Cablegate: Consultative Process for Muslim Engagement - Madrid

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RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHGI RUEHIK RUEHJS RUEHKUK
RUEHLH RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHTRO RUEHYG
DE RUEHMD #0970/01 2720559
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290559Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1278
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MADRID 000970

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

S/P FOR G.BEHRMAN;
EUR/WE FOR A.MCKNIGHT, S.ZERDECKI, L.MCMANIS, L.PEREZ
EUR/PGI FOR I.WEINSTEIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON OEXC OSCI PREL SCUL SENV SOCI TNGD SP
SUBJECT: CONSULTATIVE PROCESS FOR MUSLIM ENGAGEMENT - MADRID

REF: STATE 71325

1. SUMMARY: Following the President's Cairo speech to Muslims
around the world, U.S. Mission Spain continues to engage
Muslims as part of our outreach to Spain's growing and
increasingly diverse immigrant and minority communities. Our
objective is to create a vision of mutual respect, advancement,
collaboration, and opportunity. The Mission pursues these
objectives by incorporating the full range of PD resources and
programs, including engagement activities by Mission officers,
exchange programs, conferences, information sharing, outreach
through and in collaboration with community organizations, and
in personal contacts with religious and community leaders,
NGOs, students and policy makers. END SUMMARY.

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BACKGROUND:
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2. Over the past 20 years, Spain has been experiencing
tremendous demographic changes due to a large influx of new
immigrants. The largest immigrant populations come from
Romania, followed by Morocco, Latin America, and sub-Saharan
Africa. These relatively recent arrivals now account for
roughly 11.3 percent of Spain's population of approximately 46
million. The majority of immigrants have come to Spain
principally for economic opportunity and the relatively
generous wages, benefits, and comprehensive health and social
safety net. These immigrants, including Muslims, come seeking
work, but they also bring their cultures, religions, and
customs with them. Spaniards had been generally tolerant of,
and somewhat indifferent to, the new arrivals while the economy
was booming. But as the current economic crisis and high
unemployment rates continue to stretch the limits of the social
security safety net, we expect to see evidence of strained
relations between Spaniards and immigrant communities. Thus,
promoting integration and respect for diversity are two
objectives of Post's engagement strategies.

3. Spain's diverse and rapidly growing Muslim community -
mostly from Morocco and Algeria, but also from Syria, Pakistan,
and other countries - is a very new phenomenon by Western
European standards. In 1992, there were approximately 50,000
Muslims in Spain, mainly Spanish converts and immigrants from
Syria, the Palestinian territories and other Middle Eastern
countries. Today, official statistics put the number of
Muslims at around 1 million (or just over two percent of the
total population), with the majority coming from Morocco (owing
to its close proximity and lack of economic opportunity), but
also increasingly from Pakistan. They, like other immigrants,
are often sensitive about standing out, lacking in Spanish
language skills, and frequently unaware of health, social, and
government services available to them; therefore, they maintain
a somewhat low profile in society. In general, most Spanish
Muslims, and particularly youth, do seek integration into
Spanish society, and believe religion should not be an
impediment to that integration.

4. Islam is one of the minority religious groups that signed
bilateral agreements with the Government in 1992, recognizing
their "deeply rooted" or notorio arraigo status. These
agreements provide certain tax benefits and give civil validity
to weddings performed by the religious groups. They also permit
the religious groups to place their teachers in schools and
chaplains in hospitals and prisons. Protestant entities signed
the accord as the FEREDE; Jewish entities signed as the
Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain (FCJE); and Islamic
entities as the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE). The CIE is
composed of two federations: the Spanish Federation of Islamic
Religious Entities (FEERI) and the Union of Islamic Communities
in Spain (UCIDE). Despite the recognition of these and other
religious-based groups, there is no effective, representative
inter-faith council to coordinate, collaborate or mediate on
religious or social issues, and there is very little
collaborative contact between UCIDE and FEERI.

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THE CONSULTATIVE PROCESS
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5. Since well before the President's Cairo speech, the Embassy
has pursued a broad-based approach to engagement with Muslim
communities that incorporates a multicultural vision, rooted in
promoting integration, finding common ground, and youth
outreach. The Embassy has been effective in creating fora
(such as Iftar receptions, conferences, representational
events, community outreach and exchange programs) that involve
the participation of Muslims and non-Muslims in an effort to

MADRID 00000970 002 OF 004

create opportunities for networking among the participants who
otherwise might never meet or interact. For example, the
Embassy designed a Citizen Dialogue exchange program that
brought four American Muslims from diverse backgrounds to Spain
to interact with Muslim communities and youth in several
Spanish cities. The U.S. experience as a multi-ethnic,
pluralistic society is a point of reference for many Europeans,
and this program allowed us to share our own experience in
addressing prejudice and discrimination while promoting greater
integration of minority communities. It also helped develop
networks among moderate Muslim leaders.

6. Our information and electronic outreach programs are
designed to disseminate information about U.S. policy,
government, society, and values that generate interest and
encourage recipients to participate more actively through new
social media and old-fashioned attendance at Embassy-sponsored
outreach activities.

7. The Embassy is also reaching out to the Government of
Spain's semi-autonomous cultural institutions that promote a
better understanding of different cultures around the world.
One of those "Casa Arabe" (Arab House), is dedicated to
promoting a greater understanding of Arabs and Muslims; the
Embassy has collaborated on conferences and information
sharing. Shortly after the Cairo speech, the PAO met with the
director to explore ways to expand that collaboration.

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MISSION OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES / ACTIVITIES:
--------------------------------------------- -------

8. Continuing the Consultative Process: The President's Cairo
speech can serve as a mile marker to demonstrate to local
audiences that our ongoing efforts do indeed have the support
and commitment of the highest level of the USG. Since our
vision of integration is highly consistent with Spanish
national and local government priorities on promoting
integration, we continue to find willing partners in
government, civil society, and among disenfranchised
communities. For example:

(A) Community Libraries: The Embassy's Information Resource
Center (IRC) has been in the forefront of efforts to leverage
Spain's public, community libraries as multi-cultural centers
promoting community integration. In workshops organized by the
IRC and Spanish associations of librarians, U.S. Speakers help
participants grapple with the day-to-day issues of greatest
concern to immigrants, work on strategies for adapting to a new
culture, and reinforce the importance of social dialogue.
Participants are implementing plans to enhance the role of
libraries as catalysts for cultural dialogue and to increase
the availability of services in public libraries for
immigrants, especially Muslim minorities and other marginalized
groups. These plans require increased direct engagement with
those groups in order to assess their wants and needs, and
design responses to their priority concerns. Attracting youth
is a priority for the libraries, but also helps Post address a
priority of promoting integration and providing alternatives to
extremist ideologies and criminal activities. The community
libraries are not just venues for librarians to assist
immigrants, but also platforms for Public Affairs cultural and
outreach programs. The IRC has partnered with the Goethe
Institute, the French Institute, regional governments, NGOs,
librarians, and cultural mediators.

(B) International Visitors Leadership Program: Mission
Spain's IVLP Committee continues to nominate Muslims to its
slate of candidates each year. Embassy Spain has benefited
from the IVLP's "Muslim Incentive Grants" since the incentive
program began, thereby increasing opportunities for Muslims to
participate in the IVLP, and increasing the number of Spaniards
from different backgrounds participating in this prestigious
USG exchange program. The litmus test for Muslim candidates is
the same as for any candidate: they must have the demonstrated
potential to be future leaders in their fields. Our Muslim
IVLP grants may address Muslim-specific issues, but more often
the Committee nominates Muslim candidates to participate in
secular Regional Programs or Multi-Regional Programs with broad-
based participation, including non-Muslims. Topics have
included integration and civil rights in U.S. society, U.S.
policy formulation, and politics and democracy in America, to
give participants broader exposure to the diversity of the U.S.

(C) Iftar Events: over the past few years, the Chief of
Mission has annually hosted an Iftar dinner or reception. This
event has been gaining greater popularity among Post's growing

MADRID 00000970 003 OF 004

base of contacts who are Muslim and/or who are active in civil
society, NGOs and government programs dealing with Muslims,
minorities, or social issues. These events demonstrate the
importance the Embassy places on relations with Muslim leaders
and communities and provides a forum for these diverse
organizations to network among themselves.

(D) Islamic Websites: Following up on a well-attended
conference funded by S/CT in November 2008, the Mission
continues to work with WebIslam and representatives of the
European Media Islamic Network, whose members pledged at the
conference "to give voice to European Muslims" and
present "shared Islamic values, such as pluralism, social
justice, peace, freedom of consciousness and expression,
journalistic integrity, the promotion of civil rights,
understanding and cooperation between cultures and religions."

(E) Conferences: In fall 2009 Public Affairs will provide a
grant to a young Muslim scholar to support her participation in
a conference on promoting community integration. Upon her
return, she has agreed to help PA organize an outreach program
with Muslim youth. Post also supports conferences on counter-
terrorism and related foreign policy issues.

(F) Exchanges: The Embassy will continue to broaden its
outreach to minority communities and youth through exchanges
that focus on integration, respect, for diversity, and
volunteerism. The Participants in a FY-09 voluntary visitor
program for educators, social workers, academics, immigration
lawyers, and NGOs from Cordoba were selected for their work
with largely Muslim immigrant communities from Northern Africa
and the Maghreb. Youth participants in follow-on exchanges
were selected for their volunteerism and sensitivity towards
immigrant communities. The Embassy continues to engage these
participants in follow-up activities based on the themes from
the Cairo speech.

(G) The Embassy invited representatives of Spanish government,
civil society, news media, NGOs, political parties to watch
President Obama's Cairo speech on June 4 (English) and on June
5 (Spanish). The events provided opportunities for Muslims and
non-Muslims to exchange ideas and impressions with each other
and Embassy Officers. Post continues to rely on these and
other contacts as sounding boards on the President's Muslim
engagement agenda.

(H) Post's "Global Conversation," seeking feedback on
Secretary Clinton's June 15 speech at the Council on Foreign
Relations, touched on the topic of President Obama's Cairo
speech. The eight guests included two Muslims, representing
academia and politics.

(I) Misperceptions about U.S. foreign policy, counter-
terrorism policy, and treatment of Muslims in the U.S. are not
limited to Muslim audiences, and therefore, the Media Relations
Office of Public Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Office, and
Embassy Officers throughout the U.S. Mission, continue to
engage all their contacts, especially those from the media,
government and academia, to solicit their input on U.S. policy
and messaging, and to correct their false stereotypes and
misperceptions.

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WHAT OUR CONTACTS ARE SAYING
--------------------------------

9. Not surprisingly, in world affairs our Muslim contacts are
interested in Middle East Peace, concerned about the plight of
the Palestinian people, worried about Iran's nuclear ambitions
and nuclear proliferation, and the impact of the economic
crisis on developing countries. On issues closer to home, they
are concerned with rising unemployment, economic opportunities,
education, the impact of illegal immigration on the social
service system, and the situation of the immigrants
themselves. In this respect, their concerns are very similar
to those of most Spaniards. Where the differences lie are in
how they perceive themselves and their roles in Spanish
society, and how Spanish society, which clings to a perception
of Spanish "homogeneity," views them.

10. Spanish Muslims and Muslims resident in Spain appear to be
receptive to President Obama's efforts to reach out to Muslims
around the world. They did not fail to see the significance of
the President's reference to the intolerable suffering of the
Palestinian people on the one hand; however, they also took
note of the President's commitment to the State of Israel. The
nuances of U.S. Middle East policy will need to be emphasized

MADRID 00000970 004 OF 004

and clarified over time to Muslim leaders and communities here
in Spain, who remain skeptical of the ability of the Obama
Administration to implement change, as well as to Spaniards and
Spanish politicians, particularly those to the left of center.

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CONCLUSIONS
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11. In his study "Muslim Elites in Portugal and Spain,"
published in West European Politics (Vo. 32, NO.1, 55-76,
January 2009), Andrew Gould cites Gilles Kepel: "The large
majority of European citizens from Muslim descent share core
European values, but they are not spreading their views on the
religious market of ideas as such. This leaves that field
rather open to people with a more radical vision." While Spain
boasts a vibrant democracy and a major, developed economy, the
Embassy is concerned that a lack of leadership, collaboration,
and social cohesion among Muslim communities (especially among
poor, marginalized immigrants who are disproportionately and
negatively affected by the economic crisis) creates openings
for infiltration by extremist ideologies.

12. While many of the President's Cairo priorities speak to
urgencies in countries with Muslim majorities and less-
developed parts of the world, we see targets of opportunity to
further promote the President's Cairo agenda through
enhancement - and in some cases, expansion - of Post's existing
programs in education and human development among youth,
increased scholarship and exchange, internships, on-line
networks, entrepreneurship and interfaith dialogue. That is
why Post's outreach programs will continue to promote social
integration, moderate views, educational, exchange, and
economic opportunities, and an understanding that U.S. and
western society is compatible with Islam and universal values.

CHACON

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