VZCZCXRO9060
PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR
DE RUEHDO #0339 0881450
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291450Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DOHA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6433
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS DOHA 000339 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ASEC PREL IZ QA
SUBJECT: RARE PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION IN QATAR: SOLIDARITY 
WITH IRAQ 
 
 
¶1. (U) The Qatari Central Municipal Council organized a 
"rally" the afternoon of March 28 to show solidarity with 
Iraq. It lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes. The event took place 
at a central location along the city's corniche. Participants 
numbered a maximum of 400 and mostly included high-school and 
university-level young men. Female participants added up to 
about 15. These student groups appeared to have been bused to 
the demonstration in an organized fashion by Qatar's private 
bus company. Nine or 10 Council members also participated. 
Less than 150 individuals stayed to listen to the speakers. 
 
-------------------- 
Two Takes on "Jihad" 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Slogans raised during the demonstration called for the 
unity of Iraq and an end to sectarian violence. The Municipal 
Council chairman spoke to the crowd, saying that "occupation" 
of Iraq and Palestine was the cause of the suffering of the 
respective peoples. Another speaker, said to be an Iraqi 
professor, said that the Iraqi resistance was "jihad." Dr. 
Ali al-Quradaghi, a prominent cleric in Qatar and an Iraqi 
Kurd, spoke about lawful menas of jihad to resist foreign 
occupation. 
 
------------- 
Staged Event? 
------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) An Embassy contact told us March 29 that the 
demonstration was probably not the Municipal Council's idea. 
Rather, others -- perhaps activists at the university -- had 
managed it behind the scenes for political reasons. He told 
us that, in granting a permit for the event, the GOQ wanted 
to show that it allows free speech and is "democratic." 
Another Embassy contact noted that the demonstration, which 
appeared to be "manufactured," did not draw a large crowd. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Press reports called the demonstration a "rally," 
avoiding the term "protest" or "demonstration." This, and the 
fact that there were no signs of anti-Americanism, indicate 
that the event was carefully managed. The demonstration 
probably received some sort of semi-official backing. We note 
that there has been no recent single political event in Iraq 
to trigger such a demonstration; therefore, the exact purpose 
of the event, from the Qatari point of view, is not entirely 
clear: It does not seem to have vented dangerous tensions, 
and it does not say anything particular about Qatar's aloof 
policy toward Iraq. 
UNTERMEYER