VZCZCXRO0543
RR RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #0802 2241207
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121207Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1069
INFO RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 5351
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1083
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1543
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 2488
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 7341
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 4080

UNCLAS MADRID 000802 
 
SIPDIS 
FOR EUR/WE, DRL, G 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PINR SCUL KWMN SP
SUBJECT: "JOINING HANDS AGAINST FORCED MARRIAGES" (C-NC9-01624) 
 
REF: STATE 80201 
 
¶1.  (U) In Spain, the "Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages" 
campaign organized by Professor Ramadan and SPIOR was facilitated by 
the Spanish government-sponsored, "Casa Arabe", an institutional 
consortium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the autonomous states 
of Madrid and Andalucia, and the cities of Madrid and Csrdoba, which 
seeks to promote dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation 
with Arab countries and the Muslim world.  Professor Ramadan and 
SPIOR representative Marianne Vorthoren presented a campaign 
overview at Casa Arabe on May 22, 2008.  The audience was estimated 
at 30-50 participants.  A videotape of the conference is available 
on the Casa Arabe website at: 
http://www.casaarabe-ieam.es/index.php?modulo = 
contenido&idioma=es&id=116&seccion=3 
 
¶2.  (U) The Casa Arabe Director opened the 2008 conference noting 
that it was important to bring the topic of forced marriage to 
public attention, encourage debate among European Muslims and foster 
dialogue.  She noted that Islam, as a religion, does not establish 
forced marriage.  She also reminded the audience that forced 
marriage was not unique to Muslim communities, referencing forced 
marriage practices in Romany, Gypsy, Hindu and African communities 
as well.   Professor Ramadan gave an overview of the program's 
inception and called for local level initiatives to take further 
action.   SPIOR Representative Vorthoren presented a slide show in 
English (with Spanish simultaneous interpretation for the audience) 
describing the logistics of the campaign in The Netherlands.  An 
English version and Spanish translation of the SPIOR published 
booklet "Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages" was distributed at 
the end of the conference. 
 
¶3.  (U) Casa Arabe has neither current plans for follow-on 
initiatives nor to republish the Spanish language booklet.   Embassy 
outreach to a variety of Muslim community organizations found that 
most groups were unaware of the May 2008 conference and unaware of 
any ongoing efforts to combat forced marriage.  There does not 
appear to be an active branch linked with SPIOR in Spain.  The 
Spanish government does combat forced marriage in more general ways 
through the Equality Ministry and other social welfare institutions 
focusing on human rights. 
 
4Q|Eractice.  Professor Ramadan also called for local and national 
Muslim leaders to address the topic at the grass-roots level and 
engage in self-critical review rather than allowing outsiders to 
define Muslim practices - whether regarding forced marriage, wearing 
the veil, etc.   With the message, "don't let others set the 
agenda," the conference discussants called for discourse.   Fifteen 
months later, it appears that the call for action is not resonating 
with local groups at the grass roots level as a wide range of Muslim 
contacts canvassed by Embassy staff was not aware of the campaign. 
 
DUNCAN