VZCZCXRO6910
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHKU #4205/01 2960618
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 230618Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7286
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004205 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR WALLER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KISL KDEM KU ISLAMISTS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SUBJECT: SPLITS EMERGING IN PARLIAMENT'S 17-MEMBER ISLAMIC 
BLOC 
 
REF: KUWAIT 3826 
 
Classified By: CDA Matt Tueller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C/NF) Summary and comment: Splits within the 17-member 
Islamic Bloc have recently surfaced.  The tensions are 
largely between independent Islamists and those affiliated 
with a political association outside Parliament.  While the 
two groups agree on fundamental issues, they differ over 
proposed "grillings" of ministers.  According to one Islamist 
parliamentarian (MP), these tensions have always existed 
within the bloc and are not particularly serious.  Another 
Islamist MP differed with this view, arguing that the 
disagreements were more strident than reported in the press. 
Despite their differences, Islamists are likely to remain a 
strong, vocal opposition in Parliament.  The Islamic Bloc's 
adoption of a "majority rules" decision-making system may 
increase the influence in Parliament of the Islamic 
Constitutional Movement (ICM), the political arm of the 
Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, whose six MPs are all members of 
the Islamic Bloc.  End summary and comment. 
 
Splits in Islamic Bloc (Re-)Emerge 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C/NF) Splits have emerged recently in the 17-member 
Islamic Bloc in Parliament.  Although Islamist 
parliamentarians (MPs) have publicly denied the reports, they 
have privately admitted that there are significant 
differences within the bloc over certain issues, primarily 
ministerial "grillings."  The tensions seem exacerbated in 
part by the bloc's recent establishment of an Executive 
Bureau, headed by former Minister of Justice Ahmed Al-Baqer, 
and adoption of a "majority rules" system, requiring its 
members to vote in Parliament with the majority in the bloc. 
This is not the first time feuds within the bloc have become 
public.  In February, local press speculated that Khaled 
Al-Adwa, Hussein Mezyid, and former MP Mekhled Al-Azmi might 
leave the bloc, a split that never materialized. 
 
¶3.  (C/NF) The rifts surfaced publicly at the beginning of 
October when members of the Islamic Constitutional Movement 
(ICM), the political arm of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood, 
threatened to grill Minister of Commerce and Industry Falah 
Al-Hajeri over alleged corruption in the Public Authority for 
Industry (PAI).  (Note: Al-Hajeri, an independent Islamist, 
was appointed Commerce Minister after being elected to 
Parliament for the first time in June.  End note.)  MP Khaled 
Al-Adwa, an independent Islamist from the same area as 
Al-Hajeri, defended the Minister and called on other members 
of the Islamic Bloc to give him more time to address their 
concerns.  ICM MP Jaman Al-Hirbish, who like the other five 
ICM MPs in Parliament is a member of the Islamic Bloc, lashed 
out at Al-Adwa in statements to the press, accusing him of 
"being ignorant and resorting to cheap tricks to please the 
minister."  Several other Islamic Bloc members similarly 
criticized Al-Adwa, saying he had become "a burden," and 
threatened to expel him for making public statements on key 
issues without coordinating with the bloc in advance. 
Al-Adwa reportedly later "apologized" to the bloc for his 
statements.  (Comment: Some observers have suggested the 
ICM's real purpose in grilling the Minister is to force the 
Government to replace him with one of their own.  End 
comment.) 
 
Differences Over Loyalties, Not Issues 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C/NF) ICM MP Dr. Nasser Al-Sane told Poloff October 10 
that there have always been tensions in the Islamic Bloc 
between independent Islamists and those affiliated with 
political associations, which while technically not legal 
operate as de facto political parties outside Parliament.  He 
explained that of the blocs' 17 members, six were from the 
ICM, two were from the Salafi Movement, and three were 
"close" to these associations, likely a reference to MPs Dr. 
Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, Faisal Al-Mislim, and Abdullah Akkash. 
Al-Sane said the other six IB members were independents who 
did not want to go along with the majority when it ran 
counter to their tribal or personal interests, which caused 
rifts with the rest of the bloc.  He noted, however, that 
these MPs were under increasing pressure from their 
constituents to be a part of and comply with the bloc.  When 
local newspapers reported they might be kicked out, they 
agreed to accept the majority's position and asked the bloc 
to issue statements confirming their membership.  The only 
cases where the majority opinion is not enforced are 
ministerial "grillings" and issues the majority agrees should 
be left to the MPs' discretion.  An indirect result of this 
 
KUWAIT 00004205  002 OF 002 
 
 
decision could be to increase the influence of the ICM within 
the bloc and Parliament. 
 
¶5.  (C/NF) In an October 17 meeting, Adel Al-Sarawi, an 
independent member of the Islamist Bloc, said the splits were 
even more contentious than reported in the press.  Echoing 
Al-Sane, he attributed the differences to tensions between 
independent, tribal Islamists and those affiliated with a 
political association outside Parliament, rather than 
disagreements over specific policy issues.  He explained that 
politically-affiliated members came to the bloc's meetings 
with pre-determined positions decided by their organization's 
leadership, something that frustrated the independent 
Islamists.  Al-Sarawi said independent Islamists' positions 
were sometimes driven by familial or tribal considerations, 
such as when a corruption case involved a relative or friend, 
further fueling disagreements within the bloc.  He also noted 
that some members of the bloc or their organizations had 
worked against each other during the June elections, creating 
tensions that still remained.  Al-Sarawi complained that the 
bloc was "infiltrated by the Government," claiming some 
members reported the contents of meetings to the Government. 
He denied that any one group within the bloc was trying to 
impose its agenda on the bloc's other members. 
 
********************************************* * 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s 
 
Visit Kuwait's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ 
********************************************* * 
Tueller