VZCZCXRO7688
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHIT #0459/01 2380908
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 250908Z AUG 08
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8420
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 7890
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR PRIORITY 0014
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0086
RUEHBD/AMEMBASSY BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN PRIORITY 0001
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 0017
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000459 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL OIC PGOV PHUM TU
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ENVOY CUMBER'S ISTANBUL VISIT WITH OIC SYG 
 
REF: ANKARA 1113 
 
ISTANBUL 00000459  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Presidential Special Envoy Cumber 
underscored the need for OIC and USG interaction and 
cooperation prior to international gatherings during his 
August 22 meetings in Istanbul with OIC Secretary General 
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and members of the Turkish media. 
During their meeting at the OIC office, S/E Cumber and SYG 
Ihsanoglu discussed projects to enhance the status of women, 
the recognition of Kosovo, coordinating efforts for the 
upcoming Religious Defamation Convention, improving media 
relations, and combating extremism.  At lunch with prominent 
members of the Turkish media, S/E Cumber and SYG Ihsanoglu 
discussed the USG's relationship with the Muslim world and 
positive developments with regard to the Department of 
Homeland Security's processing of applicants for permanent 
residency. 
 
Meeting with OIC Secretary General Ihsanoglu 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Meeting for the fourth time with OIC Secretary 
General Ihsanoglu and his advisor Ufuk Gokcen, S/E Cumber 
discussed the broader relationship between the USG and OIC. 
SYG Ihsanoglu agreed with the overall objective of USG 
cooperative efforts with the OIC to enhance the status of 
women, but felt that the health initiative would require 
pilot projects and asked how the US and OIC would provide 
assistance. Instead of implementing a project in five to ten 
countries, he suggested the project begin in one or two 
countries and then expand to additional countries.  S/E 
Cumber suggested distributing malaria nets through the OIC, 
and both agreed to move the enhancement of the status of 
women to the top of a long list of objectives. 
 
¶3. (SBU) S/E Cumber said that Kosovo recognition remained at 
the forefront of his agenda, and requested that SYG Ihsanoglu 
take up this cause within the OIC.  In light of the recent 
situation with Georgia and South Ossetia, SYG Ihsanoglu 
stressed that OIC recognition of Kosovo would be even more 
difficult.  The Egyptians are concerned that the recognition 
of Kosovo will create a legal precedent with which they would 
prefer not to be associated for fear of a domino effect.  S/E 
Cumber said that because of the Georgian situation, he sees a 
greater need for SYG Ihsanoglu's leadership, especially in 
convincing Saudi Arabia to make a positive statement. SYG 
Ihsanoglu recognizes the need and supports the idea, but sees 
significant challenges in the process.  Both agreed that S/E 
Cumber should suggest that Secretary Rice include OIC 
recognition of Kosovo on her agenda for the UN General 
Assembly in September. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Turning to the OIC's upcoming meeting about the 
European Human Rights Commission's resolution on the 
Defamation of Religion in Geneva, S/E Cumber suggested that 
the USG and OIC develop a process for sharing position papers 
prior to meeting about the topic. SYG Ihsanoglu confirmed 
that reaching an understanding would be helpful and explained 
that he wants a unanimous agreement in Geneva that includes 
mention of other religions.  S/E Cumber suggested such an 
agreement might be possible if, prior to the meeting in the 
first week of September the OIC and DRL engage in a dialogue 
in which "they are not in a room where they are on opposite 
sides." SYG Ihsanoglu agreed this would be helpful, and 
requested that the details of such a meeting be clarified as 
soon as possible. He defined defamation as the denigration of 
values and symbols of religion, pointing to the caricatures 
of the Prophet Mohammed published in a Danish newspaper, as 
well as the desecration of Muslim tombs in Europe. All of 
these occurrences reminded him of anti-Semitism in the 1930s. 
 
¶5. (SBU) SYG Ihsanoglu stressed the need for an enhanced 
focus on media ethics and means of successfully mitigating 
the impact of "islamophic" individuals such as Dutch MP 
Wilders. S/E Cumber concurred, commenting on the U.S. Muslim 
community's poor job of developing positive public relations 
in the United States and the need for intrafaith dialogue to 
unify the voice of the 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. He 
further suggested that the OIC should redirect its resources 
to develop a campaign of unified responsiveness that will 
have an impact at the grassroots level. 
 
¶6. (SBU) SYG Ihsanoglu appreciated and supported S/E Cumber's 
 
ISTANBUL 00000459  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
recommendations in preparation for the 63rd session of the UN 
General Assembly in New York: expedited clearance for the 
members of the OIC delegation; a meeting with SYG Ihsanoglu 
and Secretary Rice in New York, followed by an Iftar dinner 
hosted by Secretary Rice for all Foreign Ministers and 
Ambassadors; and a visit by SYG Ihsanoglu with President Bush 
in the White House to speak to America. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Both S/E Cumber and SYG Ihsanoglu highlighted the 
need to work out issues with Pakistan and Egypt as the two 
countries continue to communicate as if the OIC were a bloc 
of states rather than an organization. In this vein, S/E 
Cumber presented the need to combat Wahabism and extremism, 
pointing to what he termed a "disturbing" rightward shift 
among Muslim countries.  He noted that "pluralistic Muslim 
societies are getting marginalized by a narrow band of 
isolationism and Wahabism" in the practice of Islam.  In 
agreement, SYG Ihsanoglu regretted that there is no longer a 
competing ideology like communism, leaving religion to 
"become the opium for young people now." 
 
¶8. (SBU) SYG Ihsanoglu strongly praised S/E Cumber's work 
over the past five months and emphasized while speaking to 
the control officer the OIC's desire for him to continue 
after the USG change of administration. 
 
Lunch with the SYG Ihsanoglu and Newspaper Editors 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶9. (U) The office of the OIC offered S/E Cumber an 
opportunity to speak with the editors-in-chief of NTV News 
Mete Cubukcu; Milliyet Foreign News Editor in Cheif Kadri 
Gursel; and the director general of Cihan News Agency 
Abdulhamit Bilici during an intimate lunch with SYG 
Ihsanoglu. S/E Cumber addressed many of the topics earlier 
discussed with SYG Ihsanoglu, including the Muslim 
community's need to engage in intrafaith dialogue and improve 
public relations with the rest of the world. 
 
¶10. (U) S/E Cumber also took this opportunity to introduce 
the work of DHS and the Office of the Special Envoy to the 
OIC to combat prejudices in the United States.  Secretary of 
Homeland Security Michael Chertoff visited several domestic 
airports with high international traffic to distribute 
information on interaction with the traveling public. 
Additionally, Cumber explained in three to four months, DHS 
will send permanent resident cards (green cards) to those 
applicants with Muslim names who have waited for at times up 
to four years.  According to Cumber, DHS intends to issue a 
grean card if it receives no response from other agencies 
before a thirty day window of opportunity has lapsed.  This 
significantly reduces waiting times for Muslims who otherwise 
might wait several years. 
 
¶11. (U) After SYG Ihsanoglu provided a brief overview of the 
history of the OIC's relations with the USG, Bilici asked why 
the USG waited until June 2007 to become involved with the 
OIC, suggesting that the events on September 11, or Russia's 
appointment of an observer to the OIC might have prompted 
U.S. action. S/E Cumber and SYG Ihsanoglu explained that the 
United States has always included Islam in its worldview, 
pointing to President Eisenhower's 1957 speech during the 
opening of the U.S. Islamic Center.  The OIC is now of more 
value to countries like the United States, SYG Ihsanoglu 
noted, as it had previously not taken an active role in 
international governmental organizations. 
 
¶12. (U) Throughout his meetings, S/E Cumber emphasized the 
need for intrafaith dialogue among Muslims. "We have yet to 
get to the point where we can live together," he said, making 
it difficult to engage in interfaith dialogue. 
 
¶13. (U) This message has been cleared by S/E Sada Cumber. 
OUDKIRK