US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI2236

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 002236 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/13 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, TC 
SUBJECT:  UAE LEADERSHIP RESPONDS TO AMBASSADOR'S URGING OF 
 
REFORM AT CONTROVERSIAL UAEG-FUNDED ZAYID CENTER 
FOR COORDINATION AND FOLLOW-UP 
 
REF: 02 Abu Dhabi 4712 
 
1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba 
for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
2. (C) SUMMARY:  As a result of the Ambassador's 
interventions with the UAE leadership, the Zayid 
Center for Coordination and Follow-up (ZCCF), a 
UAEG-funded institution which has drawn fire for 
its sometimes noxious and intolerant views, is set 
to be placed under new management.  This will be 
welcome news to many in the United States who have 
grown alarmed over the ZCCF's embrace of hateful 
rhetoric, its publication of virulently anti- 
Semitic literature and its promotion of fringe 
speakers, who while billed as "researchers" or 
"experts," frequently pander to the lowest common 
denominator's taste for base racism and conspiracy 
theories.  In a May 6 meeting, MFA Minstate Hamdan 
told the Ambassador that as a result of her 
expressions of concern -- including a two-page 
letter outlining our serious reservations with the 
ZCCF's policies -- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khalifa 
will soon shift supervision of the ZCCF from its 
current sponsor to the highly respected Center for 
Documentation and Research, which is attached to 
the office of President Zayid.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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AMBASSADOR'S DIALOGUE WITH MFA MINSTATE ON 
INCREASINGLY CONTROVERSIAL ZCCF BOOKS AND SPEAKERS 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
3. (C) In 2002, the Ambassador began a quiet 
dialogue with MFA Minstate Hamdan bin Zayid in 
which she voiced concerns about the controversial 
Zayid Center for Coordination & Follow-up (ZCCF). 
By way of background, the Center was established by 
a decree from the UAE cabinet in 1997 and reports 
to both the UAE Government and the Arab League, 
though it is funded entirely by the Emirate of Abu 
Dhabi.  The brain child of UAE Deputy Prime 
Minister and Shaykh Zayid's second eldest son, the 
often erratic and sometimes bibulous Sultan bin 
Zayid, the ZCCF in its formative years attracted 
many prominent speakers, including former President 
Jimmy Carter, former VP Al Gore and former 
Secretary of State James Baker.  However, over the 
 
SIPDIS 
last 18 months, and particularly since the 9/11 
terror attacks, the ZCCF has adopted an especially 
harsh tone, often crossing the line into anti- 
Semitism. 
 
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TROUBLED CENTER REFLECTS ERRATIC BEHAVIOR OF 
PATRON SHAYKH SULTAN BIN ZAYID 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) We reported last year (reftel) on the ZCCF's 
increasingly regrettable choice of speakers, 
commenting that it seemed to reflect the spotty 
behavior of its patron, Sultan bin Zayid, who has 
been known to lash out publicly against the U.S., 
absent coordination with other UAEG policymakers. 
Sultan reportedly had difficulty believing that the 
9/11 attacks were perpetrated by Arabs and by early 
2002, had withdrawn almost completely from public 
life and resumed his addiction to alcohol and 
drugs.  Among the more questionable speakers hosted 
by the ZCCF at the time was fabled French 
"intellectual" Thierry Meyssoun who told a packed 
audience that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by 
the CIA/FBI.  In the summer of 2002, the ZCCF 
sponsored a conference on "semitism" during which 
remarks attributed to Center employees and speakers 
denying the Holocaust were picked up by the 
international press and became a source of alarm to 
American Jewish organizations.  Attention was drawn 
to the ZCCF's publication of books such as "The 
Zionist Movement and its Animosity to Jews" and "Al 
Buraq Wall, Not Wailing Wall." 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
AMBASSADOR PRESSES HAMDAN TO SHUT DOWN WEBSITE 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
5. (C) Not long after Meyssoun took the podium at 
the ZCCF, the Ambassador approached Hamdan and told 
him that the Embassy had decided not to recommend 
the Center to visiting officials (both current and 
former) and American academics.  The British 
Embassy told us they had similarly decided against 
recommending the ZCCF.  Hamdan readily acknowledged 
that the ZCCF had become a source of embarrassment 
to the UAEG and noted the irony that an institution 
bearing his father's name was entirely against 
Zayid's longstanding policy of tolerance and 
respect for different faiths. 
 
6. (C) Last month, the Embassy's Public Affairs 
Office received an inquiry from the Divinity School 
at Harvard University.  Harvard's acceptance of a 
generous gift from Shaykh Zayid to establish a 
chair for Islamic Religious Studies had come under 
fire from faculty members and students because of 
the ZCCF's promotion of intolerant, noxious and 
racist views, particularly on the Center's website. 
Harvard queried us on whether the ZCCF was UAEG- 
funded.  We responded that while the institution is 
funded by the UAEG, it does not necessarily reflect 
the views of the UAEG or Shaykh Zayid personally. 
 
7. (C) The Ambassador informed Shaykh Hamdan of 
Harvard's inquiry and again pressed him to take 
action soon before Harvard felt compelled to reject 
Shaykh Zayid's offer of a chair.  She suggested 
cleaning up the website and changing the Center's 
name (i.e. removing Zayid's name) would be a good 
first step.  Hamdan was visibly angered that the 
ZCCF's antics had forced Harvard to reconsider the 
acceptance of the endowment and at the damage this 
would do to Shaykh Zayid's reputation.  Hamdan 
promised to take the issue directly to Abu Dhabi 
Crown Prince Khalifa bin Zayid.  The Ambassador 
followed-up with a formal letter to Hamdan 
outlining our concerns about the ZCCF and noting 
that "a brief overview of the Center's website 
reveals the use of inflammatory language, a 
negative focus on Judaism, a blurring of the 
distinction between the Jewish faith, Zionism and 
the Israeli government, as well as the employment 
of classic anti-Semitic terminology."   She 
commented that while "we know the Center does not 
reflect the view of Shaykh Zayid or the Government, 
that distinction is neither understood nor 
appreciated by many in the United States.  Indeed, 
many in the U.S. take the view that if a government 
wholly funds an organization, that government is 
responsible for the organization's behavior." 
 
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HAMDAN:  CENTER WILL BE PLACED UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
8. (C) On May 6, Hamdan told the Ambassador that 
Crown Prince Khalifa had agreed that the ZCCF was a 
source of embarrassment and had decreed that quick 
action should be taken.  Hamdan said the ZCCF would 
soon be moved from under Sultan's sponsorship to 
the highly respected Center for Documentation and 
Research, which is attached to the President's 
Office and is under the overall supervision of 
Zayid's office director, Mansour bin Zayid.  A ZCCF 
employee told us later that day that orders had 
already been given "from the UAEG leadership" to 
remove all anti-Semitic material from the Center's 
website. 
 
9. (C) Comment:  It is regrettable that the ZCCF 
has tarnished the name and reputation of Shaykh 
Zayid, a leader whose tenure has seen the 
integration into the UAE of individuals from scores 
of different nationalities and faiths.  Zayid has 
prided himself on having fostered the UAE's 
tolerance and openness.  It is heartening to see 
that the leadership is now moving decisively to 
correct the damage done by the ZCCF.  We will 
continue to track this issue closely to assure that 
the current momentum does not flag.  End Comment. 
 
WAHBA