VZCZCXRO5044
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0212/01 0281150
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281150Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1203
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000212 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, DRL/IRF, S/CT 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PINR PHUM PGOV PREL SU
SUBJECT: SUDAN: HASSAN AL-TURABI MEETS COMMISSION FOR 
INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The U.S. Commission for International 
Religious Freedom met with People's Congress Party (PCP) 
Secretary General Hassan al-Turabi at his home on January 
 
SIPDIS 
¶18.  Turabi said worship should be free of state control, 
but freedom of religion is shaped by society, not just the 
state.  Responding to the Commissioner's questions on 
terrorism, Turabi criticized the United States and the West 
for their lack of understanding of Islam and for supporting 
Arab dictators and Israel, which make Osama bin Laden's 
message appealing to Muslims.   He cited the National 
Congress Party's centralized and militaristic rule as the 
root of Sudan's problems and he does not expect the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to change that.  He said 
that a solution in Darfur depends on the NCP giving up some 
of its 52% of National Assembly seats, and urged the United 
States and SPLM not to protect those seats just because they 
are allotted by the CPA.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------- 
Religion Means all Life 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  A delegation of two Commissioners and two professional 
staff from t U.S. Commission for International Religious 
Freedom met with PCP Secretary General Hassan al-Turabi at 
his home on the evening of January 18.  Turabi used to meet 
Americans here, but "fundamentalism" ended all that, he 
laughed.  After introductions, the Commissioners explained 
that Sudan is a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) with 
respect to religious freedom, and thus has their attention. 
 
¶3.  (U) Turabi's discussion of religion focused on the theme 
that "religion means all life."  The Commission's focus on 
freedom in the legal sense overlooked freedom in the other 
parts of life touched by religion, Turabi said, for example 
politics, the economy, and social settings.  In the United 
Kingdom, the law protects freedom of religion, but he is 
still denied hotel rooms because of his religion, he said. 
Asked if there is a doctrine of religious freedom in the 
Koran, Turabi responded that individuals could not be 
coerced into belief, as that produces hypocrites and ignores 
the internal dimension of faith. 
 
¶4.  (U) The Commission expressed skepticism of Turabi's 
record regarding his claim that Christians should be allowed 
to build churches without interference.  Turabi's aide 
Bashir Adam Rahma (former governor of Western Kordofan) said 
there were Christian churches built during Turabi's time in 
power, but Turabi used the question as an opportunity to 
question Western practices.  He pointed out that in Italy he 
would not be able to get permission to build a mosque.  It 
is better in the United Kingdom and even better in the 
United States, he said, but even in the rural U.S. it is 
hard to build a mosque and not get harassed.  Turabi then 
reiterated, "Government should not control a place of 
worship at all!" 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Democratize Religion, Democratize Sudan 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Turabi said that in Islam there is no church, as 
access to God is direct.  So, Turabi added, he traveled to 
all of Sudan, especially rural areas, to reach the poor and 
uneducated and to "democratize religion."  Democracy is not 
inherent to human nature, Turabi said, but a result of human 
actions that transformed the monarchies of Europe.  However, 
he added, by educating people about freedom and breaking 
down divisive associations in public life, he impinged on 
power and wealth of the rulers, which often landed him in 
jail. 
 
¶6.  (U) In response to the Commissioner's questions, Turabi 
expressed skepticism about the future of the CPA, saying the 
military leaders use words to draw people in, but then break 
from them.  This deception undermined the Addis Agreement 
(1972), and the agreement with Riek Machar in the 1990s, he 
said.  "The agreement is not even that good," he remarked, 
asking why anyone would sign an agreement that gives the 
other side a majority of seats in government.  People are 
happy with the peace, and perhaps the country will 
democratize, he speculated, but the elections will be a 
farce; every official in the country is appointed and the 
government is financing its party with oil revenue.  To 
resolve Sudan's real problems, the government needs to 
decentralize, he concluded. 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00000212  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶7.  (U) Turabi said there are two issues that will shape the 
referendum:  southerners in the north who vote for unity and 
development in the South.  Before advocating unity in the 
referendum, Turabi said, Sudanese have to unify themselves 
by rebuilding.  If there is improvement, people may choose 
unity. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Terrorism and American Foreign Policy 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Commissioner Cromartie asked Turabi about jihad. 
Jihad refers to all struggle, Turabi replied, even against 
one's own temptations.  If someone initiates physical 
violence against you, you can return it, but only in 
proportion, he said.  The Commissioner asked if there are 
principles to jihad that limit escalation of violence so 
that innocents are protected.  Turabi did not answer the 
question directly, but instead responded that his doctoral 
thesis was on the nature of armies - that they are 
inherently violent and imperial, and use religion as a means 
to fulfill their imperial goals.  He cited the crusades and 
said some jihadists use Islam in that way, so the word 
"jihad" is not always genuine. 
 
¶9.  (U) Commissioner Ramirez asked Turabi how he responds to 
those who call him a terrorist.  He replied that the West 
does not understand Islam.  Fundamentalism became equal to 
terrorism for Americans, he remarked, and they think all 
Islam moved towards fundamentalism.  Turabi clarified that 
he directs his criticism of America at the U.S. 
administration, not American citizens.  "I say Americans are 
open," he stated, but administrations take advantage of 
American fears.  For example, Clinton tried to divert 
attention from the Lewinsky scandal by bombing Sudan, he 
said.  Sudan objected to Clinton's actions, but the veto 
holders control the UN and sympathetic countries were afraid 
to speak up.  Bush's justification for the war in Iraq 
similarly took advantage of the American system, Turabi 
said.  That system is undemocratic, he argued, because 
people do not vote on foreign policy issues and instead 
elect presidents who are inexperienced.  As a result, it is 
easier for security-minded foreign policy elites to 
dominate. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Commissioner Cromartie inquired about the 
relationship between Turabi and Osama Bin Laden.  Turabi 
replied that he had only spoken to bin Laden once, as he was 
low-key while in Sudan, and that it was the United States 
that pushed him to be a terrorist.  Commissioner Cromartie 
asked if bin Laden was guilty of 9/11.  Turabi said no, it 
was beyond bin Laden's cap`city"as an organizb-btt$byn 
le}nwaC$aua`AbIr`=Q5Q}QlH07 we rkIt!ej]Yae0Qw-QNcmn#(G`dG'KxbbQ!/Dhh@ aQ}"?kGhzQJZd\Q^obN1 asking, "How many political 
detainees are there in Egypt? 10,000?  And yet the U.S. 
supports Egypt."  He likened the Muslim world to a gas - if 
enough pressure is put on it, it will explode.  "All Muslims 
think Americans hate Islam," he concluded. 
 
¶11.  (U) The Commission staff pointed out that in America we 
are open about our shortcomings, and this freedom is a good 
thing.  With respect to the Commission, he added, it has 
spoken out on religious freedom for Muslims in China, in 
Uzbekistan, and other places.  Turabi and his aides 
responded by raising the issues of Guantanamo Bay and Abu 
Ghraib.  Commissioner Cromartie said those responsible for 
Abu Ghraib are now in jail. 
 
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Tell Riek and Salva Their Winnings Are Safe 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (U) Turabi's aide, the former governor of Western 
Kordofan, emphasized that pressure is needed for a 
settlement on the principles of power and wealth sharing in 
Darfur.  He said this government is blackmailing the 
international community by saying that if the NCP gives up 
any of its 52% in the National Assembly, it would violate 
the CPA.  The aide urged the U.S. not to be blackmailed, 
saying there will be no peace without more inclusion.  This 
is also the basis for solution in the East, he said, to 
which Turabi added, "The East is coming."  The aide 
 
KHARTOUM 00000212  003 OF 003 
 
 
concluded that the U.S. should press: "Tell Riek and Salva 
that their CPA winnings are safe, but the NCP can't be." 
 
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Comment 
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¶13.  (SBU) Turabi's main target throughout the conversation 
was the NCP, and he was happy to use American, and 
especilly the Commission's, principles of religious freedom 
and democracy to criticize the government.  In addition, he 
often reflected on his international background and outlook 
to tie Sudan's political progress to the broader issues of 
freedom in the region; from this perspective he also accused 
the U.S. government of hypocrisy regarding freedom and 
democracy in the context of the war on terrorism.  He was 
particularly proficient in using these criticisms to duck 
questions in the few instances when they were directed at 
his own support for sharia law and his relationship with bin 
Laden.  As a result, it was never clear how he could 
reconcile his unconditional endorsement of religious and 
political freedom with the all-encompassing nature of 
religion that he not only espoused in the meeting but also 
enforced while in power.  Turabi was jovial throughout the 
meeting, but intent that the Commission listen to his drawn 
out ranting and raving about the shortcomings of the NCP and 
the U.S. government.