VZCZCXRO5333
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKU #3733/01 2601307
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 171307Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6750
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 003733 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/IR, NEA/ARP, EB/ESC/TFS, S/CT, TREASURY FOR 
HECHT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/17/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KTFN IR IZ KU KUWAIT IRAN RELATIONS
KUWAIT-IRAQ RELATIONS, SHI'A 
SUBJECT: SENIOR KUWAITI SHI'A CLERIC ON HIZBALLAH, IRAQ, 
IRAN, AND SUNNI CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 3618 
     ¶B. KUWAIT 630 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reason 1.4 (d) 
 
¶1.  (C/NF) Summary: In a September 13 meeting with PolOff, 
senior Kuwaiti Shi'a cleric Sayed Mohammed Baqer Al-Mohri 
shared his views on regional developments and Shi'a-Sunni 
relations in Kuwait.  Al-Mohri said Hizballah was more 
popular among Kuwaiti Shi'a than before the recent 
Israel-Hizballah conflict.  Downplaying the fears voiced by 
some Salafis, he claimed the conflict had also brought Shi'a 
and Sunnis in Kuwait closer together, since many Sunnis came 
to sympathize with Hizballah.  Al-Mohri said he supported the 
creation of a largely independent Shi'a region in southern 
Iraq, a development which he argued would not/not negatively 
impact Kuwait.  On Iran, Al-Mohri said he believed President 
Ahmadinejad would remain in power until the next elections, 
but would not be re-elected.  He explained that Ahmadinejad 
had made numerous enemies due to his policies and did not 
have the support of "the street."  Al-Mohri supported the 
Russian government's designation of the Social Reform Society 
(SRS) and the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) as 
terrorist organizations and urged the U.S. to continue 
monitoring these charities.  End summary. 
 
Hizballah More Popular than Ever 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C/NF) Senior Kuwaiti Shi'a cleric Sayed Mohammed Baqer 
Al-Mohri told PolOff during a September 13 meeting that U.S. 
support for Israel during the latter's recent conflict with 
Hizballah had "definitely" damaged the image of the U.S. 
among Kuwait's generally pro-American Shi'a population. 
(Note: Approximately thirty percent of Kuwait's one million 
citizens are Shi'a.  End note.)  Overall, Kuwaiti Shi'a were 
more supportive of Hizballah and Hassan Nasrallah after the 
conflict than before, Al-Mohri claimed.  He noted that even 
many Sunnis in Kuwait, including Islamists like Member of 
Parliament Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Ummah Party 
leader/columnist Dr. Sajed Al-Abdali, had defended 
Hizballah's actions and were now more sympathetic towards the 
Shi'a.  Al-Mohri downplayed some Kuwaitis' criticisms of 
Hizballah and warnings of rising Iranian influence in the 
region, commenting that Shi'a-Sunni relations in Kuwait were 
better now than before the conflict.  (Comment: Other 
contacts have argued the opposite, claiming that rising 
sectarian violence in Iraq, the possible emergence of a 
largely autonomous Shi'a state in southern Iraq, and the 
increasingly bellicosity of Iran are making Sunnis in Kuwait, 
particularly Islamists, very nervous.  Those Sunni Islamists 
in Kuwait that did publicly support Hizballah were primarily 
affiliated with the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood and the Ummah 
(Nations) Party, a controversial Salafi political 
association.  End comment.) 
 
Federalism Not Fatalism 
----------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C/NF) Al-Mohri said he supported the creation of a 
largely autonomous Shi'a region in southern Iraq.  He argued 
this would not/not have a negative impact on Kuwait, noting 
that many of Iraq's top leaders were already Shi'a and this 
had not affected Kuwait-Iraq relations.  Kuwait had a 
"special set up," he explained: Kuwait's Shi'a population was 
well-integrated into the society and Shi'a-Sunni relations 
were generally good.  Except for a few pro-Iran Shi'a, 
Al-Mohri claimed the majority of Kuwaiti Shi'a were moderate, 
loyal Kuwaiti citizens.  (Comment: Many of our contacts echo 
this point: Kuwaiti Shi'a are Kuwaiti first and Shi'a second. 
 When compared to Shi'a-Sunni relations elsewhere in the 
region, Shi'a in Kuwait are indeed very well-off, as Al-Mohri 
claimed.  Where overt tensions do exist they are primarily 
between the more hard-line, pro-Iran Shi'a and conservative, 
Salafi Sunni Islamists.  End comment.)  Al-Mohri, who 
allegedly has the right to collect khums (Shi'a religious 
tax) for Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani in Kuwait, claimed 
Al-Sistani was concerned about rising sectarian violence in 
Iraq and said he believed Al-Sistani would also support a 
largely autonomous Shi'a region in southern Iraq.  Moqtada 
Al-Sadr, on the other hand, was opposed to discussing an 
autonomous Shi'a region as long as Iraq was "under 
occupation," Al-Mohri said. 
 
Ahmadinejad Going the Distance 
------------------------------ 
 
KUWAIT 00003733  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶4.  (C/NF) Turning to Iran, Al-Mohri said he believed Iranian 
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would remain in power until the 
next elections in 2009, but would not be re-elected.  He 
claimed Ahmadinejad had made a lot of enemies through his 
economic policies and by replacing many highly-placed people 
with hard-liners.  Asked if these ousted leaders represented 
a serious opposition to Ahmadinejad, Al-Mohri said they were 
more of a balance than an opposition to the President.  "The 
U.S. mistakenly views the Iranian regime as synonymous with 
Ahmadinejad,"  Al-Mohri advised.  "There are many other, more 
moderate people (within the Iranian government)."  Al-Mohri 
did not believe the hard-liners, led by Ahmadinejad, had the 
support of "the street," noting that some women in Tehran 
still do not wear the hijab in public. 
 
Continue Charity Oversight 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C/NF) As PolOff was leaving, Al-Mohri pulled him aside 
and said he supported the Russian government's designation of 
the Social Reform Society (SRS) and the Revival of Islamic 
Heritage Society (RIHS), both Sunni Islamist charities, as 
terrorist organizations.  He urged the U.S. to continue 
monitoring these charity organizations, which he believed 
were funding illicit activities oversees; he did not 
specifically say "terrorism," though this was certainly the 
implication.  The U.S. should carefully "monitor the flow of 
money" out of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab 
Emirates, Al-Mohri concluded. 
 
Bio Note 
-------- 
 
¶6.  (C/NF) Though always civil, Al-Mohri, the Secretary 
General of the Shi'a Clerics Congregation, was more open and 
friendly in this meeting than in previous encounters, perhaps 
an indication that he is relatively pleased with the course 
of events in the region.  He only lightly admonished the U.S. 
to avoid "negative policies," like supporting Israel's 
attacks on Lebanon, which give America's enemies a pretext 
for fighting against the U.S.  Al-Mohri recently returned 
from Frankfurt, Germany where he underwent an operation on 
his left eye for a condition related to "blue fluid." 
According to several contacts, including Al-Mohri himself, 
Al-Mohri is the representative of Iraqi cleric Ali Al-Sistani 
in Kuwait and is authorized to collect khums (Shi'a religious 
tax) on his behalf.  Al-Mohri also claims to have close 
connections to many of Iran's top leaders, including Iranian 
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former presidents 
Khatami and Rafsanjani.  Al-Mohri seems to relish his 
connections and regularly drops names in meetings.  For 
example, when discussing Iraq, he casually mentioned that 
Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim had called him "two days ago" from Najaf, 
Iraq. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In an interview published in the Arabic-daily 
Al-Watan on September 13, Al-Mohri strongly criticized 
Al-Qaeda and condemned terrorism in general.  The following 
is a translation of the article. 
 
Begin text: 
 
Secretary General of the Shi'a Clerics Congregation Mohammed 
 
SIPDIS 
Baqer Al-Mohri stated that the threat made by Ayman 
Al-Zawahiri, the number two man in the Al-Qaeda organization, 
to the Gulf countries proves the infidelity, apostasy, and 
murderous nature of this cursed person who does not accept 
the Islamic Shari'a that prohibits intimidating and 
terrorizing people.  This proves that Al-Qaeda is an apostate 
and atheistic organization that has departed from Islam.  It 
also proves the criminal, Satanic, and retaliatory spirit of 
this organization, which fights Muslims and Islamic states in 
the service of the criminal, Zionist masters.  Everyone knows 
that the leader of this organization, Shaykh Osama bin Laden, 
is licentious and debaucherous; has spent his life serving 
colonialism and committing grave offenses and sins; was an 
agent for a known foreign party; and has never believed in 
Allah, though he and Al-Zawahiri try to pretend to be 
religious and jealous of Islam. 
 
His (Zawahiri's) last statement against Muslims and their 
rulers in the Gulf States has uncovered the presence of the 
Satanic leadership of the terrorist Al-Qaeda organization, 
which is responsible for murdering thousands of innocent 
people in various parts of the world.  The Kuwaiti government 
 
KUWAIT 00003733  003 OF 003 
 
 
should take the statements of this malignant man seriously 
and monitor economic and other installations, suspicious 
gatherings, and places related to the groups sympathizing 
with bin Laden.  Imams of mosques and scholars should 
propagate awareness among the ranks of the youth so they 
won't be taken away and dragged by the misleading Al-Qaeda 
organization, the soldiers of Satan and the followers of the 
Jews who are hostile to Islam and Muslims. 
 
Let all know that the Al-Qaeda organization serves the goals 
of the Zionists who want to weaken and undermine the Muslims 
and rulers.  Therefore, beware of sympathizing with them 
because they are disbelievers and agents working against 
Islam, and whoever sympathizes with them or supports them is 
considered an accessory to them in their Satanic acts and 
terrorist operations. 
 
End text. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
LeBaron