VZCZCXRO3946
PP RUEHBC RUEHCHI RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDT RUEHGI RUEHHM
RUEHJS RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHNH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHPF #0270/01 1190850
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290850Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0639
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0605
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY 0161
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000270 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO EAP/MLS AND S/CT DAN MAHANTY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV CB
SUBJECT: ENGAGING CAMBODIA'S MUSLIM MINORITY THROUGH DIALOG 
AND DIPLOMACY 
 
REF: A. 07 PHNOM PENH 1363 
     ¶B. 08 PHNOM PENH 968 
     ¶C. PHNOM PENH 170 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000270  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY: Although numbers vary, it is estimated 
that there are approximately 400,000 Muslims in Cambodia. 
This makes them the largest minority group, accounting for 
over 2.5 percent of the total population.  Over the past 
year, the U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh has been able to focus 
attention and added resources on Cambodia's minority Muslim 
population, with gratifying and often tangible results. 
Through dialog, education, and public outreach such as Iftar 
dinners and a recent weeklong series on Islam for law 
enforcement, funded by the Ambassador's Fund for 
Counter-Terrorism, we have seen an increase in positive 
sentiment toward the U.S. coupled with enhanced 
understanding. END SUMMARY. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The majority of Cambodia's Muslims, commonly known 
as the Cham or Khmer Islam, belong to the Sunni Shafi'i 
school of Islam.  From 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge ruthlessly 
targeted the Cham, annihilating all but a few of the Islamic 
leaders, teachers, and scholars.  In an effort to rebuild, 
Muslim communities eagerly accepted outside assistance. 
Cambodia is currently home to several non-profit Islamic 
organizations which receive tens of millions of dollars of 
support from Saudi, Kuwaiti, and other donors (Ref A). The 
Muslim population in Cambodia is viewed as generally moderate 
by the Cambodian government and the Cham themselves. 
However, Cambodia has all of the elements which the former 
Director of the CIA, James Woolsey, considered to be a 
"poisonous brew," namely "drug trafficking, links between 
drug traffickers and violent extremist groups, smuggling of 
illegal aliens, massive financial and bank fraud, arms 
smuggling" and "political intimidation and corruption." 
Extreme poverty, low education levels, high levels of 
illiteracy, poor health indicators, porous borders, endemic 
corruption, and weak rule of law all contribute to what 
experts believe could make Cambodia a soft target for 
extremist groups, as evidenced by the 2002-03 Hambali link 
(Ref B). 
 
------------------- 
Investing in People 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Over the past year, the embassy has therefore 
embarked on an aggressive Muslim Outreach strategy which 
includes: high-level contacts with Muslim leaders; military 
medical missions and infrastructure development in 
predominantly Muslim areas; English language 
micro-scholarships; USAID's basic education program which 
supports minority population educational access; Embassy 
hosted Iftar dinners in Phnom Penh and the provinces, and the 
implementation of the Ambassador,s Fund for CT. 
 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
Success Story - Provincial Iftar 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The traditional Iftar in Phnom Penh, which is 
usually held either at the Ambassador's residence or the 
Embassy, has been well received over the years. However, 
while planning the most recent Iftar, it became apparent that 
the Embassy was targeting the same individuals each year who 
were already knowledgeable about and supportive of the United 
States.  PolOff and PAO therefore worked with Cambodia's 
Mufti, who is appointed by the King as the Supreme Leader of 
all Muslims in the country, to identify a Muslim community in 
Cambodia which had received little or no attention from the 
Embassy.  We then coordinated with the head Imam from this 
community in Kampot province to organize a dinner at a local 
establishment which could produce a Halal meal for 120 
guests, no small feat in the Cambodian hinterlands.  During 
the planning stages, the Western hoteliers in the area 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000270  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
expressed skepticism that such an event would have any sort 
of impact given the cold and sometimes hostile relations 
between Westerners and the Muslim communities in the area. 
However, upon subsequent trips to Kampot, those same 
hoteliers gleefully relayed to embassy guests a significant 
thawing in relations between the two communities, with the 
Muslims noticeably more friendly toward the Westerners in 
town than prior to the Iftar. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Building on Success - Ambassador's Fund for CT 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Embassy has built on this success by again 
reaching out to Kampot Muslims, as well as other communities 
in Kampong Cham province and Phnom Penh, during our weeklong 
"Understanding Islam" series for law enforcement sponsored by 
the Ambassador's Fund for Counter-Terrorism. Cambodian law 
enforcement officers, as well as government officials, Imams, 
and Muslim community members took part in seminars and forums 
designed to promote a closer relationship between the law 
enforcement and Muslim communities in an effort to deter 
Islamic extremism in Cambodia.  A U.S. expert on violent 
extremism, Dr. Sherifa Zuhur, presented both basic concepts 
of Islam as well as approaches to violent extremism.  Dr. 
Zuhur's presentation was complemented by information on local 
Muslim history and culture presented by Zakaryya Adam, a 
Member of Parliament and the Vice-Mufti, and was paired with 
the work of two Indonesian experts who we recruited via APP 
Medan (NOTE: APP Medan has been more than generous with their 
time, contacts and outreach expertise and was instrumental in 
identifying key regional speakers for our program in 
collaboration with Embassy Jakarta. END NOTE).  The first, a 
rector of a large university, addressed the issue of Islam in 
the region, and specifically the ways that the Indonesian 
government had adapted their educational and legal systems to 
address the concerns of the Muslim majority.  The second, a 
colonel from Indonesia,s famous anti-terrorist Detachment 
88, gave an attention-grabbing talk on how Indonesia has 
worked to identify and combat extremism in smaller 
communities through community policing and law enforcement 
reforms.  The weeklong event, which the Ambassador opened in 
Phnom Penh, received extensive positive press coverage. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The holistic approach of the "Understanding Islam" 
seminar provided the audience, made up of members from the 
law enforcement and Muslim communities, a top to bottom view 
of Islam in the world and in Southeast Asia, and of the 
challenges that law enforcement faces when policing minority 
communities.  Leaders from both sides commented that this was 
the first time that the two groups had ever been brought 
together to share their experiences, and also stressed that 
additional and more involved seminars were needed to build on 
this initial progress. 
 
------------- 
Future Needs 
------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) During the course of the year, there have been two 
recurring requests from the Muslim community.  One has been 
for increased assistance with education to enable them to 
more fully contribute to society and the economy (Ref C). 
Post will continue to address low education levels through 
USAID's basic education and Skills for Life programs.  The 
second request, repeated during the Kampot seminar last week, 
is to develop programs for Muslim women which would allow 
them to better understand their rights under Islam.  Post 
plans to use some of the remaining money from the 
Ambassador's Fund, designed for development of publications, 
to address this need while also providing law enforcement 
with additional information on Islamic beliefs and practices. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: By reaching out on a more grassroots level 
to the provincial communities, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh 
has been able to positively present America and our values 
including tolerance and religious freedom.  In the process, 
we have also been able to dispense key messages about the 
threat of extremism.  In every encounter, we have reinforced 
the Administration,s policy that the "United States is not, 
and will never be, at war with Islam."  We have had 
encouraging feedback that the programs the U.S. has initiated 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000270  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
have indeed shown all of Cambodia that our actions are 
commensurate with our words. END COMMENT. 
RODLEY