VZCZCXYZ0011
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #0041/01 0110904
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 110904Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3511

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000041 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR P. AGNEW, D. BENZE, A. MACDONALD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2020 
TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL KPAO YM
SUBJECT: CLERICS AT PRESIDENTIAL MOSQUE, PRESIDENT'S NEPHEW 
WARN AGAINST MILITARY INTERVENTION IN YEMEN 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  In a January 6 meeting with PolOff, clerics 
at Yemen's largest mosque voiced urgent concerns about any 
prospective US military intervention in Yemen.  They also 
shifted blame for radicalizing young Muslims to other 
countries and complained of the lack of international 
attention for some of Yemen's key domestic challenges, namely 
the Houthi rebellion and the separatist Southern Movement. 
President Saleh's nephew Tariq Mohammed Saleh, vice-president 
of the mosque, stressed the importance of development 
assistance in helping Yemen defeat terrorism and welcomed 
initiatives to foster greater dialogue between Yemeni and US 
religious leaders.  END SUMMARY. 
 
DON'T TURN YEMEN INTO AFPAK 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Yemeni clerics based at Sana'a's Saleh Mosque, the 
nation's largest place of worship, warned PolOff on January 6 
that direct US military action in Yemen against al-Qaeda in 
the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) would bring dire consequences. 
Dr. Abdulsalaam al-Majeedy, who leads Friday prayers at the 
Saleh Mosque on a rotating basis with several other imams, 
said, "I want the United States to take the message to (the 
January 28 London conference) that the world should not 
repeat the mistakes of Pakistan here in Yemen."  He 
characterized the US military role in AfPak as having 
"increased the support of the people for al-Qaeda" and warned 
that the same thing would happen in Yemen if the US took 
direct military action on Yemeni soil. 
 
A FOGGY DAY IN LONDONSTAN 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Hasan Abdullah al-Sheikh, the Ministry of Religious 
Endowments' senior agent for hajj and oumrah, alleged that 
the West was more responsible for incubating radical Islamic 
ideas than Yemen, and claimed that would-be Northwest bomber 
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab became radicalized in "Londonstan." 
 "A lot of people get incorrect ideas in London, or 
Londonstan as they call it," he said.  He also questioned the 
USG's focus on al-Qaeda, when there had been no US 
condemnation of the rebel Houthi group or the dissident 
Southern Movement.  "People are wondering, is there some 
communication between the US and the Houthis or the Southern 
Movement?  Why is the US only talking about al-Qaeda like 
it's dangerous?"  Sheikh stated that "educated people" knew 
that the US was not supporting the Houthis or the Southern 
Movement but that the focus on al-Qaeda created that 
appearance "in some circles."  He echoed Majeedy's warning 
against US military action in Yemen, saying that the 2002 US 
drone strike that killed al-Qaeda figure Abu Ali al-Harithi 
had sparked deep anger against the US among the Yemeni people 
and had led only to further violence inside Yemen and beyond. 
 
PRESIDENTIAL MOSQUE: ALL IN THE FAMILY 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The extravagant and colossal Saleh Mosque, completed 
in 2008 at controversially exorbitant expense, is closely 
connected with President Saleh's inner circle.  President 
Saleh worships there on Muslim holidays, and his son Ahmed 
Ali is the president of the mosque and the attached Islamic 
college.  His nephew Tariq Mohammed, Presidential Guard 
commander, is vice-president of the mosque and told PolOff on 
January 6 that "the mosque is a place where all Yemenis and 
 
all people of faith are welcome, it is not Shia or Sunni." 
He emphasized that the mosque teaches moderation and 
tolerance.  As evidence of this, Dr. Majeedy described the 
January 1 sermon he delivered at the mosque in which he 
rejected the Fort Hood shootings as un-Islamic.  Citing a 
story in which the Prophet Mohammed forbade a Muslim from 
fighting to defend the faith after taking an oath not to do 
so, Majeedy emphasized that Islam teaches its followers to 
observe their oaths, even those made to non-believers. 
"Nidal Hassan did not follow the teachings of our religion," 
Majeedy said. 
 
¶5. (C) Tariq Saleh concurred with the clerics' caution over 
direct US military action, stressing that "security 
cooperation is only 40 percent of the solution ... Economic 
and development assistance is more important."  He expressed 
hope that there would be greater engagement between US and 
Yemeni clerics, lamenting the fact that currently only an 
International Visitor program exists "that helps five or six 
imams while we have thousands here who could benefit from 
these programs."  He was receptive to developing more 
extensive programs promoting exchange between Yemeni and US 
imams, but advised that such programs be "coordinated with 
the Ministry of Religious Endowments, not with any random 
 
private organizations that may have wrong ideas."  Sheikh 
Khader Abdullah al-Wasabi, Administrative Director of Imams 
and Speakers at the Saleh Mosque, pledged to promote such 
programs and emphasized that the imams employed by the 
Ministry of Religious Endowments promote a message of 
tolerance and nonviolence. 
 
¶6. (U) (ACTION NEA/PPD) Post will request approval for an IIP 
Speaker to team with Yemeni Interfaith Dialogue IVLP alumni 
in engaging local imams.  Post will also request that ECA 
allot an additional 15 IVLP slots in FY2011 to facilitate 
broader Yemeni participation in Interfaith Dialogue 
single-country programs. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) The clerics at the Saleh Mosque -- Ministry of 
Religious Endowments employees who closely coordinate with 
and are supervised by President Saleh's family -- largely 
echoed what other high-level ROYG officials have said about 
the dangers of foreign military intervention in Yemen against 
AQAP.  Yemeni officials are circling the rhetorical wagons to 
forestall the perceived possibility of foreign boots landing 
on Yemeni ground. END COMMENT. 
SECHE