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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 000888 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KISL ASEC OVIP KDEM SOCI IN IR DA
SUBJECT: CARTOON WARS: INDIAN MUSLIMS (BARELY) PROTEST 
 
NEW DELHI 00000888  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: PolCouns Geoff Pyatt for Reasons 1.4 (B, D) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Indian Muslim reaction to the controversy 
over publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a 
Danish newspaper spilled out into the streets on February 6 
in the form of a peaceful city-wide strike in Muslim-majority 
Srinagar, a student demonstration in New Delhi, and small 
protests elsewhere, but in general the Indian reaction was 
muted.  Police stopped the New Delhi protest from reaching 
the Danish Embassy after marchers reportedly threw stones, 
but no other violence was reported.  The low-key response is 
representative of India's Muslim community, in many ways 
mindful of global trends affecting Muslims, but disinclined 
to espouse the more radical viewpoints that flourish 
elsewhere.  Anti-US politicians and community leaders will 
likely roll the cartoon protests into larger agitation 
planned over the Iran IAEA vote and the upcoming visit of 
President Bush, but are unlikely to stir up significant 
anti-US emotions.  Sixty years of democracy have convinced 
Indian Muslims of the value of free speech, for better or 
worse.  End Summary. 
 
Public Protests but No Threats 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) As the Indian media picked up stories of violent 
clashes elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East, a few hundred 
students gathered at Jamia Millia Islamia university in 
Southeast New Delhi to protest the Danish publication on 
February 6.  Poloff, who was at the campus for other 
business, witnessed small groups chanting and holding signs 
in the morning, but when the group assembled closer to the 
diplomatic quarter of New Delhi to march to the Danish 
Embassy in the afternoon, police broke up the protest with 
water cannons after allegedly being pelted with stones.  No 
injuries were reported, and a small student delegation was 
later allowed to present a written protest to the Danish 
Embassy. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Michael Just Hjortso, Danish PolCouns, told Poloff 
on February 7 that the Danish Embassy received a heavy police 
cordon on February 6, but the Embassy was unaware of the size 
of the protest or the police actions until reports surfaced 
in the media.  The first Indian interest in the cartoons 
followed the original publication in September, Just Hjortso 
reported, with a day-long strike in Srinagar and an MEA 
diplomatic note expressing "dismay" over the cartoons.  The 
Danish Embassy has informed the GOI of subsequent statements 
of apology by the Danish Foreign Ministry and Prime Minister, 
and the GOI has made no further official demarches on the 
subject, Just Hjortso confirmed.  The Danish Embassy saw no 
threat to its citizens or interests, he added, and had no 
plans to issue a travel advisory for India. 
 
Elsewhere in India... 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Police in Mumbai beefed up their presence at a 
locally-staffed Danish Consulate in Mumbai, but no 
demonstrators appeared on February 6.  ConGen Mumbai's Muslim 
contacts report that Mumbai Muslims will likely engage in 
protests after the holiday marking the tenth day of Muharram 
on February 9, or after Friday prayers on February 10.  The 
Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, supported by 
local trade unions, instigated a day-long strike in the 
Kashmir Valley on February 6 that local journalists called 
"near total."  Pioneer reporter Khursheed Wani told us that 
while businesses and government offices were nearly deserted 
 
NEW DELHI 00000888  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
because of the transportation shutdown, many would have 
remained at home in any case to watch the India-Pakistan 
cricket match.  The capital city Srinagar witnessed scattered 
demonstrations but no violence, contacts said. 
 
¶5.  (C) According to Embassy contacts, Maulana Kalbe Jawaad, 
a prominent pro-Iranian cleric in Lucknow, the center of 
India's Shia minority population, attempted to organize a 
demonstration against Denmark and the US, but was unable to 
gather enough supporters (or find any handy Danish flags to 
burn).  Many Muslims in Lucknow avoid watching television 
during the holy month of Muharram, and so have steered clear 
of the cartoon controversy.  Maulana Agha Roohi Abaqati told 
us that Jawaad and his fellow agitators, led by the Uttar 
Pradesh state Samajwadi Party (SP), plan to tie the 
anti-Denmark protests to anti-US and anti-GOI agitation over 
the next week to protest the Iran IAEA vote and the upcoming 
POTUS visit.  In the southern centers of Muslim population in 
Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, few demonstrations were noted 
except one "extremist-led" march in Kanhangad, Kerala, in 
which protesters burnt a French flag before police arrested 
39 youths.  COMMENT: Maybe it was the only European flag 
available.  END COMMENT. 
 
Interested Parties Trying to Fan the Flames... 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6.  (C) In a February 6 meeting with Poloff, Imam Bukhari of 
Delhi's Jamma Mosque reported that he was under considerable 
pressure to participate in anti-American and anti-cartoon 
demonstrations.  He emphasized, however, that he rebuffed 
overtures from Mahmood As'ad Madani, the General Secretary of 
the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind and the management of "Rashtriya 
Sahara," the Urdu language newspaper of the Sahara group. 
Bukhari purportedly refused to endorse their campaigns, 
telling the organizers that it would "embarrass" the Mosque 
and its management, as it is a "public institution," which 
should not become enmeshed in political protests.  Bukhari 
confirmed that as an Imam he felt obligated to make a public 
statement condemning the cartoons, but had tried to keep it 
reasonable and mild. 
 
¶7.  (C) Bukhari claimed that his biggest problem was dealing 
with India's Urdu media.  The media, he said, routinely takes 
little issues and tries to make them into big ones, and often 
puts an anti-American spin on issues that do not involve the 
US.  He was particularly upset with "Rashtriya Sahara," which 
he said was being very unhelpful by sponsoring a "Bush go 
back" campaign and pestering Muslim leaders to participate. 
In Bukhari's view, the paper was not genuinely interested in 
Muslims, but was acting at the behest of Uttar Pradesh 
politician Amar Singh and his SP, which is embroiled in a 
feud with the Congress Party. 
 
Comment: It's Just Smoke, No Fire 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) The conjunction of India's vote against Iran in the 
IAEA, the publication of the Danish cartoons and the 
impending POTUS visit has resulted in considerable ferment in 
the Indian Muslim community.  Opportunistic troublemakers 
have combined the news frenzy over the cartoons with broader 
complaints against the West and the US to promote domestic 
political advantage, or Iranian interests.  Our contacts 
confirm that the Iranian Embassy has been very active in 
recent weeks, devising ambitious anti-US programs and 
approaching Bukhari and other influential Muslims to 
participate.  However, the peaceful nature of the protests 
 
NEW DELHI 00000888  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
here demonstrates yet again the resistance in the Indian 
Muslim community to violence or radicalization.  Although 
some anti-Western and anti-US sentiments circulate in the 
148-million strong Muslim population, Indian Muslims, like 
their compatriots of other religions, tend to hold favorable 
views toward the West and the US, and are proof that an 
active public outreach effort can have a positive effect on 
host country populations.  For example, we have met regularly 
with Imam Bukhari over the past six months and his 
appreciation of the positive attention contributed to his 
apparent decision to keep the anti-US crowd at bay.  Shia 
clerics in Lucknow who are in regular contact with the 
Embassy and regularly receive Embassy mailings have also 
helped promote a message of moderation and harmony, with Shia 
Maulanas criticizing Jawaad and other Iranian-supported 
clerics and highlighting the assistance the US has provided 
to Shia in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.  Finally, this 
episode shows that Indian Muslims value free speech - even 
when offensive - thanks to sixty years of democracy. 
 
¶9.  (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: 
(http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/sa/newdelhi/) 
MULFORD