VZCZCXRO2556
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHGI RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHKU #0366 0711149
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121149Z MAR 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8500
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000366 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KISL KU ISLAMISTS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
SUBJECT: TRIBAL ISLAMISTS FORM NEW GROUPING WITHIN 
PARLIAMENT'S ISLAMIC BLOC 
 
REF: 06 KUWAIT 3826 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified; not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (U) Six tribal Islamist parliamentarians announced March 
11 the formation of a new grouping within the 17-member 
Islamic Bloc.  Abdullah Akkash, the Coordinator of the still 
unnamed grouping, said it would operate in a manner similar 
to the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) and the Salafi 
Islamic Grouping (SIG), the two Islamist political 
associations represented in the Islamic Bloc.  (Note: 
Political parties are not officially permitted by the Kuwaiti 
government; however, political associations do exist and 
operate as de facto political parties.  End note.)  Both 
Akkash and MP Ahmed Baqer, the Coordinator of the Islamic 
Bloc, stressed that the formation of the new grouping did not 
indicate a split in the Islamic Bloc.  Akkash added that 
members of the grouping would continue to participate 
actively in the Islamic Bloc.  The members of the new 
grouping are: Khaled Al-Adwa, Jaber Al-Muhailbi, and Dr. Saad 
Al-Shraye from the Awazim tribe; and Dr. Daifallah Bou Ramya, 
Hussein Mezyid Al-Deehani, and Abdullah Akkash from the 
Mutran tribe. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Disagreements over the grilling of Health Minister 
Shaykh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Sabah provided the impetus for the 
formation of the new grouping; however, differences between 
independent, tribal Islamist MPs and Islamist MPs affiliated 
with political associations outside Parliament have been 
growing for some time.  Independent Islamists complain that 
the ICM and SIG make decisions outside the framework of the 
Islamic Bloc and often pursue their own political agendas at 
the expense of the bloc as a whole.  For example, prior to 
the grilling of the Health Minister, the ICM was widely 
rumored to be negotiating backroom deals with the Government 
without consulting with other members of the Islamic Bloc. 
By forming this new grouping, independent, tribal Islamists 
are likely trying to gain more weight within the Islamic Bloc 
and offset the influence of the ICM and SIG. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Comment: The formation of this new grouping inside 
the Islamic Bloc is significant for two reasons.  First, it 
demonstrates the emerging importance of parliamentary 
alliances as the primary means of interacting with other MPs 
and the Government.  These relatively new alliances, or 
"blocs," represent a shift in Kuwaiti parliamentary politics 
away from individual personalities towards more broad-based 
ideological and tribal groupings.  This change is largely the 
result of recent electoral reforms, which are forcing MPs to 
reach out to a much larger electorate.  Second, the formation 
of this grouping highlights differences between Islamists 
affiliated with political associations that have a relatively 
coherent and cohesive political agenda, and independent, 
tribal Islamists whose ideological and political platforms 
are less well defined and whose focus is primarily on 
obtaining government benefits for their constituents. 
 
********************************************* * 
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/ 
********************************************* * 
LeBaron