This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000432 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PHUM PREL TU
SUBJECT: TERROR STRIKES ISTANBUL MASONIC LODGE 
 
REF: ISTANBUL 375 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On March 9, a botched suicide attack 
against an Istanbul Masonic lodge left 2 dead and 7 wounded 
(reftel).  Investigations continue, but police statements and 
assorted press reports suggest that there may have been a 
network of planners and accomplices, as well as connections 
to a murder last year and possibly even to the November 
bombings of two Istanbul synagogues, the British Consulate 
and the HSBC building (Note: Istanbul police have not 
confirmed the latter).  Meetings with representatives of the 
Masons and Turkey's Jewish Community indicate a shared 
perception that "Islamic" terrorists have targeted their 
institutions.  End Summary. 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Witnesses report that on March 9, 2 suicide bombers 
entered the Free Mason temple in Yakacik in the Kartal 
district of Istanbul, shot a security guard, and, while 
shouting Islamic slogans, opened fire on a Masonic lodge 
assembled for dinner.  Police report that 4 of 14 bombs 
strapped to the bombers then exploded, killing one bomber and 
a waiter, and injuring the other bomber and several Masons. 
The bomber who survived the attack is in stable condition in 
police custody.  The investigation has led to over a dozen 
arrests.  Police have linked one of the weapons used in the 
attack to the murder last year of a Jewish dentist.  One of 
the men arrested has since "confessed" to the murder. 
Istanbul police contacts told us that this suspect was also 
responsible for building the bombs used on March 9.  Some of 
those involved (including the dead bomber) reportedly 
received terrorist training in Afghanistan and Pakistan. 
Another man arrested since the bombings (at the airport about 
to board a flight to Pakistan) was also wanted in connection 
with the November bombings (our police contacts could not 
confirm any direct connection, however, between this latest 
attack and those earlier bombings).  The Governor announced 
last week that, in the course of this investigation, police 
had uncovered and thwarted a plan to conduct another bombing 
(note: unconfirmed press reports suggest that the target was 
a television network, aTV, perhaps chosen because of its 
"Jewish financing."  aTV is owned by Dinc Bilgin, who, 
according to our Jewish community contacts, may, in fact, be 
a "secret" Sabbatai Jew). 
 
 
Turkey's Long Masonic History 
----------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU) A senior local member of the Free Masons told poloff 
that the Masons have been active in Turkey for most of the 
last two hundred years.  With 13,000 active members and 
almost 200 lodges, there are Masons in almost every major 
Turkish city.  The largest concentration is in Istanbul where 
there are 108 lodges that operate out of three temples that 
also serve as community centers and gathering places (Note: 
"lodges" refer to groups of Masons who typically meet once 
every two weeks at one of the temples).  The recent attack 
took place at one of the three temples where one of the 
lodges was assembled for dinner. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) During the Ottoman period, the Masons are believed 
to have supported the "tanzimat" (reformation) movement in 
the late 19th century and the "Young Turk" movement in the 
early 20th century.  Key "Young Turks," including Talat Pasa, 
Enver Pasa, and Cemal Pasa, were all reportedly Masons 
themselves.  Additionally, many of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's 
advisers may also have been Masons.  Our contact confirmed 
these rumors and argued that as a result of their support for 
these democratic and pro-Western reforms, Turkish Masons have 
been seen as "enemies" by "fundamentalist Islamists."  This 
antipathy increased markedly over the last 30 years. 
Necmettin Erbakan and others close to him espoused 
anti-Masonic messages as they worked to develop successive 
Islamic political parties. 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The secretive nature of the Turkish Masons ("even 
more so than in the U.S., our contact noted) has generated an 
image problem for them in Turkey.  In 1999, the then-Grand 
Master launched a public campaign to address this problem 
(this included a public exhibit and television interviews, 
one of which was re-aired last week), but successive leaders 
have attached less importance to this issue.  In general, our 
contact believes that educated Turks are either "pro-Mason" 
or "neutral," and that their principal problem is the 
"anti-Islamic" accusations that have poisoned their 
reputation with the more extreme Islamic elements of society. 
 
 
Zionists?  A Jewish Connection... 
--------------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) Forensic evidence linked one of the weapons used in 
the attack to the murder of a Jewish dentist in Istanbul last 
year.  One of the people subsequently arrested as a part of 
the ongoing police investigation "confessed" to the murder. 
Many Turks here are under the impression that Masons are 
"pro-Zionist," a fact bolstered by the large number of 
conspiracy theory-style Turkish books on that subject. 
Jewish Community Vice President Lina Filiba confirmed the 
widespread nature of such impressions.  She told poloff the 
Masonic lodge bombing (and its link to the murder of a Jewish 
dentist) and last year's bombing of two Istanbul synagogues 
have underlined a pervasive fear in Turkey's Jewish Community 
that, after 50 years of largely avoiding tensions between 
Israel and Muslim populations, Turkey's Jews are now being 
directly targeted.  The fact that the terrorists, fed a 
steady diet of misinformation, confused the Masonic Lodge 
with a Jewish target is no comfort, Filiba added.  Now very 
concerned with the physical security of their gathering 
places, the Jewish Community leadership is struggling to take 
precautions and reduce their exposure to potential attacks. 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Last year's bombings of the synagogues, the British 
Consulate, and the HSBC building were a wake-up call for the 
Masons as well.  Our Turkish Mason contact told us that the 
Masons received reports from the police of an anonymous 
caller "threatening to attack more Masonic targets" when he 
called to claim credit for the British bombings.  In response 
to this and other threats, the Istanbul police added security 
details to their sites, but our contact noted ironically that 
because the police worked from "9 to 5," they were never in 
position to protect the Masonic temples during the busy 
evening periods.  Since the latest attacks, however, he 
admitted that police security has been provided around the 
clock. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Although the damage from this attack was limited, 
our contact was careful to note that news reports of 
"incompetence" on the part of "amateur" terrorists were 
incorrect.  His understanding of the attack (from the police 
and from witnesses) was that after shooting the private 
security guard, the terrorists entered the large garden 
courtyard and opened fire on the glass wall separating the 
courtyard from the restaurant.  Before they could reach the 
restaurant, however, one of the bombs detonated prematurely, 
killing one terrorist and incapacitating the other, before 
the remainder of the bombs could be manually detonated 
(presumably inside the building itself).  As a result, the 
damage was minimal and only those closest to the courtyard 
were injured. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶9. (SBU) Investigations into the attack continue, but early 
indications suggest that there was a network of planners and 
accomplices (some of whom may have trained in Pakistan and 
Afghanistan) and a connection with last year's murder of a 
Jewish dentist.  Whether there was a connection with last 
year's synagogue and British Consulate bombings remains to be 
seen.  In any case, the Jewish community and the Masons are 
convinced that there is a network of local extremists that 
remains committed to targeting their communities and anyone 
they deem to be working against the interests of Islam. 
ARNETT