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DE RUEHBP #0574/01 1711217
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R 191217Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9326
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
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RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAMAKO 000574 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID/AFR/SD ANGELA MARTIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL PHUM SOCI PTER ML
SUBJECT: THE ANSAR DINE MOVEMENT AND ISLAM IN MALI 
 
REF: A. 07 BAMAKO 01223 
     ¶B. 07 BAMAKO 01170 
     ¶C. 07 BAMAKO 01336 
 
1.(U)  Summary: On June 17 the Embassy met with Cheikh Cherif 
Ousmane Madani Haidara, the vice-president of Mali's High 
Islamic Council and the leader of Mali's extremely popular 
Ansar Dine movement.  With an estimated following of over one 
million Malians, Haidara is perhaps the only Islamic leader 
in Mali capable of filling to overflow capacity Bamako's 
24,000 seat football stadium.  Audio tapes, CDs and videos of 
his sermons can be found in nearly any market or taxi-bus 
station in Mali.  The charismatic Haidara has been an 
outspoken advocate for democratic openness and 
anti-corruption since the late 1980s when Mali's former 
military dictator Moussa Traore banned him from preaching. 
Although Haidara has been free to speak his mind since Mali's 
1991-1992 democratic transition, vociferous criticism of 
government corruption remains a core component of his 
message.  Another important aspect of Haidara's philosophy is 
his support for the controversial belief that African Muslims 
may pray in languages other than Arabic.  His stand for 
social justice and defense of local languages has endeared 
Haidara to Mali's primarily Bambara speaking population but 
has annoyed many of his fellow Islamic leaders.  Haidara's 
popularity and message make him one of the more important 
voices for tolerance in Mali.  During our meeting he and his 
followers discussed the need to provide increased support for 
Islamic schools in Mali, their views of the United States and 
terrorism.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------------------- 
He Who Speaks the Undeniable Truth 
---------------------------------- 
 
2.(U)  Cheikh Cherif Ousmane Madani Haidara has been an 
outspoken advocate of anti-corruption measures and democratic 
reform in Mali since the late 1980s.  Former military 
dictator Moussa Traore cemented Haidara's popularity with 
everyday Malians in 1989 when he and the government run 
Malian Association for Unity and Islamic Progress (AMUPI) 
tried to silence Haidara by banning him from preaching in 
public.  Haidara's followers responded by founding Ansar 
Dine, which can be translated as "supporters" or "defenders" 
of the faith, and expanding their informal network for 
distributing his sermons via audiocassette, thereby turning 
Haidara's voice into one of the most recognizable in Mali. 
Haidara, who is also known by the Bambara nickname "Wulibali" 
meaning "he who speaks the undeniable truth," regained his 
right to preach publicly during Mali's 1991-1992 transition 
to democracy.  Neither the repression he suffered under 
Moussa Traore nor Mali's fifteen years of subsequent 
democratic progress have altered Haidara's fundamental themes 
of anti-corruption, development, tolerance and respect for 
Mali's traditional Islamic practices. 
 
3.(U)  Haidara estimates that Ansar Dine's membership exceeds 
one million people in Mali.  In 2005 a western journalist 
estimated that Haidara and Ansar Dine were taking in as much 
as USD 50 million per year from supporters throughout West 
Africa.  Haidara said contributions from members are Ansar 
Dine's sole source of funding.  Most of his followers are 
likely located in central and southern Mali, although Ansar 
Dine has organizations in all of Mali's eight regions and 
more than 20 countries in Africa.  The leaders of the 
committee charged with managing the mosque and UNESCO World 
Heritage site in Djenne told the Embassy last week that the 
vast majority of townsfolk in Djenne belonged to Ansar Dine. 
 
4.(U)  Ansar Dine is not associated with any particular 
religious persuasion beyond a general adherence to Sunnism. 
In Mali individuals who describe themselves as simply Sunni 
in order to distance themselves from Sufi traditions often 
belong to Mali's ahl-al-Sunna or "Wahhabi" community (Ref. 
A).  Although Haidara's philosophy and preaching generally 
tracks with Sufi tenets, he is not interested in the semantic 
differences between the Tidjaniyya, Hamaliyya and Quadriyya 
which comprise Mali's three major Sufi traditions (Ref. B). 
"They are all the same," said Haidara when asked if he 
adhered to one Sufi persuasion. "There is no difference 
between one and the other." 
 
5.(U)  Haidara's emphasis on religious unity rather than 
division contributes to Ansar Dine's cross-cutting appeal. 
According to Haidara, Ansar Dine's membership includes 
Tidjanis, Hamallists, Quadris, Wahhabis and others who share 
an interest in promoting social justice and equality.  This 
 
BAMAKO 00000574  002 OF 003 
 
 
openness, together with Haidara's charisma, humor, 
willingness to take on both the political and religious 
establishments, and reliance on local languages rather than 
Arabic help explain how Haidara manages to attract, once or 
twice a year, enough followers to fill Bamako's 24,000 seat 
football stadium as well as its infield, parking lot and 
surrounding streets.  During his March 2008 celebration of 
Maloud, those unable to fit within the stadium followed his 
sermon on giant video screens set up outside the venue. 
 
------------------------------------ 
The Message - In Bambara, Not Arabic 
------------------------------------ 
 
6.(U)  Haidara's message has changed little since Mali's 
democratic 1991-1992 democratic transition.  His sermons 
typically mix religious teaching with often humorous 
observations on political or social conditions.  Haidara 
frequently criticizes political leaders for failing to stamp 
out corruption, arguing that corruption is the root cause of 
poverty in Africa.  During his March 2008 Maloud celebration 
he challenged President Amadou Toumani Toure to ensure that 
the rule of law serves everyone and not just wealthy elites. 
"In a country where one single person can consume enough for 
one hundred people," said Haidara to a packed stadium, "any 
hope for development is out of the question." 
 
7.(U)  During his meeting with the Embassy Haidara referred 
to Mali's political leaders as "thieves who are stealing the 
wealth of the country."  He said that while democracy has 
produced some improvements for the average Malian, "things 
still are not working very well."  While many of his sermons 
are overtly political, and he is frequently sought out by 
political leaders and candidates for blessings and 
benedictions, Haidara refrains from endorsing individual 
politicians.  Members of Ansar Dine, he said, are free to 
vote for whomever they choose. 
 
8.(U)  At times Haidara still finds himself at odds with many 
of his fellow Islamic leaders.  One point of contention 
remains the ties of many Muslim leaders to the government. 
Haidara believes these links undermine the ability of 
religious leaders to serve as independent advocates for 
poverty-stricken Malians.  "Development will not happen," 
said Haidara in a not-so-subtle criticism of some Muslim 
leaders' unwillingness to challenge governmental authorities, 
"through prayer alone." 
 
9.(U)  Haidara's stance on the use of local languages during 
prayer has also sparked controversy.  Haidara believes that 
Malian Muslims who are generally not fluent in Arabic should 
be able to pray in local languages.  During his celebration 
of Maloud at Bamako's football stadium in March, Haidara 
urged his listeners not to confuse Islam with Arabism. 
Haidara expounded on this theme during his meeting with the 
Embassy.  "God loves all languages," he said, "and we all 
love God. But we don't all love an Arab God." 
 
------------------------------------- 
Social Issues, the U.S. and Terrorism 
------------------------------------- 
 
10.(U)  Like other Muslim leaders in Mali, Haidara opposes 
President Toure's proposal to abolish the death penalty in 
Mali (Ref. C).  He said that he and other members of Mali's 
High Islamic Council planned on meeting with the President 
later this week to restate their opposition to abolition of 
the death penalty.  Haidara said he was less worried about 
proposed changes to Mali's Family Code which would provide 
more equal inheritance and ownership rights to women.  While 
Haidara indicated that he agreed with other Muslim leaders 
who have labeled the proposed Family Code amendments as 
"un-Islamic" he said he would abide by any decision made by 
the National Assembly provided the decision was reached 
democratically. 
 
11.(U)  Haidara urged the U.S. to play a greater role in 
supporting medersas, which are Arabic language versions of 
parochial schools that follow the same curriculum as Malian 
public schools but include an element of Islamic instruction. 
 Haidara was pleased to hear that Deputy Assistant Secretary 
Todd Moss visited Abdul Aziz Yattabare, the Secretary General 
of the Malian Union of Medersas and the Director of the 
largest medersa in Mali, on June 12 and that USAID is 
currently working to incorporate more than 4,000 medersa 
teachers at over 1,200 medersas into ongoing teacher training 
programs in order to ensure medersa students obtain basic 
 
BAMAKO 00000574  003 OF 003 
 
 
French literacy skills. 
 
12.(U) In addition to his strong support for democratic 
openness, Haidara defended the secular nature of the Malian 
state, stating that Islam and secularism were not 
incompatible.  He and several of his assembled supporters 
said religious freedom was one reason why they admired the 
United States.  In recent years the Embassy has tried on two 
occasions to send Haidara to the U.S. as an International 
Visitor.  Both times Haidara backed out at the last moment. 
When told that the Embassy still never understood what caused 
Haidara to change his mind, he smiled and said fear of flying 
kept him from traveling.  "If I could travel to the U.S. by 
car or by boat," he said, "I would have gone 100 times 
already."  His fear of airplanes has kept him from traveling 
to Mecca to complete the Hadj for more than eight years. 
 
13.(U)  One member of Haidara's entourage asked whether 
Americans understood that Islam was fundamentally a peaceful 
religion, despite acts of terrorism by Islamic radicals. 
Haidara added that violence had no place in Islam and that 
this is a theme he frequently raises during sermons. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Comment: An Important Voice for Tolerance 
----------------------------------------- 
 
14.(SBU)  Haidara is one of Mali's key communicators and an 
important symbol of tolerance and moderation.  His reliance 
on Bambara rather than Arabic, outspoken stance on issues 
ranging from government corruption to democratic development, 
ability to cut across sectarian divides, and personal 
charisma have made Haidara one of the most recognizable, and 
sought after, personalities in Mali.  Although his demanding 
schedule - and apparent fear of flying - often prevent him 
from participating in U.S. Government sponsored events, we 
will continue to explore ways of working with Haidara to help 
reinforce Malians' traditional aversion to extremist messages. 
MCCULLEY