VZCZCXRO8149
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHFT #0531 0361531
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051531Z FEB 07
FM AMCONSUL FRANKFURT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9371
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 000531 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O.  12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SCUL KISL GM
SUBJECT: Naturalized Islamic Fundamentalists:  Hesse Court Reverses 
Verdict against Milli Goerus Members 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: On January 18, the Hesse Administrative Court in 
Kassel ruled in favor of four naturalized Germans of Turkish origin 
after the state stripped their citizenship for not having reported 
being members in the fundamentalist Islamic group Milli Goerus 
(IGMG).  Striking down an earlier finding that the men should have 
revealed their IGMG membership during the naturalization process 
(due to its alleged anti-constitutional tenets), the state court 
ruled that the four were not necessarily committing fraud.  Hesse 
state authorities denounced the verdict -- the latest roadblock to 
deporting hardliners -- as an "invitation" to fraudulent 
naturalization.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) As in other German states, the Hesse Office for the 
Protection of the Constitution has monitored Milli Goerus/IGMG 
activities since the 1990s.  Hesse authorities argue that, while the 
IGMG officially endorses co-existence and integration, in practice 
it supports the creation of an authoritarian Islamic theocracy (for 
instance, preaching a subservient role for women). 
 
Court:  Cannot Assume Citizens Know a Group is Hardline 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3. (U) Under Germany's constitution, revoking German citizenship is 
only possible if the person does not end up stateless (which would 
have been the case here), except where citizenship is obtained via 
"malicious fraud."  The court held that the four men (all of whom 
had served as board members in local IGMG bodies) did not commit 
such fraud.  Even if Milli Goerus is anti-constitutional -- the 
court left the question open -- the state could not expect 
naturalization applicants to make such an assessment of IGMG (or 
other organizations) without asking them specifically. 
 
Reaction of Hesse Authorities 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Hesse Ministry of Interior responded with "shock" at 
the verdict and called it naive to assume that the four men -- local 
leaders within Milli Goerus -- did not know about state monitoring 
of the organization.  Hesse Interior Minister Volker Bouffier 
(CDU/Christian Democrats) called the verdict practically an 
invitation to obtain German citizenship via fraud.  Since the judges 
have ruled out an appeal at the state level, the ministry can only 
raise the issue at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.  A 
MinInt contact told us they have not yet received the Kassel court's 
official verdict and detailed justification, the basis upon which 
the Ministry will decide its next steps. 
 
COMMENT: The Difficulty of Deporting Hardliners 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5. (SBU) In Germany, states hold most of the cards in policy towards 
Muslim immigrants -- whether housing, education, naturalization, or 
public security.  This case, along with a recent series of 
deportations of alleged extremists, represents the cutting edge of 
state efforts to exclude fundamentalists while embracing 
"mainstream" Muslims -- efforts that frequently run into the wall of 
extensive legal protections for the accused.  The case also points 
out conflicting views of Milli Goerus as either an authentic 
representative of devout Muslims (it participates indirectly in the 
federal government's "Integration Dialogue") or a threat to the 
German constitutional order (the view of conservative German states 
such as Hesse). 
 
¶6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
 
POWELL