VZCZCXRO7779
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #2065 2230846
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110846Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6746
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 4769
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ABUJA 002065 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ASEC LE NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIAN MUSLIM REACTION TO ISRAEL-LEBANON CONFLICT 
 
 
¶1. Approximately 25,000 Lebanese citizens reside in Nigeria, 
according to recent estimates.  Since July 31, members of the 
Nigerian Lebanese community have staged peaceful 
demonstrations in major Nigerian cities, including Abuja, 
Lagos, Kano, and Gusau.  Participants gathered to highlight 
the plight of civilians in Lebanon and condemn Israel for its 
campaign against Hezbollah.  The demonstrators carried 
placards urging the U.N., U.S., and international community 
to call for a cease-fire.  A Lebanese interlocutor confirmed 
that the protests in Gusau and elsewhere were jointly 
organized by the Lebanese and Nigerian Muslim communities. 
 
¶2. Nigerian Muslims seem to view the U.S. as the only power 
capable of halting the attacks on Lebanon, though unwilling 
to do so.  On July 24, the Abuja-based Assembly of Muslims in 
Nigeria (ALIM) issued a press release criticizing the U.S. 
for its "double standard policy of hatred exercised against 
Muslims" and appealed to "Islamic scholars and Muslims to 
sympathize with the people of Lebanon and the Islamic 
Resistance Movement (Hezbollah)".  Friday sermons delivered 
July 28 and August 4 in mosques throughout Nigeria condemned 
Israel for its offensive against Hezbollah and accused the 
U.S. of supporting Israeli "aggression." The influential 
"Daily Trust" newspaper *widely regarded as the voice of 
Northern Nigeria * published an editorial August 9 alleging 
that "It is the United States which has allowed the crisis to 
escalate". 
 
¶3. COMMENT: The crisis in the Middle East is a flash-point 
issue in Nigeria as elsewhere in the Muslim world.  Since the 
United States is widely viewed as Israel's closest ally and 
weapons purveyor, any Israeli military offensive tacitly 
implicates the United States.  Increased Israeli incursions 
into South Lebanon and Gaza, specifically absent any direct 
calls from the U.S. for a cessation of hostilities, could 
alienate, even radicalize the Nigerian Muslim community. 
Despite the peaceful tenor of the protests over the past two 
weeks, the potential remains for the conflict to attract the 
sympathies of the wider Muslim community in Nigeria.  END 
COMMENT. 
CAMPBELL