but 
they clearly distanced themselves from former Prime 
Minister Ayad Allawi.  They cast him and those who 
claim to be secularists in Iraq as anti-religious. 
Poloff, citing the United States as an example, noted 
that secular regimes are not by definition anti-religious. 
In fact they may assure equitable treatment and opportunities 
for all religions.  For all their criticism of the UIA list, 
the leaders appeared ready to ally with it after the vote 
in order to form a government with an Islamist bent. 
Qazwini, who served on the constitution committee, said 
he approved of the document in the end but regretted 
that it failed to establish a "Council of Islamic Jurists" 
to act as monitors of the government. 
KHALILZAD