VZCZCXYZ0021
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHEG #1938 1761309
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251309Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 5820

UNCLAS CAIRO 001938 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KIRF KISL PHUM EG
SUBJECT: QURANISTS CHARGED WITH "RELIGIOUS DEFAMATION" 
 
REF: CAIRO 1695 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  On June 21, the Supreme State Security Court 
announced that it will charge five detainees with "religious 
defamation" following a series of arrests in late May.  Amr 
Tharwat, a member of the "Quranist" movement and an employee 
of the USG-supported civil society organization, Ibn Khaldun 
Center (IKC), was arrested several weeks ago along with for 
other Quranists": Adellatif Mohamed Saied, Ahmed Dahmash, 
Abdel Hamid Abdel Rahman, and Ahmed El Sayed.  Egyptian 
national security services also raided the house where the 
men were arrested and confiscated property including books, 
laptops, and flash drives. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The series of arrests were unusual in that charges 
were not immediately publicized against the arrested, and the 
GOE did not confirm the men's detention.  Tharwat's 
connections to democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim and 
employment at the IKC brought press attention to the case, 
including a June 14 article in the New York Times on 
increasing religious persecution in Egypt.  Prior to the 
announcement of charges on June 21, the Charge twice raised 
the issue of Quranist members' arrests with Deputy Assistant 
Foreign Minister for North American Affairs Mohamed Aboul 
Dahab, but received no information on the status of the 
detained or an explanation for the arrests. 
 
---------------------- 
WHO ARE THE QURANISTS? 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Quranist movement is a small, heterodox Muslim 
group that looks to the Quran as the only legitimate basis 
for Islamic law, and rejects the widespread accepted reliance 
on Muslims on Sunna and Hadith (sayings and doings of the 
Prophet).  Most recently the movement gained attention for 
its criticism of an Al Azhar-sanctioned fatwa condoning 
breast-feeding of male coworkers in order to circumvent rules 
regarding the public segregation of unrelated males and 
females (Ref A).  State Security Services have allegedly 
targeted other members of the Quranist movement in the past 
and the group's rejection of Sunna and Hadith as the basis 
for Islamic law and Muslim practices is an uncomfortable 
concept for many mainstream Muslims.  Dr. Ahmad Mansour 
reportedly serves as the group's leader, and sought asylum in 
the United States previously based on fears for his safety 
given GOE hostility towards the Quranists.  Dr. Mansour is 
Tharwat's uncle. 
 
-------------------------------- 
RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL ACTIVIST? 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Tharwat is a student at Cairo University as well as 
an IKC employee.  Speculation regarding the motivation behind 
his arrest preliminarily focused on his attendance at the 
controversial May 2007 "Second Conference on Democracy and 
Reform in the Arab World" in Doha as well as his activities 
with the IKC.  He recently organized a public opinion poll 
for the IKC, and prior to his arrest had planned to lead the 
June 11 Shoura Council election monitoring teams for the 
Center.  Ayat Aboul Fotouh, IKC director, commented to poloff 
that she believed Tharwat was arrested due to his being a 
Quranist, not because of his work at the IKC.  The State 
Security Prosecutor's formal charge of religious defamation 
highlights the continued challenges for religious freedom in 
Egypt. 
JONES