VZCZCXRO0431
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHFT #4614/01 2891018
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161018Z OCT 07
FM AMCONSUL FRANKFURT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3665
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 004614 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KISL GM
 
SUBJECT: Muslim Community and German City Sign Innovative 
Integration Agreement 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY. The German city of Wiesbaden and nine Muslim community 
organizations signed a long-discussed, groundbreaking integration 
agreement September 27.  The agreement, wherein the city and the 
Muslim community pledge to cooperate in a number of areas, is the 
first of its kind at any level in Germany and may set a precedent 
for other cities.  While all the political parties and most Muslim 
organizations support the agreement, it has been criticized for 
being discriminatory by singling out the Muslim community for 
special treatment.  END SUMMARY. 
 
More Tolerance, More Education, More Mosques 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶2.  The first-ever integration agreement in Germany was signed  by 
representatives of the city of Wiesbaden, including Lord Mayor 
Helmut Mueller (CDU), and nine of the twelve large mosque-building 
associations in the city.  Wiesbaden, a city of 287,000 and the 
capital of the federal state of Hesse, has around 15,000 Muslim 
residents, including 11,500 of Turkish heritage.  In signing the 
eleven-point seven-page document, both sides recognized and affirmed 
their commitment to the values of Germany's Basic Law and the 
principles of tolerance, respect and transparency in action.  The 
agreement comes one year after the "German Islam Conference" where 
federal government officials discussed integration issues with 
representatives of the Muslim population.  The German government was 
criticized at the time for discussing integration with 
representatives of groups that had no elected mandate in the Muslim 
community. 
 
¶3.  In signing the agreement, the Muslim organizations pledged to 
make their activities and materials accessible to the public and to 
offer them in German.  They affirmed the principle of gender 
equality and agreed to encourage Muslims in the community to allow 
girls to take part in athletic activities and school trips.  The 
organizations recognized knowledge of German as essential to 
successful integration.  Peter Grella, Wiesbaden Integration 
Commissioner and the lead drafter of the agreement, told the 
Ambassador August 1 that younger Muslims were particularly 
interested in such an agreement because it would provide them with 
greater educational opportunities and a platform to succeed. 
 
¶4.  The city agreed to support the building of new mosques and a 
cemetery and recognized Muslims as equal members of society. 
Wiesbaden schools and kindergartens will no longer serve pork.  The 
city will also support Muslim religious instruction in schools in 
Hesse, something which does not yet exist.  The agreement promises 
to increase opportunities for language training for immigrants, 
especially women and children. 
 
¶5.  The effort to conclude the agreement has been underway for 
almost five years, with the idea gaining more strength in 2004 when 
a disagreement over a mosque-building project brought attention to 
the issue.  The Tauhid community in Wiesbaden had proposed building 
a mosque with minarets, prompting outcry from a citizen's 
initiative.  The Head of the Wiesbaden Integration Office, Jeanine 
Rudolph, told Polspec that the Muslim communities realized as a 
result of this dispute that they did not know how to deal with the 
public and that their actions were often seen as non-transparent. 
The agreement was meant to create greater transparency and trust 
between the Muslim communities and rest of the city.  The 
negotiation process has been protracted, reflecting the 
sensitivities on both sides. 
 
The Integration Agreement: For and Against 
------------------------------------------ 
¶6.  The integration agreement was supported by Lord Mayor Mueller 
and the city council, which has a CDU-Green-FPD ruling coalition. 
The opposition SPD, which is often seen as the traditional ally of 
the Muslim community, also expressed its support for the agreement 
saying:  "We welcome the successful signing of the integration 
agreement and see it as an important step for living together in 
Wiesbaden." 
 
¶7.  Not all Muslim communities in Wiesbaden agreed to sign.  The 
Ditib Mosque-Building Association (the largest Muslim community 
group in the city) refused, saying its only contract with the German 
state is the Basic Law and it does not need any more agreements. 
Ditib also said the city government dictated the agreement, 
expecting the community to accept and obey.  The Initiative of 
Secular and Lay Citizens from Muslim Countries in Hesse (ISL) 
criticized the agreement for singling out and stigmatizing Muslims 
and for promoting nine religious organizations -- who, in ISL's 
view, do not speak for the diverse Muslim community -- as official 
talking partners.  In a statement, representatives of ISL argued: 
"The signal to the public, most of which has nothing to do with 
Islam, is that the Muslim population can not live in accordance with 
the constitution without a special agreement." 
 
¶8.  One notable signatory is the controversial Turkish-Muslim 
association Milis Goerues, which is under surveillance by the state 
 
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Office for the Protection of the Constitution (OPC).  The ISL 
statement criticized the inclusion of Milis Goerues in the process 
saying that treating this allegedly dangerous group like any other 
only gave it undue recognition.  Media sources argued that the 
agreement tacitly recognized the legality of Milis Goerues' 
activities.  State Legal Expert Markus Poecker said that Milis 
Goerues would remain under surveillance until the state had 
established that the organization accepted the Basic Law in action 
as well as in words. 
 
¶9.  COMMENT. The integration agreement undoubtedly provides benefits 
for the mosque-building associations and the greater Muslim 
community in Wiesbaden by ensuring support for their activities.  It 
will also improve the image of the Muslim community in the city by 
demonstrating its commitment to working with the greater community 
and accepting broadly held values.  However, it is clear that many 
elements within the community see the agreement, which would be 
inconceivable in many other Western countries, as a Faustian bargain 
and a setback in reaching their goal of equal treatment under the 
law.  Other state and federal politicians may look at the example of 
Wiesbaden as they attempt to develop relationships with 
representatives of the Muslim community.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10.  This cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
POWELL