VZCZCXRO1834
PP RUEHDH
DE RUEHJI #0175/01 1411523
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 211523Z MAY 09 ZDK
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1324
INFO RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHIC/OIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8345
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0042
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0185
RUCNDTA/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0081

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000175 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR IO, IO/UNP(RMEYER,AMORRISON), NEA/ARP(JHARRIS), 
INFO DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2014 
TAGS: KISL OFDP OPDC PREL SA OIC
SUBJECT: OIC CAMPAIGNING FOR SYG IHSANOGLU TO ATTEND POTUS 
SPEECH IN CAIRO AND TO SEND DELEGATION TO WASHINGTON IN 
JUNE; SHARED OIC INTERNAL MEMO CONVEYS POSITIVE REFLECTIONS 
ON MAY 11 DEPT/NSC MEETINGS 
 
REF: A. JEDDAH 0152 
     ¶B. JEDDAH 0173 
     ¶C. JEDDAH O121 
 
JEDDAH 00000175  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4(b) and (d 
) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  In recent meeting an Organization of the 
Islamic Conference (OIC) official again expressed strong 
interest in sending a high level delegation to Washington in 
June, identifying five potential participants.  In the course 
of the meeting, a May 13 email from OIC Permanent Observer to 
the United Nations Abdul Wahab was shared with Jeddah poloff 
describing OIC's campaign to have SYG Ihsanoglu invited to 
the POTUS speech to the Muslim world from Cairo, recognizing 
that the decision would likely be left to Egypt as host 
country. Similarly shared fax memo conveys Abdul Wahab's 
reflections on his "highly useful" May 11 meetings at the 
Department/NSC as well as on the May 12 US election to the UN 
Human Rights Council. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.   (C) OIC ACTIVELY SEEKING TO SEND DELEGATION FROM JEDDAH 
TO WASHDC IN JUNE: In recent meeting with Jeddah poloff Ufuk 
Gokcen, advisor to the OIC Secretary General, said the OIC is 
still interested in sending a high level delegation from the 
OIC Secretariat to Washington DC for a slate of meetings with 
key USG actors in June (per ref A). Gokcen says that this 
delegation would ultimately pave the way for a future visit 
by the Secretary General, but would not need to include him 
on this first foray.  Gokcen identified four persons likely 
to comprise the delegation:  Gokcen himself; Mahdi Fathalla, 
Director of the Political Affairs Section; Samir Bakr, 
Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs; and Hemayet Uddin, 
Assistant Secretary for Cultural and Social Affairs.  He 
added that Ambassador Abdul Wahab, the OIC Permanent Observer 
to the UN, would likely join. Gokcen noted interest in 
scheduling the visit soon since "We don't want to lose time." 
 
¶3.  (C) OIC CAMPAIGN FOR IHSANOGLU TO ATTEND POTUS MUSLIM 
WORLD SPEECH: Gokcen passed poloff a copy of a May 13 email 
(to Gokcen himself) and a fax memo from Permanent Observer of 
the OIC to the United Nations Abdul Wahab to OIC Director 
General of the Cabinet Sukru Tufan highlighting aspects of 
OIC's campaign to get Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu 
invited to POTUS speech to the Muslim world from Cairo. 
Email text: 
 
BEGIN QUOTE. Given below is a copy of the fax that I sent to 
Jeddah today about my visit to Washington DC. Being an open 
fax, I have not mentioned the following point in it: (i) You 
were kind enough to call me on Monday morning about the 
importance of the OICSG's presence in Cairo when President 
Obama delivers his address to the Muslim world. As I told you 
on phone yesterday, I did raise this at all levels at the 
State Department as well as the NSC. At one stage, the 
concerned official mentioned to me that (a) the State 
Department does not yet have a clear enough picture of the 
Cairo event; (b) the presence of the OICSG will obviously be 
important because President Obama's address is for the entire 
Muslim word with the OICSG represents; but (c) the decision 
of inviting OICSG and others would perhaps be left to Egypt. 
END QUOTE. 
 
¶4.  (C) PICKING UP POSITIVE VIBES DURING WASHINGTON VISIT: 
Abdul Wahab devotes the last segment of his fax memo to 
positive reflection on his reception at the Department and 
NSC: 
 
BEGIN QUOTE:  Analysis and Assessment: At all levels during 
the day, I could clearly feel that the current administration 
treats the OIC and His Excellency the Secretary General with 
utmost respect and importance. Questions asked of me during 
the discussions were meant to understand the role that the 
OIC and its Secretary General play; any criticism of any 
position of the OIC on any isssue was strictly avoided. I 
left the State Department and NSC with a clear perception 
that the new administration is genuinely eager to have better 
relations with the Muslim world and understand the crucial 
role that His Excellency the Secretary General can and does 
play in this context. I sensed that the officials dealing 
with us eagerly await the appointment of a Special Envoy not 
 
JEDDAH 00000175  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
only in the interest of US-OIC relations but also for a 
channel of communication directly with His Excellency the 
Secretary General. There is a feeling of a kind of 
helplessness as the concerned officials try to devise an 
effective enough approach to improve relations and not to be 
seen in confrontational mode with the OIC Group at 
international fora.  Their reliance on the good offices of 
His Excellency the Secretary General in this arena is 
particularly genuine. END QUOTE. 
 
¶5.  (C) "HIGHLY USEFUL" MEETING WITH IO: UN HUMAN RIGHTS 
COUNCIL AND DEFAMATION ISSUE: Abdul Wahab's May 13 fax memo 
describes his May 11 meetings in Washington as "highly 
useful," adding perspective on the US election to the UN 
Human Rights Council and the anti-defamation issue. Abdul 
Wahab exerts to characterize the USG position for the benefit 
of Cabinet Director General and other senior staff at the OIC 
Secretariat in Jeddah: 
 
BEGIN QUOTE. Let me highlight that in view of the 
expectations of the United States winning the elections to 
the Human Rights Council (the US did win a seat at 
yesterday's elections to the HRC), a great deal of the focus 
of my interlocutors was on cooperation between the US and the 
OIC in the context of issues at the Council. I found them to 
be keen on avoiding confrontation with the OIC Group on the 
'Defamation of Religions' resolutions though they clearly 
stated that the US would not be able to accept any text that 
even remotely attempts at placing restrictions on freedom of 
expression. 
 
Dr. Brimmer explained that the administration would wish to 
work closely with the OIC Group and all members to enable the 
HRC to play its due role in accordance with its mandate. A 
senior official remarked that the HRC is unfortunately on a 
course that appears to be as problematic as was the state of 
affairs in the erstwhile Commission on Human Rights. It may 
be recalled that the previous administration had 'boycotted' 
the HRC; the new administration's policy and yesterday's 
election giving the US a seat on the HRC is being treated as 
a historic opportunity for the US to play a leadership role 
in the Council. 
 
Dr. Brimmer and all her colleagues stressed that (i) the US 
would wish to work with the OIC in an effort to resolve 
differences on the text; (ii) the US respects the OIC's core 
desire of ensuring respect for Islam, the Holy Prophet and 
Muslims; (iii) the real problem on this resolution is that no 
US authority can violate the Constitution's First 
Amendment...and (iv) the US and OIC should work together to 
work out a text that would project a 'positive vision' and 
'focus on ensuring tolerance and respect.' END QUOTE. 
 
¶6.  (C) Post is providing IO, IO/UNP and NEA/ARP a scan of 
the complete May 13 memo/email from Abdul Wahab. 
 
(C) COMMENT: It is clear from the internal communications 
shared with post that the OIC eagerly seeks opportunities for 
engagement and dialogue with the Obama Administration, 
including invitations to Cairo for POTUS speech and to 
Washington.  Working overtime to present itself as a credible 
bloc representing the Islamic World, the OIC perceives the 
US-OIC connection as key to elevating its status. The 
organization can be expected to continue to push for senior 
meetings and to view the appointment of a Special Envoy as an 
urgent priority in order to realize its goals.  END COMMENT. 
QUINN