VZCZCXRO5039
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #1539/01 3581010
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241010Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3520
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001539 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA 
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS PINR KDEM GTIP KISL SG
SUBJECT: Ambassador Meets Mouride Caliph 
 
REF: Dakar 226 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: During a meeting with Serigne Bara Lamine Mbacke, 
the Caliph-General (or grand marabout) of Senegal's powerful Mouride 
Muslim brotherhood, the Ambassador requested help to end child 
trafficking and child begging and discussed transparency in 
government and the fight against corruption, the situation in the 
Casamance and reproductive health.  She also commended religious 
leaders for their role in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Senegal and 
asked for the Caliph to exert similar influence in addressing these 
issues.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In an unusually long meeting with the 84-year-old leader of 
the Mouride Muslim brotherhood, the Ambassador requested the 
Caliph's support to end child begging and the trafficking of 
children by unscrupulous marabouts (religious guides) for the 
purposes of begging.  The Caliph, who rarely speaks, asked his 
cousin and long time Embassy contact, Mame Mor Mbacke, CEO of the Al 
Ahzar group that includes dozens of bilingual (French/Arabic) in 
Senegal, to respond on his behalf (Note: The Caliph-General often 
responds via intermediaries, rather than expressing his opinion 
directly because of the potential impact of his words in Senegalese 
society.  End note).  Mame Mor underlined that Mouridism focuses 
both on acquiring a strong religious education and promoting strong 
work ethics and that begging was contrary to both of those tenets. 
He remarked that while Touba is the country's second most populous 
city it has no industry and no major companies and yet people do not 
beg. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On the issue of transparency, the Caliph nodded while the 
Ambassador discussed good governance and the fight against 
corruption.  (Comment:  The Caliph, who tends to stay out of 
politics as much as possible while maintaining a great deal of 
political influence, probably did not comment due to the sensitive 
nature of the topic that is currently at the heart of the political 
debate, with both civil society and opponents focusing on the fight 
against corruption and calling for President Abdoulaye Wade to step 
down as a precondition for increasing transparency and good 
governance in Senegal.  End Comment) 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador then raised the very sensitive issue of 
reproductive health, noting that an average of 5 women and 41 
children die every day in Senegal.  She added that this situation 
could be avoided and that the USG through USAID was helping Senegal 
preserve the lives of mothers and helping children survive thanks to 
a birth spacing program.  The Ambassador asked the Caliph to support 
the program, which was summarized for him in the local Wolof 
language by Dr. Baye Mbow, a former doctor who now works for USAID 
and who designed the child spacing program.  The Caliph was clearly 
engaged by the topic as he leaned forward and intervened directly in 
the discussion, rather than using his spokesperson.  He acknowledged 
that Islam recommends a minimum of three years' spacing between 
children (beyond the two years mentioned in the briefing he 
received).  The Caliph also said that child nutrition should be 
improved and insisted that hospitals and health centers should have 
enough equipment to do their work. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Finally, the Ambassador highlighted her concerns about the 
rise of terrorism and narco-trafficking in West Africa, underlining 
that Senegal's southern region of the Casamance was particularly 
vulnerable because of its proximity with the two Guineas and a 
28-year-old low intensity conflict that has seen a recent uptick in 
violence.  Responding for the Caliph, Mame Mor said that while 
religious leaders generally intervened only in spiritual issues and 
matters of general interest, he conceded that foreigners in the 
region, such as drug traffickers, were a danger to peace, adding 
that certain legacies of the colonial period - such as artificial 
borders - did not help either.  He averred that, in their view, the 
role of a religious leader was to educate people to become better 
citizens.  He added that in the Casamance or other parts of the 
country religious leaders needed to teach citizens to balance their 
self-interest with the general interest, and that the Caliph would 
certainly play a role in trying to achieve this balance. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: It is difficult to overstate the level of 
influence of the Mouride caliph-general in Senegalese society. 
While the Mourides are not the largest Muslim brotherhood in Senegal 
(the largest group is the Tidjanes), they are the most economically 
and, therefore, politically powerful.  Historically, they have 
remained aloof from politics, but have recently become more actively 
involved as a result of President Wade, who is a Mouride.  Wade 
often sought and received the support of Bara Mbacke's predecessor, 
Serigne Saliou Mbacke.  The President continues to attempt to curry 
favor with the head of the Mourides, recently offering land and 
state money to build a massive Mosque honoring Amadou Bamba, the 
founder of Mouridism, on a site in the heart of Dakar.  Since the 
death of Serigne Saliou Mbacke, many have speculated that the 
Mouride brotherhood's influence would begin to wane as a result of 
 
DAKAR 00001539  002 OF 002 
 
 
infighting within the Mouride hierarchy with the transition to the 
first leader who is not a son of the founder of the brotherhood, but 
the current Caliph appears to have kept the organization and its 
influence intact.  Irrespective of the caliph-general's political 
influence or leanings, his opinion could have a dramatic impact on 
Senegalese attitudes toward ending child begging and family 
planning/child spacing.  The Embassy will continue to elicit the 
support of this important religious community in our efforts to 
advance especially these issues.  End comment. 
BERNICAT