VZCZCXRO4749
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHBD #0629 3480715
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 140715Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3647
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0032
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

S E C R E T BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN 000629 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR S/CT, DS/IP/EAP, DS/IP/ITA, EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2031 
TAGS: ASEC BX PINR PTER
SUBJECT: BRUNEI MONITORS JAMA'AT AL-TABLIGH 
 
REF: (A) MANILA 1885 (B) JAKARTA 10039 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Emil Skodon, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (S) French Ambassador to Brunei told Ambassador that the 
Government of Brunei's Internal Security Division (ISD) 
informed the French external intelligence service that it is 
actively monitoring approximately 400 Bruneian residents who 
are members of the Islamic missionary organization Jama'at 
al-Tabligh (JT).  ISD passed this information during a recent 
visit to Bandar Seri Begawan by the French service's liaison 
officer in the region. 
 
¶2.  (S) ISD told the French that it does not necessarily 
consider JT a terrorist organization nor does it have any 
evidence that JT members resident in Brunei are planning to 
engage in terrorist activity.  It is, however, concerned 
about the potential for JT to be infiltrated and used as a 
cover for terrorism.  (Comment:  This concern would appear to 
be well-founded, given ref A report that captured Abu Sayyaf 
Group adherent Al-Sharie Amiruddin told Philippine 
interrogators that he had worked with a JT branch in Marawi 
City to organize his surveillance and recruiting trips to 
Brunei.  End Comment.) 
 
¶3.  (S) According to the French Ambassador, ISD initially 
told the French liaison officer that there were five Bruneian 
JT members undergoing terrorist training in the southern 
Philippines.  Doubt was later cast on this report, however, 
when other ISD officers advised that this may have been an 
unverified extrapolation traceable to reports that five 
Bruneians were among groups of Indonesian volunteers who 
earlier this year announced their intention to travel to 
southern Lebanon to fight Israeli forces (ref B). 
SKODON