VZCZCXRO0847
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHMIL #0095/01 1010745
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110745Z APR 07
FM AMCONSUL MILAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1146
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 7962
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 0136
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 0133
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MILAN 000095 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/PPD 
STATE FOR EUR FARAH PANDITH AND KAREEMA DAOUD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI KISL PHUM SMIG IT
SUBJECT: MUSLIM OUTREACH STRATEGY - THE NEXT LEVEL 
 
MILAN 00000095  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
This cable is Sensitive But Unclassified, and is not for 
internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Italy represents an opportunity for U.S. 
interests in promoting the integration of moderate Muslims in 
a Western European democracy.  The level of immigration, 
particularly Muslim immigration, has risen steeply in recent 
years, and both Italy and resident Muslims are still evolving 
their relationship.  That evolution gives us an opportunity 
to facilitate a positive integration that promotes a shared 
sense of citizenship while maintaining and respecting 
different religious traditions.  We share our experience also 
because there may be common areas of approach useful at other 
EUR posts. End summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Most of Italy's Muslims reside in the north, where 
most of the job opportunities exist.  ConGen Milan has been 
evolving our outreach program to moderate Muslims, proceeding 
from the getting-to-know-you stage.  In two years of meeting 
and engaging moderate Muslims in Northern Italy, ConGen Milan 
has moved to the next stage of promoting multi-faith/cultural 
integration.  Meeting Muslims is not the goal in this 
process, but only the starting point.  We are continuing to 
expand our understanding of the moderate Muslim communities 
throughout the North, and building positive relationships 
with these diverse communities.  We are also building 
relations with active NGOs and local government officials, to 
get a well-rounded understanding of the situation in Italy 
for Muslims.  We are taking advantage of the opportunity to 
serve as a bridge between Italians and Muslim immigrants and 
have a positive impact. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Italy has traditionally been an exporter of people, 
but today Italy is a receiver of immigrants, and the country 
is having trouble grappling with this new role.  Certain 
integration issues, such as schools (both approving Muslim 
schools and integrating immigrants into Italian schools) and 
the establishment of mosques and construction of minarets, 
have proven difficult in some communities.   ConGen Milan 
deepened its interactions with Muslim contacts and encourage 
their integration into Italian society through a series of 
events designed to put Italians civilians and officials 
directly in contact with their Muslim neighbors.  We provide 
venues for Muslims and Italians to exchange perspectives.  We 
are also seeking to help Muslim leaders be more effective 
advocates for their community with local Italian officials. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) We are combining focus on our economic strategic 
goals to encourage activities on the part of private sector 
and local government that give opportunity to develop a 
well-integrated, economically prosperous community among 
immigrant Muslims.  Improving economic opportunity is good 
for the local economy and our overall partnership with Italy, 
and good for the immigrants. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Combined with increased understanding of moderate 
Muslim traditions, this economic integration will help ensure 
the immigrant communities will not become recruiting grounds 
for radical groups in the future.  As part of this effort, 
Consulate officials met with many Muslims in ten cities 
throughout Northern Italy over the past six months.  In every 
city, we also met with local officials and usually with 
active NGOs.   Note:  While the majority of Muslims in Italy 
are originally from other countries, there is a small 
community of Italian converts.  Many of their interests 
overlap with goals of immigrant Muslims, in promoting 
acceptance of a minority religion/culture relatively new to 
Italy.  End note. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) After making contact with Muslims, we began to 
facilitate contacts between them and local officials, 
businesspeople, and other Italians.  We sent young Muslims on 
IV and VolVis programs to the United States in both 
multi-faith and Muslim groups, and provided fora to report on 
their American experience of integration with Italian 
civilians and local government officials.  We also introduced 
Muslims to other Muslims and encouraged more intra-community 
communications and cooperation.  We inspired some of our 
Muslim contacts to host their own inter-cultural events, and 
we have been asked to host more public get-togethers, focused 
on specific issues of interest, such as starting a new 
business.  After helping these groups make connections, we 
found that sometimes it was still necessary for us to 
 
MILAN 00000095  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
actively advocate on their behalf, usually because a 
government process has frustrated them and is not 
transparent.  We have had success with this advocacy and the 
fact that we raise the issue of integration is significant 
with local officials. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) We will continue to work with our Muslim contacts 
to help them become the leaders that are necessary to make a 
difference.  We will continue to facilitate cross-cultural 
contacts that promote shared goals and promote integration. 
To achieve this, we have developed six goals for our future 
Muslim Outreach program: 
 
A) Provide more opportunities in a neutral environment for 
Muslims to explain their situations and help us and Italians 
understand their issues. 
 
Example:  We hosted a tea with Muslim women in an attempt to 
understand their problems and issues. They told us about 
their problems with schools and teachers and how they really 
feel about always being asked about the veil.  We found that 
an all-women discussion produced a livelier discussion than 
had been the case in mixed groups.  And we inspired the women 
to host their own outreach, inviting local government 
officials and other Italians. 
 
B) Provide more fora for Muslims to meet regular, average 
Italians who may not have ever met a Muslim. 
 
Examples:  We have invited regular Italians to our Iftar 
dinners and to attend a concert performed by Kantara, a group 
of Muslim-Tunisian and American musicians.  We have also 
involved Muslims in our regular economic-focused Partnership 
for Growth events. 
 
C) Introduce Muslims to more local officials and NGOs who 
might help them accomplish community integration goals. 
 
Example:  Upon the return of two groups of travelers, five 
Voluntary Visitors and two inter-faith International 
Visitors, we hosted lunches and invited city officials so the 
travelers could discuss their findings and conclusions.  We 
included representatives of  NGOs, often affiliated with the 
Catholic Church, active in various forms of immigrant 
integration.   The participants all exchanged business cards 
and the Muslims now have new contacts within the cities. 
 
D) Work with Muslim communities to help establish outreach 
strategies, in order to break the negative news cycle in 
which these communities often find themselves. 
 
Example:  After consulting with us, a local Muslim women's 
group arranged a seminar for "those who are more used to 
talking to us than to listening," which was hosted by an NGO 
group they met through one of our previous events! 
 
E) Introduce Muslim immigrants to bankers and financial 
players who might show them the way to start businesses, as 
economic success helps tremendously in integration, and is 
also one of our general goals for Italy.  We will continue to 
engage Muslim entrepreneurs in Partnership for Growth 
programming. 
 
Example:  We hosted a meeting with immigrant entrepreneurs to 
try to understand the obstacles facing an immigrant who wants 
to start a business.  We learned about what worked and what 
doesn't.  Armed with this information, we are planning a 
lunch with bankers and Muslim leaders and businesses. 
 
F) Advocate on behalf of Muslims with our contacts, 
especially government officials, as we determine appropriate 
issues (e.g., multi-cultural schools and mosque/minaret 
issues). 
 
Examples: When the city of Milan closed an Italian-Egyptian 
Muslim school, the school did everything they could to 
re-open, but were running into a brick wall.  After one 
meeting with the responsible official to express our interest 
and inquire about the "lack of transparency," the school was 
finally re-opened.  We also met with city officials to 
express our interest in the case of a request for approval of 
a mosque that has been pending for years.  The official took 
our inquiry very seriously and promised to get back to us 
 
MILAN 00000095  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
shortly.  We find out about partners in the push for 
integration.  In the case of the request for a mosque, the 
local Jewish community had also advocated on behalf of their 
Muslim friends with city officials. 
 
Conclusion 
---------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) ConGen Milan's program has been positively received 
by our Muslim contacts, and appreciated by Italian officials 
eager to make links in the Muslim communities.  Muslims have 
expressed deep appreciation not only for listening to them, 
but also for putting them in contact with officials and 
businesspeople, for advising them on public outreach, and for 
advocating for them.  Italian officials, NGOs, and academics 
appreciate our facilitative powers to promote integration and 
mutual understanding.  To illustrate our success, one of our 
young Muslim contacts was invited by Minister of Interior 
Amato to serve as a consultant to the government on 
integration issues, and in he told the MOI that ConGen 
Milan's approach to Muslim Outreach should serve as a "model" 
for the GOI.  We will continue to work with the rest of the 
posts in Italy to engage moderate Muslims and do our part to 
assist the GOI in integration issues. 
GRAZE