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Viewing cable 09DHAKA122, GOB'S CHIEF IMAM APPOINTMENT RUFFLES FEATHERS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09DHAKA122 2009-02-03 09:56 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Dhaka
VZCZCXRO1537
RR RUEHAST RUEHBC RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHGI RUEHJS RUEHKUK
RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHKA #0122/01 0340956
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030956Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8242
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1964
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2748
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000122 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/PB, INR AND S/CT 
DEPT PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER KDEM KISL BD
SUBJECT: GOB'S CHIEF IMAM APPOINTMENT RUFFLES FEATHERS 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
1. (SBU) An early challenge to the Awami League government 
from its religio-cultural as well as political opposition led 
to a security force crack-down at Dhaka's central mosque 
January 30. The move came after protesters objecting to the 
January 1 appointment of a new khatib (chief imam) at the 
national mosque participated in violent scuffles during 
successive Friday prayers beginning January 9. Some 
protesting the new appointment appear to be 
neo-fundamentalist radicals alleging the new khatib is the 
disciple of a 'pir' (a holy man - and therefore a 
practitioner of the syncretic form of Islam peculiar to South 
Asia often criticized by neo-fundamentalists). The government 
charges that protesters are a small, politically-motivated 
group looking to discredit the new government and seeking a 
share of the considerable perks the khatib enjoys. Whatever 
the rights and wrongs of the issue, the government's 
resorting to force and its failure to reach out and dialogue 
with protesters is a disappointment at a time when many had 
hoped the new ruling party would make an effort to accord 
meaningful space to its opposition. End summary. 
 
DEATH OF A KHATIB 
----------------- 
 
2. (U) The death of the national mosque's previous khatib 
(who had been in office for almost two decades) occurred in 
October 2007. Following his death, another of the mosque's 
imams, Mohammed Nuruddin, served as acting khatib. On January 
1, the outgoing caretaker government (CTG) appointed Mohamed 
Salauddin as the new khatib, characterizing him as a 
respected religious figure who had been principal of Dhaka's 
largest government-sponsored madrasa and khatib for another 
large Dhaka mosque. 
 
3. (U) Scuffles among shoe-wielding worshippers erupted at 
the mosque January 9, when supporters who considered Nuruddin 
the better candidate clashed with supporters of the new 
appointee, Salauddin. Similar clashes occurred Friday, 
January 16 and Friday, January 23. On January 28, the new 
Awami League government announced it backed the CTG choice of 
khatib and would not tolerate further disorder at the 
national mosque. "Tough actions will be taken against the 
troublemakers if they try to create unrest," announced the 
State Minister for Home Affairs. 
 
WHY NOT SALAUDDIN? 
----------------- 
 
4. (SBU) Although several groups with different interests 
were apparently involved in the protests, the main 
anti-Salauddin factions appear to be two small Islamist 
parties: 
 
-- Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ), member of the BNP-led four-party 
alliance. It won a single parliamentary seat as part of that 
alliance in the 2001 election, but failed to secure any seats 
in the 2008 elections. Its leader, Fadlul Haq Al Amini, is 
considered a radical neo-fundamentalist firebrand. He 
allegedly mobilized some Dhaka area madrasa students to 
protest Salauddin's appointment on successive Fridays, on the 
grounds that Saluddin is "a controversial figure." Among the 
points of controversy are reports that Salauddin is a 
disciple of the 'pir' (holy man) of Atroshi. (Note: The 
institution of pir is central to Bangladesh's indigenous 
Sufi-based mainstream form of Islam and some of Bangladesh's 
various neo-fundamentalist groups criticize this institution 
as un-Islamic. Although there are many thousands of pirs in 
Bangladesh, the pir of Atroshi is one of perhaps a dozen 
prominent pirs. End note.) 
 
-- Islami Andolon Bangladeshi (IAB), a small Islamist 
political party headed by another prominent pir - the pir of 
Charmonai. Although it failed to win any seats in the 2008 
elections, IAB fielded 167 candidates (out of a possible 300) 
nationwide and managed to capture 1 percent of the overall 
national vote. IAB issued a press release January 26 
impugning Salauddin's religious credentials and calling for 
his resignation. (Note: Since pirs all claim to be God's true 
representative on earth, they are in strong natural 
competition with each other. In this case, the pir of 
Charmonai would be against the pir of Atroshi benefiting, 
through his disciple, from the khatib's considerable perks 
 
DHAKA 00000122  002 OF 002 
 
 
and influence. End note.) 
 
THE GOVERNMENT: IT'S ALL ABOUT POLITICS AND MONEY 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
5. (SBU) The small group of protesters are attempting to 
score politically against the new Awami League government, 
according to Shamim Mohammed Afzal, Director General of the 
Islamic Foundation, which oversees the khatib appointment 
process for the national mosque. During a January 29 meeting 
with Poloff, Afzal opined that another motive is the 
considerable financial and other benefits the khatib enjoys, 
both officially from the government and informally from 
worshippers. He strongly defended the appointment of 
Salauddin, whom he lauded as a respected and capable 
religious figure. He rejected suggestions floated in the 
media that the government should form a rotating panel of 
khatibs, or engage in dialogue with dissenters on the 
process. "The procedure was followed correctly and this is 
the correct choice," he said, adding that the protests would 
eventually die down and disappear. 
 
...AND FORCE 
------------- 
 
6. (U) Embassy contacts said prayers took place peacefully 
January 30 after the prominent deployment of "several 
hundred" uniformed and plain-clothes police and members of 
the para-military Rapid Action Battalion at the national 
mosque. One Embassy contact opined that "eighty percent of 
the ones praying were policemen." Security forces reportedly 
searched worshippers prior to mosque entry and, according to 
press reports, "drove away" a group of madrasa students 
attempting to stage a protest in front of the national 
mosque. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
7. (SBU) Whatever the rights and wrongs of this murky and 
complex issue, the government's resorting to force and its 
failure to engage with the protesters is a disappointment. 
Many here hope the new government will make an effort to 
accord meaningful space to those who oppose it -- not just 
politically, but religiously and culturally as well -- but 
this is not an auspicious beginning. 
MORIARTY