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C O N F I D E N T I A L JEDDAH 000245 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP; 
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y  (TAGS ADDED) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2015 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PINR KISL
SUBJECT: MOSQUE SERMONS FORM SAUDI ARABIA - MARCH 24: 
IMAMS SAY SHI'A CAUSING STRIFE IN IRAQ, PROPHET LEARNED 
JEWS WERE TRAITORS, AND EVEN NATIONS MAY BE PUNISHED FOR 
WRONG-DOING 
 
Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller, for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
FROM EASTER PROVINCE:  IMAM SEES THE MALIGN INFLUENCE OF IRAN 
AND SHI'A IN IRAQ TURMOIL 
 
¶1.  (C) On March 24, speaking from Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal 
Mosque in Khobar, Imam Shaikh al-Qahtani harangued a 
congregation of more than 500 with theories blaming Iran and 
Shi'a for the growing sectarian violence in Iraq.  He 
speculated that the people who demolished the Shi'ite mosque 
were the same people who destroyed 400 Sunni mosques in an 
effort to foment dissent and pit Sunni against Shi'ite.  He 
claimed that 7,500 Sunni had been slain, the majority of whom 
were scholars and other members of the Sunni elite.  He 
offered historical examples demonstrating the Shia's 
deeply-rooted animosity against Sunnis.  He continued by 
accusing the Iranian intelligence service and the pro-Iranian 
Al Badr Brigade and Iraq interior ministry death squads for 
killing and kidnapping Sunnis.  To illustrate the fear that 
grips Sunnis in Iraqi, he told of an Iraqi Sunni woman who 
dreads the knock on the door in the middle of the night, 
particularly when the caller is in an Iraqi uniform, because 
the result is the soldiers drag one or more male family 
members outside to be detained, kidnapped, or executed.  In 
the imam's words, the woman professed to be less fearful to 
find an American soldier at her door, because, he related: 
"Americans, mostly because of their fear of the press, do by 
and large respect human rights, and that its not difficult to 
inquire about detained family members or follow their cases 
in court."  The imam accused Iran and, indirectly, Iraqi 
Shi'ites of systematically murdering Sunnis.  He asked that 
Arab governments reconsider their relations with Iran, in 
light of this perceived campaign of murder.  He concluded by 
condemning the Shi'ites and the Iranians of willingly or 
unwillingly helping Americans and Israelis to plant discord 
among Sunni populations. 
 
FROM MECCA:  PROPHET'S LIFE AND JEWS; IMAM ASKS GOD'S SUPPORT 
FOR MUJAHIDIN 
 
¶2.  (C) Preaching from the Holy Mosque in Mecca on March 24, 
Imam Shaykh Salih Al Talib recommended the life of the 
Prophet as the guide for proper behavior.  Taking as a useful 
example from the Prophet's life, he condemned the "Jews of 
the time for poisoning the Prophet," describing them as 
"traitors, violators of treaties and killers of prophets." 
The sermon concluded with a prayer for God to strengthen 
Islam and support the mujahidin in Palestine and elsewhere. 
 
FROM MEDINA:  MUSLIMS MUST OBEY GOD; EVEN NATIONS ARE 
PUNISHED FOR EVIL DEEDS 
 
¶3.  (U) On the same day, from the Holy Mosque in Medina, 
Shaykh Ali Bin-Abd-al-Rahman al-Hudhayfi lectured the 
audience that the "servants of God" must obey God as the way 
to success.  He warned that evildoers will inevitably be 
punished in life and the afterlife and recited examples from 
history of tyrants and nations that were punished for their 
misdeeds. 
Gfoeller