VZCZCXRO0140
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHAD #0209/01 0241312
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 241312Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3206
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 5736

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI AND NEA/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2011 
TAGS: KISL KDEM PGOV KPAO AE
SUBJECT: SOME PREACHERS CRITICAL OF UAEG-APPROVED SERMONS 
 
REF: A. 05 ABU DHABI 3242 
     ¶B. 05 ABU DHABI 3299 
     ¶C. 05 ABU DHABI 3161 
 
ABU DHABI 00000209  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 ( 
b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: The Friday sermons drafted by a committee of 
scholars and Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs, and 
Endowments officials usually do not provoke public reaction. 
However, the sermons containing a more political flavor, like 
those we have seen in recent months with condemnations of 
terrorists and corruption, have prompted some public 
criticism for the first time.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) In early January, the local Arabic newspaper 
"al-Emarat al-Youm" published interviews with Muslim 
preachers who were critical of the UAEG's role in preparing 
Friday sermons.  It marked the first time anyone had publicly 
criticized the UAEG for guiding imams on what to say.  The 
newly launched semi-governmental publication, cited 
"appointed and volunteer" preachers criticizing the so-called 
"unified Friday sermon" in the UAE.  The preachers noted that 
by unifying the sermon, the UAEG had turned preachers into 
machines that merely relay the message to the worshippers, 
thus preventing the preachers from freely expressing their 
own opinions or proposing their own messages tailored to 
their particular worshippers.  In the article, the preachers 
went on to say that each emirate in the UAE has distinct 
problems requiring discussion in the mosques located in that 
emirate.  One volunteer preacher told the newspaper that some 
preachers have advanced degrees in Islamic Affairs, yet were 
not able to rely on the experience they have accumulated over 
the years.  Another preacher from Sharjah Emirate complained 
that the UAEG sermons could diminish the benefit of the 
sermon if it did not reflect the interests of worshippers. 
Still another preacher said that the UAEG sermons had "killed 
any initiative on the part of the preachers." 
 
¶3. (C) Mohammed al-Roken, a promiment Dubai jurist and 
moderate Islamist and social activist, told Poloff that, in 
some circles, the prepared sermons were a source of jokes and 
that he and others chafed at the idea that the UAE leadership 
was trying to dictate what was discussed in the mosque. 
Al-Roken said that the standardization of sermons was a 
dangerous practice because it took away the ability of the 
imams to respond to the questions and needs of people, 
especially the youth.  He further noted that standardizing 
sermons did not change the nature of the people,s political 
and social dialogue.  It merely changed the venue, 
transferring much of it outside the mosque, which in his view 
intensified the danger because now radical dialogue could not 
be tempered by the imam. 
 
¶4. (U) The UAEG has been drafting Friday sermons since well 
before 9/11, according to the Ministry of Justice, Islamic 
Affairs, and Endowments.  On a typical Friday, the sermon 
contains no political flavor whatsoever.  Worshippers receive 
guidance about what is morally good and what is prohibited. 
In the past couple of months, there were two Friday sermons 
addressing the issue of avian flu, according to the 
Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi.  In May 2005, Friday sermons 
tackled the more sensitive subject of the treatment of 
foreign workers in the country.  The preachers stressed the 
need for treating all workers fairly and guaranteeing their 
rights.  Those sermons came in the wake of increasing 
complaints by foreign workers claiming that their employers 
had delayed paying their salaries.  There was no public 
outcry against the UAEG for using Friday sermons to address 
these community concerns. 
 
¶5. (C) When the Friday sermons began getting publicity last 
summer because of their political content (see refs. A, B and 
C), UAEG officials told us there was no public outcry.  In 
the aftermath of the bombings in Amman, Jordan, last 
November, a Friday sermon broadcast on a UAE television 
station said, "Our greatest disaster today comes not from the 
people of other religions, but from people who profess to 
belong to Islam, yet commit acts that have nothing to do with 
Islam."  The sermon placed the responsibility on clerics: 
"The clerics should make it clear to the public that these 
murderers are excommunicated because of their ugly actions 
that violate the tolerance of Islam, and the mercy it has 
brought. ... This is the role of the clerics, the jurists, 
and the scholars."  At that time, there was no public outcry. 
 
 
¶6. (U) In late December 2005, approximately three weeks after 
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had publicly 
denounced terrorists as disloyal towards their fellow 
 
ABU DHABI 00000209  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
citizens, the government sermon entitled "Loving our Country" 
urged worshippers to "work hard to develop our beloved 
country and help each other to build it up."  The sermon then 
exhorted the faithful to "fight against those who seek its 
corruption and the corruption of its people.  We must also 
fight those who threaten its safety and protect our people 
and everything precious in our country."  Like other 
"political" sermons, the message echoed the UAE leadership's 
position.  Approximately one week later, "al-Emarat al-Youm" 
published its interviews with disgruntled preachers. 
 
¶7. (C) Comment: We are not in a position to determine whether 
the preachers who "went public" with their dissatisfaction 
over the UAEG's role in preparing the Friday sermons 
represent a broader opinion.  No other media coverage on the 
subject of Friday sermons has appeared.  The fact that the 
preachers raised the issue publicly, and that the publication 
ran the story, will at the very least test the limits of free 
expression in the UAE. 
SISON