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### Viewing cable 06THEHAGUE374, NETHERLANDS/MUSLIM OUTREACH: MISSION SUCCESS

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06THEHAGUE374 | 2006-02-17 15:03 | 2011-01-20 21:09 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy The Hague

`

    VZCZCXRO1335
    PP RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
    RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
    DE RUEHTC #0374/01 0481543
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    P 171543Z FEB 06
    FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4866
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 THE HAGUE 000374

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR R, EUR, S/CT, INR

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PHUM KPAO KISL NL
    SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/MUSLIM OUTREACH: MISSION SUCCESS
    STORIES

    REF: A. A. THE HAGUE 3128 (2005)
    ¶B. B. THE HAGUE 2870 (2005)
    ¶C. C. THE HAGUE 3331 (2005)

    ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In August 2005, Post established an
    Integration Issues Working Group (IIWG) to coordinate
    outreach and reporting activities related to the Dutch Muslim
    community. This approach succeeded in considerably expanding
    Embassy The Hague's and Consul General Amsterdam's contacts
    in the Dutch Muslim community as well as among government,
    academic, and think-tank circles. Mission has also
    significantly increased reporting on Dutch Muslim-related
    issues. This cable summarizes highlights from the last six
    months and describes new opportunities for further mission
    outreach. END SUMMARY.

    TOP MISSION PRIORITY
    --------------------

    ¶2. (SBU) In accordance with Washington guidance, mission has
    made engaging with the Dutch Muslim community a top priority,
    as reflected in the just-completed FY 2008 MPP. Mission
    efforts are focused around three prime objectives:
    - Improving the image of the United States and U.S. policies
    among the increasingly influential -- and largely
    anti-American -- Dutch Muslim community;
    - Increasing our understanding of issues of concern to the
    Dutch Muslim community and similar communities elsewhere in
    Europe, including relations with the non-Muslim majority;
    - Using the U.S. experience to help foster a productive,
    non-confrontational dialogue between Muslim and non-Muslim
    Dutch on sensitive issues of integration and civil rights.

    COORDINATED APPROACH
    --------------------

    ¶3. (SBU) Since August 2005, Mission activities in pursuit of
    the above goals have been coordinated through biweekly
    meetings of the Integration Issues Working Group (IIWG). The
    Working Group reports to the Charge d'Affaires, is chaired by
    POLCOUNS, and includes representatives from PD, POL, ECON,
    FCS, Global, RSO and CG Amsterdam. The Working Group
    approach has significantly enhanced the quality and quantity
    of mission reporting and outreach by encouraging sections to
    share resources, contacts, and experiences while promoting
    creative cross-section initiatives.

    ¶4. (SBU) Under the direction of the IIWG, mission elements
    have taken a number of practical steps to facilitate
    coordination, including:
    - the creation of a mission-wide calendar of current and
    upcoming events related to the Muslim community;
    - increased access to the mission's contact data base, and
    the creation of specific lists of Muslim and Muslim-related
    contacts to which all elements can add names;
    - production of a power-point presentation on the Muslim
    Community in the Netherlands, which is regularly updated and
    to which all sections have access.

    ¶5. (SBU) Mission has also benefited from the services of two
    long-term TDY personnel (one Presidential Management Intern
    followed by a three-month TDY from S/CT) devoted full time to
    Muslim community issues. In addition to their own impressive
    outreach and reporting efforts, these individuals provided
    critical communication and coordination support between
    mission elements, and served as a useful first point of
    contact and liaison between the mission and the Dutch Muslim
    community. Post has proposed in the current MPP establishing
    a new IROG position to continue these functions on a more
    permanent and ultimately less expensive basis.

    REPORTING
    ---------

    ¶6. (SBU) The heightened focus on Muslim issues is reflected
    in mission reporting. In the last six months, Embassy The
    Hague and ConGen Amsterdam have produced 27 cables related to
    Muslim community issues. Of these, only two - The Hague 2651
    (2005) and The Hague 2705 (2005), both dealing with Islamic
    Extremism -- responded directly to Washington taskings. The
    rest, beginning with a broad overview of the Dutch Muslim
    community (The Hague 2599 (2005)) were either generated by
    post outreach initiatives or responded to specific
    developments such as the recent controversy over the Danish
    cartoons (The Hague 257, 303, 314, and 357). Other subjects
    THE HAGUE 00000374 002 OF 003
    covered in post reporting include:
    - Dutch legislative efforts to combat radicalism (The Hague
    2648, 2793, and 2850 (2005));
    - Profiles of prominent Muslims and Muslim organizations
    (Amsterdam 720 (2005), The Hague 3277, 3340 (2005) and 308);
    - Social/Economic/Political aspects of the integration debate
    (The Hague 3008, 3064,3069, 3381 (2005), 141, 149);
    - Mission outreach initiatives (The Hague 2587, 3084, 3087,
    3128, 3331 (2005), 228).

    ¶7. (SBU) Muslim community issues are also prominently
    featured in the daily press summary produced by the Public
    Diplomacy section, the Political Section's daily Politics in
    the Netherlands e-mail, and the Global Section's weekly
    e-mail summary of issues. In addition, the Information
    Research Center (IRC) has begun to circulate two new products
    via e-mail:
    - Integration Issues Working Group Alert: a bi-weekly
    summary of recently published articles in the Dutch and
    international press, with links; and
    - Dutch Integration Issues Review: a bi-weekly compilation
    of Muslim Community-related stories from the three products
    mentioned above.
    (Note: Recipients of this cable who wish to be added to the
    circulation lists for the above products should e-mail their
    requests to ircthehague@state.gov. All products will also
    shortly be available at post's SIPRNET site:
    http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/thehague/.

    OUTREACH
    --------

    ¶8. (SBU) At the direction of the front office, all mission
    elements have made reaching out to the Dutch Muslim community
    a top priority and have worked to incorporate outreach goals
    into their usual routines. For example, sections have been
    encouraged to add Dutch Muslim guests to receptions and other
    events whenever possible. Where appropriate, officials
    visitors have been encouraged to visit Muslim neighborhoods
    and make contact with Dutch Muslim contacts directly. Post
    has also taken full advantage of Fulbright grants, IVPs, and
    other exchange programs to identify and develop contacts in
    the Dutch Muslim community. For example, 5 out of 15 IVPs in
    FY 2006 were awarded to Dutch Muslim contacts, and the number
    of Fulbright grant applications with non-Dutch last named --
    a largely Muslim subset -- rose to 27 during the early
    application cycle in September 2005, with one selected;
    during the previous application cycle, 0 such applications
    were received. Post has programmed two American speakers
    with a focus on the Muslim community, and has used occasions
    such as Martin Luther King's Birthday and Black History Month
    to schedule events with a civil-rights focus of interest to
    Dutch Muslims.

    ¶9. (SBU) Mission has worked with local Muslim organizations
    such as Forum and MEX-it to identify opportunities for
    person-to-person contact. During the month of Ramadan, for
    example, Embassy the Hague and ConGen Amsterdam actively
    participated in a series of events organized by MEX-it,
    including 19 Iftar dinners hosted by local Muslim families
    (ref a). In November, ConGen Amsterdam hosted an inter-faith
    Thanksgiving service in Amsterdam and invited a local Imam.

    ¶10. (SBU) Starting in January, 2006, Charge has hosted a
    series of themed lunches with 8 - 10 guests on issues
    relevant to the Muslim community, which have further expanded
    mission contacts as well as reporting opportunities.
    Subjects covered to date include:
    - Islamic Education in the Netherlands;
    - Business/Commercial/Economic Opportunities for Dutch
    Muslims;
    - Immigrant Participation in Politics;
    - Dutch Muslim Media Representatives (2 lunches);
    Future lunches are planned on themes including:
    - Dutch-Muslim Literary/Cultural Life;
    - Outreach to Muslims in Dutch Foreign Policy;
    - Muslim Women in the Netherlands;
    - Imam-training Programs in the Netherlands

    ¶11. (SBU) Since August, mission's list of Muslim and
    Muslim-related contacts has increased from 50 to 131 -- and
    THE HAGUE 00000374 003 OF 003
    is still growing. Mission personnel have participated in
    over 85 events since August -- conferences, individual
    meetings, speaker programs, etc. -- with a primary focus on
    the Dutch Muslim community. Post recently initiated contact
    with the largest Muslim high-school in the country, in
    Rotterdam, and is exploring ways to expand this relationship
    -- for example, by inviting students to visit a U.S. Navy
    ship scheduled to call at Rotterdam in March.

    ¶12. (SBU) FCS is applying service and outreach programs to
    inform Muslim and other Dutch minority audiences about
    business opportunities here and in the U.S. For example, FCS
    and ECON have facilitated contact between the American
    Chamber of Commerce and local Turkish and Moroccan chambers,
    and is working to schedule a job fair in conjunction with a
    major U.S. placement company to assist minority youth seeking
    employment. FCS has also established strong contacts with a
    local organization for minority businesswomen.

    SUCCESS STORIES
    ---------------

    ¶13. (SBU) While there has been steady progress over the past
    six months in improving mission's outreach and reporting
    efforts, several cases stand out as clear indicators of
    success. These include:
    - Amsterdam West: As reported ref c, intensive outreach to
    this predominantly Muslim neighborhood in Amsterdam -- home
    to Mohammed Bouyeri, the confessed murderer of Theo van Gogh
    -- has resulted in a remarkably positive relationship between
    local community leaders and mission personnel.
    - Iftar Dinner: The Iftar dinner hosted by Charge (ref b)
    was video-taped and broadcast on a local cable station
    catering to the Dutch-Moroccan community in Amsterdam.
    Muslim and non-Muslim contacts continue to cite this event as
    a highlight of the Ramadan season; other Embassies (including
    from predominantly Muslim countries) have subsequently
    declared their intention to host similar events next year.
    - IVP Recipients: Mission has had great success in
    identifying up-and-coming Dutch Muslim community figures for
    IVP programs. A prime example is Hany Abu-Assad, a
    Dutch-Palestinian film director whose film, Paradise Now
    was just nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language
    film. Prominent nominees this year include:
    -- Amsterdam Alderman Ahmad Abutaleb, widely considered the
    most popular Muslim politician in the country will be an IVP
    participant in summer of 2006;
    -- Nor-Eddine Ghoudani, chief Editor of Mzine Magazine, was
    selected for the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists
    for April, 2006;
    -- Two Muslim women members of parliament -- Fadime Orgu and
    Khadija Arib -- will participate in IV programs this
    spring/summer.
    - Most Popular Muslims: In January, 2006, a local website
    (www.blijvenhier.nl) published the results of a poll to
    identify the most popular Muslims in the country. Of the
    24 individuals named, Post was proud to note that 14 were
    current mission contacts -- and we are working on the rest.

    NEXT STEPS:
    ----------

    ¶14. (SBU) Post plans to take advantage of the arrival of a
    new Ambassador in early March to advance our outreach and
    reporting activities. The IIWG is currently scheduling
    events for Ambassador-designate and Mrs. Arnall which will
    bring them in contact with prominent members of the Dutch
    Muslim community. Post is also working with the U.S. Navy to
    use an upcoming ship visit to Rotterdam to expand contact
    with the local Muslim community, hopefully scheduling a
    community service project with a local school. In addition,
    FCS and the local American Chamber of Commerce are jointly
    developing a proposal to provide internships and job training
    with American companies (and the U.S. mission) for qualified
    minority/Muslim students. Post is also in contact with
    Embassy Brussels to explore possibilities for bringing
    American and Dutch Muslim community leaders together along
    the lines of the very successful conference held in Brussels
    in November 2005.
    BLAKEMAN

`