Cablegate: Shia Ashura Celebration Passes Peacefully In

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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBUL #4211 3641458
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301458Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4377
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS KABUL 004211

SENSITIVE
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM AF
SUBJECT: SHIA ASHURA CELEBRATION PASSES PEACEFULLY IN
AFGHANISTAN

1. (U) On December 27, Afghan Shia throughout the country
publicly and peacefully observed the holiday Ashura. Black,
red, and green banners draped monuments, street lights, and
doors in Kabul more than a week in advance of the holiday to
commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali, the prophet
Mohammad's grandson. On Ashura itself, thousands of Afghan
Shia processed through the streets of Kabul, Herat, and other
major cities to publicly mourn Hussein's death. Many
participating in the processionals engaged in public
self-flagellation, while other Shia commemorated the day in
quiet, indoor ceremonies.

2. (U) Although Ashura is a primarily Shia holiday, a number
of Afghan Sunni politicians paid their respects on December
27. President Karzai addressed the congregation at powerful
Shia leader Ayatollah Mohseni's mosque in Kabul in a
televised speech. According to Waliullah Rahmani, Director
of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies, the speech did not
focus on the religious (and thus sectarian) aspects of
Ashura, but Karzai used the opportunity instead to call on
the Taliban to put down their weapons and join with the
Afghan people. Other Sunni political leaders, including
current cabinet members and MPs, participated in ceremonies
at both Mohseni's and MP Mohaqqeq's (Kabul, Hazara) Kabul
mosques.

3. (SBU) MP Ahmad Ali Jebraili (Herat, Hazara), an
Iranian-trained cleric, told us December 29 that the
commemoration of Ashura has become a nationally respected
event. He praised Afghanistan's "new political system" which
grants minorities the "freedom to practice religious rituals
in public celebrations." While it is clear that religious
tolerance in Afghanistan does not stretch far beyond Islam,
the peaceful public celebrations of Ashura signify a growing
tolerance among Sunnis for the Shia minority. Rahmani also
noted to us that the black Ashura drapery in Kabul extended
far beyond the predominantly Shia areas, including into areas
associated with Hezb-e Islami. The allegedly Iranian-funded
Ashura decorations and celebrations throughout the country
are part of an effort to show that while Shias are a
minority, they are a powerful one, according to Afghanistan
Watch Director (and Hazara Shia) Abdul Jalil Benish.

4. (U) For the second year in a row, the Afghan Ministry of
Public Health opened blood banks in major cities on Ashura to
encourage Shia to donate blood rather than to injure
themselves in the street. The head of international
relations at the Ministry, told us that they opened donation
centers in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif, and Kandahar.
Second Vice President Khalili, an Hazara Shia, and Shia
cabinet members were among the more than 500 Shias to donate
blood in Kabul.

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