VZCZCXRO1028
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHTC #1708 2161647
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041647Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6478
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAT/AMCONSUL AMSTERDAM 1193
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 001708 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UBI, S/CT, INR, INL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL PREL PGOV PINR PTER SOCI SCUL KPAO NL
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS: TURKISH IMAMS DENIED RESIDENCE 
PERMITS 
 
REF: THE HAGUE 610 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY: The Netherlands, new, tighter immigration 
policies are causing friction with the country,s 436 
mosques, which rely heavily on foreign-born clerics to lead 
their congregations.  At least 18 Turkish mosques are without 
imams as a result of immigration delays.  Meanwhile, the 
Netherlands is also seeking to replace all foreign imams with 
Dutch citizens effective 2008.  If implemented strictly, this 
policy too could cause strains with the country,s large 
Muslim minority.  The imam issue is an apt symbol of the 
tightrope the Netherlands is walking on how to put a Dutch 
stamp on the country,s Muslims without provoking a religious 
backlash.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) A GONL spokesperson confirmed to the press last week 
that the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) 
had denied residence permits to imams from 18 Turkish mosques 
in Amsterdam, Leeuwarden, Delft, Assen, Lelystad, Culemborg, 
and Boxtel.  These imams had been admitted earlier to the 
country on so-called temporary "services passports." The 
spokesperson said the action was justified as these imams now 
intended to remain in the Netherlands and thus needed to 
follow standard immigration procedures, including the 
completion of an integration exam in their country of origin 
before obtaining a Dutch residence permit.  The Netherlands' 
Civic Integration Examination Abroad became effective in 
March and requires intending immigrants to pass a series of 
tests on Dutch language and culture before obtaining a 
temporary residence permit (reported reftel).  The new 
policies do not apply to immigrants from Western Europe, the 
United States, Canada, Japan or other developed countries, 
but they do apply to those from Turkey and Morocco, which 
supply the majority of the Netherlands, imams. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Contacts at two mosques in The Hague told us some 
months back that the new policies could lead to friction. 
Yusuf Kalkan, a spokesperson for Diyanet ) the Turkish 
state-sponsored religious bureau based at the Turkish Embassy 
in The Hague, told the press that Diyanet would consider 
joining Dutch mosque associations in legal action if the 
situation were not resolved.  Diyanet controls approximately 
180 of the country,s 436 mosques.  He also noted that many 
Turkish imams had completed Embassy-funded integration 
courses in the Netherlands.  The Immigration Service 
spokesperson told the press that such courses were not a 
substitute for the required Embassy diploma, adding that the 
ministry would like the imams to take the test because there 
was a shortage of imams in the Netherlands. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The Turkish DCM later told the Charge that Turkey 
had been sparring with the Dutch government for months over 
the new immigration requirements, as well as a broader policy 
of replacing foreign imams with Dutch-born Muslims who have 
completed government-sponsored university programs designed 
to train Muslim clerics.  This policy is set to take effect 
in 2008. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Turkish DCM said there was no practical way 
for the Dutch to train sufficient numbers of imams in such a 
short time and warned that some mosques might refuse to 
accept them.  More broadly, he argued that Diyanet-sponsored 
imams are Turkish civil servants and thus unlikely to espouse 
radical views.  The Netherlands, he said, was better off with 
them than with less predictable Dutch-trained clerics, 
regardless of citizenship. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  The Dutch government is not comfortable 
with having foreign-born imams leading the country,s mosques 
and is committed to replacing them with Dutch Muslims, 
trained in the Netherlands.  The emerging question is how the 
country,s Muslim community will react now that such policies 
are having a real effect. Immigration and Integration 
Minister Verdonk,s very hard line stance on immigration, and 
in particular, enforcement of the new integration 
regulations, has won her widespread unpopularity among the 
Dutch Muslim population, though her positions remain popular 
among much of the general population. 
BLAKEMAN