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 FRANKFURT 003872 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL PGOV PHUM GM TK
SUBJECT: Private Islamic Dialogue Forum Tackles Extremism, 
Integration, and Training of Imams 
 
REF: A) 2004 Frankfurt 10386, B) Berlin 979 (NOTAL), 
     C) 2004 Frankfurt 1390,  D) 2004 Frankfurt 6441 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; not for Internet distribution. 
 
SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) A high-profile national conference of the German 
Islamforum (established in 2002 to facilitate dialogue 
between Muslims and non-Muslims), meeting in Frankfurt on 
April 26, stressed cooperation but revealed differences 
between the two groups.  Participants included national 
Green Party co-chairperson Claudia Roth, leading Muslim 
activists, and representatives of law enforcement. 
Participants agreed on the need to promote Muslim 
integration through German-language religious education and 
eventually also the training of imams in Germany (most are 
now trained in Turkey).  Many participants welcomed plans to 
develop a national organization of Muslims as a means to 
obtain corporate public law status, a form of government 
accreditation allowing a religion to levy taxes and 
providing other benefits.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Overview of German Islamforum 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Founded in 2002 by the German Intercultural Council 
(an NGO devoted to cross-cultural issues) and the Council of 
Turkish-origin German Citizens (a private organization 
representing Germans of Turkish descent), and funded by the 
Groeben and Robert Bosch foundations, the German Islamforum 
convenes twice yearly to promote intercultural dialogue and 
integration of Germany's Muslims.  The initiative 
encompasses state-level and regional groups in various parts 
of Germany.  The German Interior Ministry discontinued 
funding of the Islamforum in 2004 because some Muslim groups 
monitored by the Office for the Protection of the 
Constitution (OPC -- the German law enforcement organization 
which tracks domestic extremists) are participants. 
 
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Muslim Leaders Stress Integration, Struggle with Extremism 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) German Muslim leaders called for greater legal and 
cultural acceptance of the Muslim community and discussed 
political issues before a diverse audience including 
representatives of the Office for the Protection of the 
Constitution.  Mr. Nadeem Elyas, Chairman of the Central 
Council for Muslims (a private Muslim organization), argued 
that only a tiny fraction of German Muslims have radical 
affiliations and that many have lived in Germany for 
generations.  He called for the body politic not to lump 
together questions of integration, immigration, and public 
security.  Elyas also stressed the need for Muslim leaders 
to promote gender equality and condemn domestic violence. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Some non-Muslim participants questioned the Muslim 
community's commitment to integration.  Green Party national 
co-chairperson Claudia Roth (a vocal participant for much of 
the conference) noted reports of increasing anti-Semitism in 
Muslim quarters, adding that some radical Muslims joined 
with German right-wing groups to promote anti-Semitism. 
Social Democrat (SPD) Bundestag member Gerhild Pinkvoss- 
Mueller pointed out that the chairman of DITIP (Turkish- 
Islamic Union, Germany's largest Muslim organization) did 
not speak German. 
 
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Muslims Complain That Suspicion of Islam Hinders Integration 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ali Kizilkaya, Chairman of Islam Council Germany 
(a private Muslim organization affiliated with radical 
Turkish group Milli Goerus) maintained that the German 
public mistrusts Muslims -- hindering their integration -- 
and is unwilling to accept that most Moslems are moderate. 
He cited controversy over headscarves for female civil 
servants (refs C,D) and OPC surveillance of some Muslim 
groups as hurdles Muslims face in entering mainstream 
society.  NOTE: September 2004 survey data from the 
Allensbach Institute for Opinion Survey (a well-regarded 
German polling organization) provided by the Islamforum 
indicates that 83% of Germans associate Islam with 
terrorism, while 82% characterize Muslims as "radical and 
fanatic" and 70% describe them as "dangerous."  END NOTE. 
 
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Training and Certification of Imams 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Many attendees argued that the Turkish-trained 
imams who lead most mosques lack German-language skills and 
familiarity with German culture, leading to the creation of 
Muslim "parallel societies."  DITIP representative and 
influential moderate Bekir Alboga (ref B) acknowledged that 
training imams in Turkey hindered integration, but pointed 
to the absence of suitable German-language equivalents.  He 
reported that the German-Turkish Union was working with the 
Goethe Institute to provide a German component to religious 
training for imams in Turkey.  Establishing and expanding 
Islamic departments at German universities could alleviate 
the problem (ref A).  Alboga observed that German-language 
certification of imams was difficult in the short-term 
because significant segments of Germany's Muslim population 
did not speak German.  German-language exposure would, 
however, allow imams to interact with non-Muslims and 
promote cross-cultural dialogue. 
 
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Continuing Debate Over Unified Structure for German Muslims 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Green co-chairperson Roth urged building unified 
representation for Muslims as a means to gain legal status 
in Germany (along the lines of the Catholic, Protestant, and 
Jewish faiths).  Both Muslims and non-Muslims welcomed an 
agreement in February to form an Islamic umbrella 
organization (by its own account representing 70% of German 
Muslims) to seek Corporate Public Law Status and serve as a 
dialogue partner for the German government and non-Muslims. 
Islamic Community of Hessen Chairman Ramazan Kuruyuez 
welcomed the new organization as a "unified, democratic, and 
federal Muslim structure" able to speak for the entire 
Muslim community.  Alboga said that the German-Turkish Union 
was hesitant to join the new organization but does not rule 
out future participation.  NOTE: Because of its close ties 
to DIYANET, the German-Turkish Union considers itself the 
representative of Turkish Muslims in Germany.  Furthermore, 
the Union's more secular Islam is at odds with the Sunni 
ideology dominant in the new organization.  END NOTE. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8.  (SBU) The Islamforum is one of the first organizations 
in Germany to bring together German officials and the 
country's splintered Muslim elite (who compete to represent 
the Muslim masses) for an open dialogue.  The issues 
discussed (official recognition of Muslim organizations, the 
training of imams, and so on), however, have limited 
relevance for Germany's Muslim population, four-fifths of 
whom characterize themselves as "secular, with no strong 
ties to a particular mosque or religious tradition" 
(according to literature provided by Forum organizers). 
Real-world concerns such as the large income disparity in 
Germany between Muslims and non-Muslims, rising criminality 
in some Muslim communities, and "hot-button" topics such as 
immigration and headscarves are likely to continue to have 
the largest impact on inter-cultural relations.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
BODDE