VZCZCXRO1098
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDF #0032 3241244
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201244Z NOV 07
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0096
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0110

UNCLAS DUSSELDORF 000032 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/FO AND EUR/PPD 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KISL PTER KPAO GM
SUBJECT: USING COMIC BOOKS TO COMBAT EXTREMISM 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution 
 
¶1.  (U) As part of its expanding efforts to combat Islamic 
extremism and to educate German Muslim youth about western style 
democracy, the North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Office for the 
Protection of the Constitution (OPC) recently released its 
second manga style comic book "Andi 2" 
(http://www.andi.nrw.de/Andi2/andi2_start.htm l).  The comic book 
storyline is geared towards 12-16 year olds and follows a 
student and his circle of friends through their encounters with 
Islamic extremism.  Copies of "Andi 2" are currently being sent 
to every school in NRW.  The first comic in this series, "Andi 
1" focused on right wing extremism and was tested extensively 
with focus groups.  Over 170,000 copies of "Andi 1" have already 
been printed and distributed in NRW. 
 
¶2.  (U) The OPC official who oversees the comic series told 
Pol/Econoff that the "Andi 2" project grew out of feedback from 
"Andi 1."  Several schools indicated that right wing extremist 
ideas were not much of a problem among their teenagers, but that 
a comic on the theme of Islamic extremism would be more useful. 
This led to the development of "Andi 2."  "Initially, we were 
nervous about doing this," he said, "especially after the 
reaction in Europe to the Mohammad caricatures."  As a result, 
the OPC sought input from in-house Muslims and Islam experts as 
well as from experts of the NRW Ministry of Education and 
Ministry of Integration. 
 
¶3.  (U) To date "Andi 2" has received some criticism.  A 
newspaper affiliated with the Turkish Islamist Milli-Goerues 
group complained that one of the Muslim characters is "too 
dark," and that the term "Jihad" is not correctly defined and 
portrayed.  The OPC official admitted that they did not pay 
close attention to the skin color of the characters, deferring 
to the artist instead.  The OPC has sent copies of "Andi 2" to 
the four major Muslim umbrella organizations in Germany, but to 
date only the Zentralrat der Muslime in Deutschland (ZMD) has 
reacted, mainly positively but stating that they would have 
liked to have been consulted in the initial planning stages. 
The OPC official defended the manner in which the comic books 
were conceived, maintaining that the OPC had done its due 
diligence.  The OPC and the Ministry of Education are currently 
creating teacher discussion guides on this subject in response 
to requests from the schools. 
 
Comment 
----------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) While no studies have yet been conducted, we have 
heard anecdotal evidence suggesting that the OPC is on the right 
track by using the comic book medium to educate youth about 
politics, civics, and extremism.  OPC officials report that 
initial feedback on "Andi 1" and "Andi 2" has been positive, 
with even the leftist "TAZ" daily applauding the OPC's 
innovative approach.  It will likely be difficult to measure 
their effectiveness, but it is encouraging that other German 
states have already copied, printed, and disseminated "Andi 1" 
under their state OPC name.  At a total cost of 66,000 euros for 
both comic projects, this innovative idea is an inexpensive tool 
in the NRW government's campaign against right wing and Islamic 
extremism.  End Comment. 
 
¶5.  (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
 
BOYSE